A team of educators from Egg Harbor Township High School in Atlantic County were awarded a $547 grant from the Hipp Foundation to take students on virtual history tours. Ersi Tollja, Michael Novack, Brittany Colon, Joseph O’Neil, Daniel Jacoby and James Mason will use virtual reality headsets to facilitate virtual visits to various historic locations, such as the Pyramids of Egypt to the Great Wall of China.
Students will create tour pamphlets based on the places they visit throughout the year from the point of view of a travel agent, pointing out the area’s general makeup and recommend sites to visit. The flexibility of the VR Headset will allow teachers and students to use software that could be of use in all content areas. Students could watch a Shakespearean play from London or work through a math problem in a 3D environment.
Students will also have the opportunity to create their own research projects of an area of interest and then explore them using a virtual reality tour. Virtual field trips to preeminent museums and cultural landmarks will be available. Students can work alone or in groups to create their own personalized learning experience at a pace that is most conducive to their preferred learning styles.
Cross curriculum goals will be developed to promote multiculturalism. Rubrics will measure student performance and academic success, comparing results before and after the use of the use of VR headsets.
For more information, contact:
Ersi Tollja
(609) 653-0100 (Egg Harbor Twp. H.S.)