GALESBURG — At the turn of the year, Google Expeditions will bring its Augmented Reality Pioneer program to District 205 schools. The program, focused on bringing a digital format of learning to schools, will begin on Jan. 4 and run until Jan. 9. Google Expeditions aims to give students a more thorough understanding of the world beyond the confines of a classroom.

Expeditions VR (Virtual Reality) was introduced in 2015, giving teachers the ability to teach in new ways, such as virtual field trips. Since its creation, the experience has been accessed by over 2 million students globally. Now, the newly implemented Expeditions AR (Augmented Reality) has become available to schools since the fall of 2017. With the use of Android devices and AR software developed by Google, Expeditions AR allows teachers to take their teaching one step further.

Teachers are now allows to use the Android device’s camera to bring digital objects into the classroom to interact with. Google’s AR software allows the camera to create a realistic digital object in the view of the class. This will allow for students to collaborate on new projects and learn in new ways that have rarely been seen before. Of course, this will not replace the standard method of taking a trip to a museum, but it does allow for classrooms to become more engaged in the age of technology.