1. Virtual Field Trips

2. Why should I bother with vfts?
Free
Go Global
No chaperones
Give students exciting experiences
Less Paperwork
Engage Students

3. Traditional vs. virtual field trips
Focus on local sites
Realistic and relevant
Provide concrete sensory input
Time constraints
Eliminate distance barriers
Allow for deeper investigation
Save time and money
Require no administrative paperwork

4. Traditional vs. virtual field trips
Time
Money
Number of students
Weather
Planning issues
Adults
Teacher preparation
Age appropriate
Technology (plug-ins, bandwidth, links, etc.)
Teacher preparation
May be mostly text-based
Student’s computer skills
Age appropriate

5. SMART SMALL

6. Where do I begin?
Choose a location that is aligned to your content standards
Identify standards that are difficult to meet with the resources that you have

7. Things to consider
Do you want students to visit resources in a specific order?
Do you want students to work individually, with a partner, in a small group, or as a whole class?
Do you want to use a graphic organizer to help students organize what they learn during the trip?
Do you want students to complete tasks during the trip?
Field trip log, respond to questions, multimedia project
Consider

8. What tools can you use?
A few favorites; Prezi, Glogster, Wikispaces, WYSIWIG, Google Earth
Any tool that allows you to organize the media and digital resources you want students to explore

9. Collecting resources Include a variety of media types:
Photos, videos, audio, websites, live webcams
Be sure to examine all media thoroughly before using it

10. How do I choose which tool to use?
Think about….
The types of media you want students to access
The amount of time you have for students to take the trip
The age and computer proficiency of your students
The tasks you want them to complete during the trip

11. Don’t forget…
If you want students to visit resources in a specific order, create your VFT in a way that guides them through resources in that order
If there are tasks you want students to complete, include checkpoints throughout the VFT
If you want students to use a graphic organizer, make sure it is aligned to the structure and content of the VFT

12. Creating your own VFT
Glogster
Wikispaces
Padlet

13. Creating your own VFT Prezi
Google Sites
Google Earth

14. Thoughts?