My VR Journey
- Heather Cuningham
- Mar 18, 2017
- 2 min read
I have been enthralled with virtual reality for the past year. More recently, I had the opportunity to help lead Google Expeditions at my school and it was so fun to see the kids come alive with the various field trips. So, when the opportunity to learn more about VR came about in this class, I was thrilled. I thought I had a good understanding of VR before we started, but I was wrong. There is so much to VR and it is changing and growing on a daily basis!
Truth be told, it was really difficult to narrow our focus to one aspect of VR. I wanted to study and learn about everything, but there just wasn't time. We eventually decided on immersive 360 technology. There were a few bumps along the road. The first one was when I had difficulty getting a 360 camera to use. I eventually did and received a short how-to from my wonderful district IT leader (thanks Mark). The 360 camera was ready for me to use, or so I thought. I probably should have tested it out before taking it on my field trip, but there wasn't enough time. So, I ended up with 48 images/video that were backwards. Now, I know you're thinking, how can you shoot images on a 360 camera backwards. Well, trust me, you can....or at least I can. :) . I took the camera out again and this time I was sure I knew what to do - turn the camera the correct way. Wrong again! I still had my fingers and the top of my head in every picture. Finally, I got smart and found Youtube videos explaining quick tips and the right way to hold the camera.
The next day, I went out an bought a large tripod and tried it again. I brought my son with me so that I wouldn't look like a crazy person taking pictures at an arcade by myself.
I learned a great deal about 360 technology and I really want to buy a camera of my own now. Besides the 360 technology, I found the software and interactive VR even more exciting. I learned about an amazing kid (he's young enough to be my son), that has emerged as a leader in VR - Palmer Luckey. If you haven't heard of him, you will. Time has a great article about the amazing potential VR has on the world of gaming, education, and just about everything else. It also tells the story of how Palmer Luckey lived up to his last name.
This project has made me hungry to learn even more about VR. I cannot wait to use it in my classroom and show my colleagues how they can use it too!
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