Google opens Expeditions VR education app for public use
Google has launched a solo version of its virtual reality Expeditions app, allowing users to enjoy the software outside of a classroom setting. The tool, called Self-Guided Expeditions, enables tours to be taken as homework, and allows individuals to explore on their own. The app is currently available for Android, with an iOS version set to follow.

In 2015, Google launched a pilot program of its Expeditions software that let teachers take their students on VR explorations of various sites around the world. A few months later, it released a beta version of its Expeditions app for certain schools to try out, which was then released for anyone to use in June of last year. Today, Google announced that its now releasing a solo mode for the app that makes it easier for users to take tours outside of a classroom setting.

Previously, Google Expeditions allowed teachers to guide their students through a tour as they viewed it on phones enclosed in Google's Cardboard viewers. Now, with Self-Guided Expeditions, teachers can assign tours as homework and anyone else can easily explore on their own. In Explorer mode, points of interest will be highlighted and relevant information will be provided on the screen. Additionally, teachers will now be able to annotate screens as they guide their students through a tour.

Google Expeditions has over 600 different tours including the Seven Modern Wonders of the World, the Great Barrier Reef and even sites like baseball stadiums and solar power plants. For now, the app is only available for Android, but Google says an iOS version is in the works.