360 Virtual Reality or Panoramic Views.

  Earlier in the week, I attended the Kamehameha schools Educational conference.  I enjoy going there because they always seem to be on the cutting edge of it.  This year, Michael Fricano had some excellent sessions on 360 Virtual Reality starting with what is it to how do you create your own.

I had so much fun learning about it but being the math person I am, my mind kept trying to find ways to use it in my classroom.  Last night, I figured out one way to do it.

There are apps created that use your phone to record the 360 photo.  A free one, he recommends is Google StreetView but my cell phone is still rather primitive only because I live in a place where service is not available.  So I didn't invest in a fancy one.  Back to the topic. 

Once you've recorded the scenery, it is possible to add annotations and links to your 360 picture using a different software.  He showed several examples of 360 in action with links and additions.  They were so cool but it was the one from the Spanish Class that set my mind off at a gallop.

The Spanish teacher had her students surrounding her when she took the 360.  Then she linked each student to a 360 they made of their rooms at home where they spoke about their room in Spanish.  Just think how it would be if a math student found a place in town they could take a 360 of and then annotate it or create links to the shapes they've identified in the picture.

These are a few way's I've thought of for using 360 in Math.

1.  Shapes
2.  Geometry vocabulary
3.  Various angles.
4.  Linear graphs.
5.  A Graph of Systems of Equations.
6.  Rate of Change/slope/pitch.

I haven't tried it yet but once I get home again, I want to try to create some math 360 videos or panoramic views to see how well it would work.  Often, I get the ideas and then I try them out because I want to have a variety of tools available in my math classes that allow students to combine creativity with mathematics. 

I'll probably provide an update later, once I've had a chance to play.  If you get any ideas, leave a comment.