VIRTUAL REALITY

This result is open source.

Virtual reality is engaging, yes — its novelty can be an excellent hook for learning — but it

can also be so much more than that. With The Times’s 360 videos, students are no longer

mere spectators, reading about an event or watching it unfold, but participants in it. Virtual

reality can create a visceral experience, evoke memories, and foster empathy and

emotional connection in a way that is rare in other mediums.

It can also make abstract concepts concrete — taking students inside a giant microscope

that smashes together subatomic particles, transporting them to iconic moments in

history, or introducing them to people affected by the global refugee crisis.

And V.R. can take students to places they might otherwise never get the chance to go,

whether that’s the Mississippi Delta, Antarctica or Pluto.

From a practical standpoint, what’s also useful about NYT VR is that the films are typically

no longer than 10 minutes, so they are easy to fit into a normal class period without

overwhelming students.