Healthy Communities • YMCA Youth Programs
Students take a virtual reality trip inside a Syrian refugee camp
06 October 2016 - by YMCA of Greater Toronto
Last week, students and teachers at The YMCA Academy had an exceptional opportunity to view Clouds Over Sidra — a 360-degree Virtual Reality (VR) film shot from the view point of Sidra, a 12 year old Syrian girl. The 2015 film, produced by the United Nations and directed by Gabo Arora and Chris Milk, takes place in Za’atari camp in Jordan.
This screening at the Academy, a high school for students with learning style differences, was the first time in the world that a secondary school viewed the gripping eight-minute film. Presented at the school by The Sidra Project, Hot Docs, Artscape, and the United Nations, the students first became acquainted with the cutting edge VR technology and then became immersed in Sidra’s world.
The film depicts daily life inside the camp, and the VR experience is so lifelike that students and staff alike found themselves reaching out to touch their surroundings. The close quarters that Sidra’s family live in, her journey to school and her classroom, and the sports and activities that she and her fellow young people take part in show the resilience of Syrian people and the strength of their desire to return to their home. Before and after viewing the film, the students engaged in a conversation about the history and recent events in the conflict in Syria, the global refugee crisis, and what we can do as engaged global citizens to help.
This groundbreaking event extended the Academy’s already immersive use of classroom technologies by providing teachers and staff with a new way of fostering experiential learning. The ability to take advantage of VR technology to view a variety of experiences allows for much broader and in-depth global education opportunities for when a field trip is simply not an option. The students were moved by the chance to witness the perspective of a girl living a world away, without ever leaving the classroom.
Find out more about this amazing experience on The YMCA Academy’s blog.
This screening at the Academy, a high school for students with learning style differences, was the first time in the world that a secondary school viewed the gripping eight-minute film. Presented at the school by The Sidra Project, Hot Docs, Artscape, and the United Nations, the students first became acquainted with the cutting edge VR technology and then became immersed in Sidra’s world.
The film depicts daily life inside the camp, and the VR experience is so lifelike that students and staff alike found themselves reaching out to touch their surroundings. The close quarters that Sidra’s family live in, her journey to school and her classroom, and the sports and activities that she and her fellow young people take part in show the resilience of Syrian people and the strength of their desire to return to their home. Before and after viewing the film, the students engaged in a conversation about the history and recent events in the conflict in Syria, the global refugee crisis, and what we can do as engaged global citizens to help.
This groundbreaking event extended the Academy’s already immersive use of classroom technologies by providing teachers and staff with a new way of fostering experiential learning. The ability to take advantage of VR technology to view a variety of experiences allows for much broader and in-depth global education opportunities for when a field trip is simply not an option. The students were moved by the chance to witness the perspective of a girl living a world away, without ever leaving the classroom.
Find out more about this amazing experience on The YMCA Academy’s blog.
