VIRTUAL FIELD TRIPS Julie Sway Technology Director Brookstone School

A copy of the presentation is on the GAETC wiki for this session.

PROS  No reserving buses  No buses breaking down  No finding chaperones/drivers  No worries about chaperones/drivers not showing up  No weather issues  No complaints about missing other classes  Can be repeated  Can go places far, far away  Less expensive, if not free  Can move at own pace  Safer

CONS  Can lack “hands on” learning aspect  Want it to be as active as can possibly make it  Preparation time  First time through – more time intensive

WHAT IS IT?  Using resources and features on the Web  Web sites  Web cams  Images  Sounds

DIFFERENCES  How differs from a “Webquest” or Multi-media presentation  A WebQuest is an inquiry-oriented lesson format in which most or all the information that learners work with comes from the web. teachinglearningresources.pbworks.com/w/page/ /Glos… teachinglearningresources.pbworks.com/w/page/ /Glos…  Some are very similar  That’s OK as long as you know what you are getting  All in the “marketing”  Some are very different  Getting better

WHAT MAKES A GOOD FIELD TRIP?  Connect to learning  Expand on knowledge  Planning is key

PLANNING  Who – Just your class or entire grade  Consider taking students to a different room  Rearrange desks  Sit on floor  Have a picnic – younger students  Bring in food specific to region or timeframe if possible

PLANNING  Time zone differences  Date differences  MM/DD/YY versus DD.MM.YY  1’s look like 7’s, 7’s look like 9’s  Cultural holidays

PLANNING  Test out every link  Some sites are definitely harder to navigate than others  Check different browsers  May look better or run better with different browsers  Check videos  May need a specific player, such as “Quicktime” downloaded

PROPS & ACTIVITIES  Relevant music  Authentic clothing  Props  Anything to make material less abstract  Let students move around

BACKUP PLAN  Reserve a computer lab or the library  Demo a section and let the students do individually  Download videos  Zamzar.com  Savevid.com  Keepvid.com  Reschedule and go with a regular lesson.

GENERAL RECOMMENDATIONS  Use a mouse vs. the touch pad  Let students take turns “driving” the mouse

VIRTUAL FIELD TRIP SITES  Skype / OoVoo  Trips associated with a specific site  Sites that list a variety of topics  Sites with lists specific to a topic or discipline  Web cams

VIRTUAL FIELD TRIPS  Skype or OoVoo  Vet – tour animal hospital, see surgeons at work, watch them treat different kinds of animals, ask questions  Author – speak with as part of fieldtrip  Think of who you know, what they do professionally or as a hobby

VIRTUAL FIELD TRIPS  Some virtual tours are associated with the location, such as museums, on their web site.  Some sites were harder to find their virtual tour on than others  Bookmark the link and/or do a screen clipping if you can

EXAMPLES

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Screen clipping taken: 10/19/ :42 PM

VIRTUAL FIELD TRIPS  Some field trips were created with software  Tramline  Some links were broken  OK for younger students (elementary age)  “Virtual” sites  Museum  Scientific location

VIRTUAL FIELD TRIPS  Some sites will list related sites for many topics

MATH

VIRTUAL FIELD TRIPS  American Museum of Natural History  Clips of curator describing the diorama. Like having a tour guide along, except for asking questions.  Has sound clip of bird calls

YOUTUBE / TEACHERTUBE

GOOGLE EARTH

CITATIONS   _Visits_Dancing_Rabbithttp:// _Visits_Dancing_Rabbit       