EDET 709 Group 3 Fall 2002 Virtual Fieldtrips Virtual Field Trips focusing on Journeys to Wilderness Canyons

EDET 709 Group 3 Fall 2002 Virtual Fieldtrips Field Trips motivateandeducate

EDET 709 Group 3 Fall 2002 Virtual Fieldtrips They are also time-consuming, difficult to organize, and often affected by the weather.

EDET 709 Group 3 Fall 2002 Virtual Fieldtrips In many cases, the places we would most like to visit aren't nearby or aren't open at the time we are covering them in the curriculum.

EDET 709 Group 3 Fall 2002 Virtual Fieldtrips In these cases, the next best thing to a real field trip is a Virtual Field Trip.

EDET 709 Group 3 Fall 2002 Virtual Fieldtrips In fact, virtual field trips are often better because they take you places you couldn't otherwise go, for example: inside a volcanoinside a volcano under the oceanunder the ocean or into outer spaceor into outer space

EDET 709 Group 3 Fall 2002 Virtual Fieldtrips What is a Virtual Field Trip? It's a guided and narrated tour that combines websites and educational materials with video streaming to enable students to explore locations beyond the reach of traditional field trips.

EDET 709 Group 3 Fall 2002 Virtual Fieldtrips Virtual and Real Field Trips Virtual and real trips are different from one another, but they also have many features in common. Let's take a look at these differences and similarities.

EDET 709 Group 3 Fall 2002 Virtual Fieldtrips Similarities Both real and virtual field trips are group activities where kids interact with each other.Both real and virtual field trips are group activities where kids interact with each other. Both real and virtual field trips involve active, not passive learning.Both real and virtual field trips involve active, not passive learning. Both real and virtual field trips take the student mentally out of the classroom and into a new and different learning environment.Both real and virtual field trips take the student mentally out of the classroom and into a new and different learning environment.

EDET 709 Group 3 Fall 2002 Virtual Fieldtrips Differences Virtual field trips can be repeated over and over again.Virtual field trips can be repeated over and over again. Virtual field trips give students more room to move at their own pace and explore things to their own depth.Virtual field trips give students more room to move at their own pace and explore things to their own depth. Virtual field trips can take you to places you would not otherwise go.Virtual field trips can take you to places you would not otherwise go.

EDET 709 Group 3 Fall 2002 Virtual Fieldtrips Differences Virtual field trips are safe and free of hazards.Virtual field trips are safe and free of hazards. Virtual field trips can tap into more expert resources on a single topic.Virtual field trips can tap into more expert resources on a single topic.

EDET 709 Group 3 Fall 2002 Virtual Fieldtrips A Virtual Field Trip offers so much AND makes it possible to take field trips without bumpy buses, long rides, and cold lunches. Our Virtual Field Trips focuses on a program entitled “Journeys to Wilderness Canyons.”

EDET 709 Group 3 Fall 2002 Virtual Fieldtrips “Journeys to Wilderness Canyons” is a four-part learning experience designed to meet national science standards. Through inquiring and problem solving activities, students follow a journey through time to discover how canyons have become such a powerful illustration of natural forces and human impact.

EDET 709 Group 3 Fall 2002 Virtual Fieldtrips The series addresses the following questions: (1) What is a wilderness canyon? (2) How have forces of nature shaped wilderness canyons? (3) What plants and animals live at Black Canyon? (4) What are the human influences on wilderness canyons?

EDET 709 Group 3 Fall 2002 Virtual Fieldtrips "Journeys to Wilderness Canyons" featured Park Rangers from the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park and 10 Gunnison Middle School students exploring the ecosystem, geology and history of the area. The program also featured comparisons from around the world like Petra canyon in Jordan, the Three Gorges in China and even a canyon on Mars.

EDET 709 Group 3 Fall 2002 Virtual Fieldtrips Black Canyon Of The Gunnison National Park is located near Montrose, CO. It is a unique and spectacular landscape formed slowly by the action of water and rock scouring down through hard Proterozoic crystalline rock. No other canyon in North America combines the narrow opening, sheer walls, and startling depths offered by the Black Canyon of the Gunnison.

EDET 709 Group 3 Fall 2002 Virtual Fieldtrips The "Journeys to Wilderness Canyons" program aired and webcast 4 half-hour videos for middle school students from around the globe. The program had subscribers from every state in the United States and several other countries. A total of 6.1 million watched and participated in the program every Wednesday in March, More than 24 million have participated so far, and the webcast portions will be available for the next three years

EDET 709 Group 3 Fall 2002 Virtual Fieldtrips Journeys to Wilderness Canyons is available for download at: canyons/curriculum.html

EDET 709 Group 3 Fall 2002 Virtual Fieldtrips One of the aspects of a Virtual Field Trip is partnership. Many organizations can pool their resources to provide the learning experience. “Journeys to Wilderness canyons was created through the partnership of the following organizations: The National Park ServiceThe National Park Service Satellite Education Resource Consortium (SERC)Satellite Education Resource Consortium (SERC) One Planet Education Network (OPEN)One Planet Education Network (OPEN) KLVX-PBS Las VegasKLVX-PBS Las Vegas The Weather ChannelThe Weather Channel Southwest Parks and Monuments AssociationSouthwest Parks and Monuments Association The Dept of Education's Star Schools ProgramThe Dept of Education's Star Schools Program University of PennsylvaniaUniversity of Pennsylvania Harvard UniversityHarvard University The National Park FoundationThe National Park Foundation

EDET 709 Group 3 Fall 2002 Virtual Fieldtrips Virtual field trips can offer a simplified route to exciting supplemental instruction content – whether it is on the other side of town or on the other side of the world. Lets take a look.