The giggles of students in teacher Stacie Miller’s physiology class at Immaculate Heart High School were not triggered by a closer look at the skeletal system, but by virtual reality glasses that made it possible. Miller (left) is using Google Cardboard as a tool to enhance instruction and student interest.

(photo courtesy of Callie Webb/Immaculate Heart High School)

“How do I look?,” asked a student as she chuckled and adjusted a piece of cardboard in front of her eyes. “This is so cool,” said another student, grinning as she swiveled her head and cardboard goggles to view a spine.

Miller deemed her first demonstration using Google Cardboard a big success.

“My physiology students absolutely loved the Google Cardboard demo,” Miller said.

Google Cardboard is a piece of cardboard that folds into a set of virtual reality goggles. Before students can use the glasses, they must download the Google Expeditions software application on their smartphones. Students “join” an expedition and insert their phones into the cardboard frames, allowing them to embark on a virtual reality experience. Once students have loaded Google Expeditions, the teacher uses an iPad or smartphone to lead the class in the virtual outing.

“I act as a guide and the students act as explorers,” Miller said. “The guide has a variety of activities and points of interest to highlight onscreen for the expedition.”

In the physiology class, Miller guided students through different parts of the skeletal system, including the spine, long bone anatomy, appendicular region, axial region, joints and muscles. She asked students increasingly more difficult questions at different points during the exercise. “It was a good review for my students,” Miller said, noting students will soon take an exam on the skeletal system. “Google Cardboard and Google Expeditions are great tools that allow my physiology students to get up close to the structures they cannot see beneath their skin.”

The teacher has also introduced Google Cardboard and Google Expeditions in her marine biology class.

“My marine biology students can now visit places in the ocean that I talk about – reefs, the deep sea and also organisms in their habitats,” Miller said. “It’s all very exciting.”

Founded in 1906, Immaculate Heart educates young women in the 6th through 12th grades. Immaculate Heart is located at 5515 Franklin Ave. For information, call (323)461-3651, or visit immaculateheart.org.