Corbin High School Integrated Social Studies students got the opportunity to visit New York, New York; Amman, Jordan; and Ashland, Kentucky. The students visited the cities via Virtual Reality technology. The virtual reality headsets place students inside a three dimensional virtual environment, giving the illusion of presence. The technology allowed the Corbin students to experience the geography and culture of Ashland, Amman, and New York while watching, listening, and visiting young people from each city. Each young person explained their life and culture in the areas they lived.
“With the help of the VR sets, students were able to view life from the perspective of these three young people living in different parts of the world helping them to empathize with and appreciate their global community,” Corbin Technology Integration Specialist Kristal Doolin said.
Doolin helped organize the activity through the Global Nomads Group, which is an organization that partners with educators to support global citizenship education. The organization uses the power of technology to help break down cultural barriers.
“The ultimate purpose of the activity is getting my students to understand how perspectives are different from location to location and how we need to recognize that,” Corbin High School Social Studies Teacher Josh Watkins said. “I’m hoping this lesson has created a good foundation for the class to always be respectful and conscientious of the lives and situations of people around the globe.”
The lesson was used as an introduction for the integrated social studies classes. More than 75 students participated in the activity. Watkins said the focus of the class is to help students become more aware of situations around the world.
“The idea is to make students aware that it might not be the way people are around the world, but maybe the situations and conditions they find themselves in that determine who they are,” he commented.
The virtual reality event was part of the Corbin EdTech program. The program focuses on bringing innovative technology resources, ideas, and opportunities to teachers and students within the Corbin Independent School District.