The Aim of this workshop is to provide the most real and tangible experience possible. The children are given the headsets with the WW1 Trenches Experience loaded up; they then explored the 360 video, focusing on the grime, mud, rain and sobering surroundings. As the video has background audio projecting distant battlefield cries and warzone explosions.
The children experience what it would have been like in those trenches. They are introduced to the equipment and weapons the soldiers had what medical facilities there were on the frontline.
Its great to follow this up with discussions, drama and creative writing.
As 9-11 year olds, children struggled to step into the footsteps of people that lived over 100 years ago. VR helps the children to engage with the task and give them inspiration for how to describe the sights, sounds and smells of the trenches. Children are astonished at what the soldiers had to go through even though we had already covered trench life as part of our World War Topic and had a brand new understanding and empathy for the millions of courageous soldiers that gave their lives to fight for this country. The immersive nature of VR helped them think more creatively and their work was imaginative and detailed.