Virtual Field Trips vs. Real Life Field Trips

(Posted by Marian Pycraft, EDCT264:Educational Technology)

"Virtual Field Trips." Instructor Magazine. n.d. n. page. Web. 24 Feb. 2013. <http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/virtual-field-trips>.        

• The article was written for educators to discuss the increasing popularity of virtual field trips to far-away places, collaborated interactive trips with traditional on-site field trip destinations, or teacher created and scripted electronic field trips using on-line sites such as you-tube.  Not only are electronic field trips more time and  cost effective, but they can be more  innovative and engaging for students who are used to using technology.  Most virtual trips can be accomplished using free Web 2.0 tools, using Skype and simple webcams and internet access.   
• The article describes how electronic field trip  experiences can be extended and customized to meet education goals, which are very important for meeting required standards in today’s classrooms. The article offers opinions of teachers actually using this technology in their classrooms, and references actual virtual field trip web sites, making the article more credible.
• This topic is very important in today’s economic climate for classrooms all across this country. This technology levels the playing field of having access to experiences and information for both rural and urban school districts and even for individual classrooms within a school.  Bringing access to the world into the classroom not only provides current information to students, but can save school systems money and teachers’ valuable teaching time when trying to meet standards and multiple learning styles of students.  

http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/virtual-field-trips



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KidVisionVPK at First Church Preschool. 2011. video. you-tubeWeb. 24 Feb 2013. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCHCLTfui1U

• This you-tube video demonstrates how a preschool classroom in Florida is using internet   access to a website called Kidvision VPK to take a virtual field trip to the zoo. 
•  The video will show the children watching the zoo video and then the follow-up activities that the preschoolers used to apply the information they saw in the video.  The video will also show an example of the prepared lesson plan, and assessments forms.

• The Kidvision VPK website provides over 35 free virtual field trips, appropriate for meeting preschool and national Head Start education standards. Each field trip includes at least three prepared lesson plans, follow-up “hands-on” activities for the classroom, evaluations and assessments of student learning goals.