The closure of Google Expeditions at the end of June was a real disappointment for many teachers. Google has pushed Google Arts & Culture as the alternative to Expeditions, but it’s just not the same. That’s left a lot of people to look for more alternatives. YouTube’s VR imagery is one alternative that I’ve mentioned to people who have emailed me looking for suggestions. 

In YouTube you can filter your search results according to video features. One of the feature filters you can pick is VR180. Another filter you can pick is 360 degree video imagery. I used both of those filters this morning when I was searching for VR imagery of sharks swimming. In the screenshots below you can see where to find the search filters and how to pan through VR videos in YouTube. 

You can pan through the imagery while the video plays in YouTube on your desktop. Alternatively, you can select a video in the YouTube mobile app then place your phone in a VR viewer. With the video playing while in the VR viewer you can move your head to move through the imagery.