Green Valley students travel the world without ever leaving the classroom!

Virtual Reality (VR) expedites learning for students at St Andrews. “Is the Middle East a region?” is the question the Year 8 students set out to investigate, using a range of research tools including the VR headset to extend their knowledge. Using the Google Earth programme to ‘travel’ to the Middle East and ‘virtually’ see for themselves they were able to compare the physical characteristics across the region, and learnt that some deserts are rocky rather than sandy. Students also established cross-curricular links with the topic of ‘Islamic Civilizations’ from their History lessons, and began their ‘virtual tour’ in Saudi Arabia hovering over the holy site of the Kabbah in Mecca, and then ‘flying’ over the Arabian Peninsula to Medinah. The VR headsets allowed our students to experience all of this in 40 minutes rather than the 20 days it took the Prophet Muhammad and his followers.

To round up the lesson students used VR to look at a contemporary issue that is currently taking place in the Middle East by 'visiting' the United Nations Refugee Camp at Zaatari in Jordan. The camp was formed in 2012 to accommodate the tens of thousands of refugees created by the on-going Civil War in neighboring Syria. Regrettably, the Camp is still growing as the fighting continues across the border and by current estimates is now measured as Jordan's 4th largest city. Using the VR headsets students were able to see for themselves the vastness of the camp and get a glimpse into the reality of life for the refugees who have been forced to live there.#GVlearns