Travel The World...Virtually Of Course! By: Steven W. Anderson
Feb
19
Written by:
2/19/2010 4:21 AM
We are living in hard times. Several states are asking local school districts to cut their budgets, sometimes in half. Teachers have to find innovative ways to keep their kids engaged and learning, while doing with less. Traditionally field trips have been a great resources help kids make connections to what they are learning about in class. Instead of just reading about Abraham Lincoln students can visit his home in Springfield or Fords Theater as part of a trip to Washington D.C. But honestly, unless you live in Springfield or near Washington D.C. those trips might be out of reach for "cash-strapped" schools and districts.
Introducing the Virtual Field Trip, where you can travel the world without ever leaving the classroom.Wikipedia describes Virtual Field Trips as "guided exploration through the Web that organizes a collection of pre-screened, thematically based web pages into a structured online learning experience." Sounds cool huh?
While virtual field trips can never replace the hands-on experiences we want our students to have they can come close. But you may be thinking to yourself, where can I find these? Where do I start? The folks over at the LDS Homeschooling Blog have made it so easy. They have compiled a list of 100's of virtual field trips for your students to enjoy. The list is broken down into museums and buildings, science and nature, regional tours, factory tours, and educational webcams and videos. Here are a few of my favorite tours.
Alcatraz IslandHistorical White House TourSmithsonian Institutional TourThe Vatican MuseumVan Gogh's Virtual TourSafari Touch TankThe Farm TourNYC's Virtual Central ParkVirtual Great Barrier ReefGibson GuitarsGhirardelli Chocolate Making
There are tons more out there. A simple Google Search returns 1000's. And it is easy to create your own vitrual field trip. In Google Earth you can visit just about every corner of the globe. Studying Mt. Everest? Climb to the top. Wanna see what the Grand Canyon looks like? Do a virtual fly over. You can even travel the streets your favorite characters from your favorite novels with Street View. The possibilities are really endless!
This is just a handful of what is available and there are several other resources on the web for virtual field trips. What is great is that these can be done as a class or in small groups. I mean think about it, how else could you have every student have a different field trip experience on the same day, for free? So head on over to the Virtual Field Trip List and plan your next trip!
100's of Virtual Field Trips
3 comment(s) so far...
Travel The World...Virtually Of Course! By: Steven W. Anderson
I think its awesome that children can virtually experience places all over the world through technology. I like the new Cisco commercials showing the classroom going on a field trip to China by connecting a Cisco conference call to their Chinese counterparts. I just wished there was this type of technology out there when I was a kid!
Shane Crocket
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By Shane Crockett on
2/22/2010 12:55 PM
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Travel The World...Virtually Of Course! By: Steven W. Anderson
I have also done a virtual trip through colonial Maryland which is part of our Social Studies curriculum. The virtual trip allowed the students to make decisions as if they were given different situations that the colonists would encounter. This is a great way to experience different places from all over the world.
By Cara R on
3/3/2010 2:17 PM
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Travel The World...Virtually Of Course! By: Steven W. Anderson
Alcatraz Island is gruesome and creepy but very educational.
By Nicole on
5/27/2010 12:09 PM
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