Kids can jump from the ocean floor to outer space with the push of a button.
HARRISON TWP. -- A class of eighth-graders stared at a shark near the tropical ocean floor, shortly before glancing around on the surface of Mars. A few minutes later, the students took a closeup look at a rhinoceros beetle in its natural habitat.
An audible excitement filled the room, with the occasional "whoa!" punctuating the giggles and gasps. Then it was back to reality.
Clearview Regional Middle School on Thursday hosted the Google Expeditions Pioneer Program, a free educational event the company is offering to select schools around the world. Teachers used Google Cardboard, a smart phone app that employs cardboard goggles similar to the classic View-Master toy, to take their students on virtual field trips to exotic locations across the globe.
The technology adds a modern element to the 3D photos, however, by employing video and allowing the viewer a panoramic point of view. Users simply place their phones inside the goggles and use the app to display stereoscopic images.
"Who wants to see underwater?" asked Peter Burgio, an eighth grade science teacher.
"Yes!" called back a chorus of kids. Burgio, using a tablet synced to the phones Google had provided, advanced to the next image.
While there is no concrete timeline for when Google Cardboard might be available for permanent, widespread use in schools, Clearview was able to get a special preview for what might be a standard classroom tool in the near future.
"In the library, they were standing up and bumping into tables," Burgio said. Some of the students had briefly forgotten they were in New Jersey as they stared at closeup views of Europe.
Mike Cockrell, an English teacher at the school, was responsible for applying to the program. He signed up after seeing an article in Wired magazine.
"Those 'wow' sounds, that's what you want to hear in school," he said. "This gives my students a view of something they'd never see. It takes the old View-Masters from my childhood and brings them to a whole new level."
Jasmine Dickson, 13, of Mantua, sat in multiple sessions of the virtual field trips.
"I'm interested in technology and science," she said. "I like that this takes you to different spots -- even ones that aren't on Earth. You're not just sitting in a classroom all day."
Andy Polhamus may be reached at apolhamus@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @ajpolhamus. Find the South Jersey Times on Facebook.