Using I. T. to create an integrated science learning environment
Have you ever taken your students on a virtual field trip? If not, you're missing a great opportunity. You
can take your students outside the classroom without ever opening the door! Like regular field trips,
virtual field trips are designed to be entertaining and educational. But they are
1. Better than boarding a school bus and going to a museum or something and listening to a boring
speech about each of the exhibits.
2. Flexible in time.
3. Very convenient and virtually no cost.
4. Ranging from the simple, such as a photo tour of a famous museum, to extremely detailed and high-
tech field trips that offer video and audio segments to make the visit more interactive. However
simple or complex, virtual field trips can take your students to a completely new world -- and the trips
are as close as your computer!
Some Examples:
1. For a trip to another galaxy, check out The Nine Planets (http://seds.org/more/links/nine-planets-
redirect/). An engineer who has a great love of the solar system put this site together. The star buffs in
your classroom will love it too!
2. For a trip to another environment, how about Live from Antarctica 2?
(http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/antarctica/index.html) Students can follow a team of explorers through
every step of their trip across the frozen continent. The site includes activities, researchers’ questions
and answers, links to related sites, and more.
3. Many more exciting examples on the web!
CREATE YOUR OWN VIRTUAL FIELD TRIP
Use The Virtual Field Trips Site (http://www.field-guides.com/) to create your own field trips and share
them with other educators. You can information technology to create field trips for your students to
experience and enjoy or explore the many trips just waiting to be discovered on the Web. Either way, the
world and all its many wonders are waiting, just a click of the mouse away!
1. Technology for Designing Virtual Field Trips. This reading presents several ideas for how technology
can be used in the activities or "stops" on your virtual field trip.
http://www.edtechleaders.org/documents/VFT/vft_tools.html
2. Technology Tips for Presenting Virtual Field Trips. This reading presents several ideas for how
technology can be used in the delivery or presentation of the trip to your students.
http://www.edtechleaders.org/documents/VFT/vft_present.html
CHECK THE LINK FOR ALTERNATIVE ASSESSMENT:
http://www.miamisci.org/ph/lpdefine.html
IS THE TOUR BETTER IN PERSON? This is an easy checklist to use to evaluate a virtual field trip.
http://school.discovery.com/schrockguide/evaltour.html
Yimao Chen, WAC Program at City Tech 2010-2011