Digital Age Standards-Based

Field Trips

ISTE Interactive Lecture 2014Presented by:

Dr. Stacy Delacruz, Kennesaw State UniversityDr. Maria Shaheen, Kennesaw State University

Please find our Wiki

https://ksuvirtualfieldtrips.wikispaces.com/

Goals and ObjectivesParticipants will…1. Identify the benefits and challenges of creating Virtual Field Trips  2. Create a list of supporting technologies that can be used to develop Virtual Field Trips.  

3. Evaluate existing Virtual Field Trips  

4. Start to create your own Virtual Field Trip based on standards and within a content area.   

ISTE Standards Addressed

• ISTE Standards S—3: Research and information fluency

• ISTE Standard T—1: Facilitate and inspire student learning and creativity

• ISTE Standard T—2: Design and develop digital age learning experiences and assessments

Pre-Assessment Questions

1. https://www.polleverywhere.com/multiple_choice_polls/rdsIzPeby8xw73K

2. https://www.polleverywhere.com/free_text_polls/KNz4QXVEV9oNmGK

3. https://www.polleverywhere.com/free_text_polls/PRpn8Ca1Fbdb4ku

What is a Virtual Field Trip?

A virtual field trip (VFT) is a technology-basedtrip that allows students to take a journey

without leaving the classroom (Woerner, 1999).

According to Kirchen (2011), a VFT could includea Powerpoint presentation, videos, photos, text,

audio, and internet resources.

Virtual Field Trip CharacteristicsWhat are the criteria you think should be in a high quality VFT?

Look at the following websites. Examine 2-3 of these and pick your favorite. In your opinion, what criteria made this an exemplary VFT?

Fort Macon EducateVia360.com: http://www.educatevia360.com/spotlightvft/fortmacon/tour.html

20 Wonderful Online Museums and Sites for VFT’s in Class: http://www.educatorstechnology.com/2014/01/20-wonderful-online-museums-and-sites.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+educatorstechnology%2FpDkK+%28Educational+Technology+and+Mobile+Learning%29

Statue of Liberty Tour: http://www.nps.gov/stli/photosmultimedia/virtualtour.htm

Post your comments here: http://padlet.com/sdelacru/4aavo0v30zd3

Why Virtual Field Trips?Virtual Field Trips are not mean to supplement actual field trips. However, VFT’s can be useful in the following cases:

• Budget Constraints: (some schools lack funding to travel to specific field trip locations)

• Distance: Some field trips may be too far to travel but students can “virtually” travel to these locations

• Supplementation: Virtual Field Trips can be used in conjunction with traditional (on-location) field trips to increase the learning experience and extend learning.

Research- History of VFTs

According to DeWitt and Storksdieck (2008), “informal learning environment field trips such as zoos and museums were studied heavily from the 1970’s to the 1990’s” (p. 181). Field trips in those days were seen as ways to extend learning beyond the classroom.

The aim of VFT has not been to replace field trips but rather “to introduce students to various aspects and develop some of the basic skills needed and to prepare students for going into the field or as anticipation/follow up exercises before/after a real field trip” (Gilmour, 1997).

Most VFT links that we found dated back to the mid 1990’s.

Benefits• VFTs can replace or enhance background

lecturing/information transmission and doing so increases the time spent by students exploring specific issues in a more ‘inquiry-based’ manner. They can study before the trip, or review after the trip (Stainfield, Fisher, Ford & Solem, 2000).

• There is no admission fee!

• Can take students to locations too far away to travel.

• If you use a pre-existing VFT, then the amount of legwork has already been completed.

Challenges • Using a pre-existing VFT may not be personalized for your class.

• VFTs may be outdated, and in some cases the links or sites may not work or be up-to-date.

• A VFT does not replace traditional field trips and the hands-on experience that students may gain.

• Teachers need to think carefully about the technology they have access to. Would the VFT work as a whole class? In small groups? Individually?

Types of Virtual Field Trips

•Professionally Designed

•Teacher-Made

•Student-Made

•Collaboration

Content Area Expertise

• When creating VFT’s, students can gain additional expertise related to the content being studied. The majority of the participants in our study noted an increase in content area understanding via the process of creating their VFT.

• Prior to recording the VFT, preservice teachers were required to research the topic

• Preservice teachers used their research to develop specific questions for the “expert” they were interviewing at their VFT location

• Prior research also dictated the design for the VFT video (what should be video-taped, critical concepts to mention, etc.)

Global Component

• Our society is a highly global one. It is important to understand concepts from various points of view, including global ones. VFT’s can be a vehicle for global learning.

• VFT’s can help students learn about basic content area concepts (war, life cycles, habitats, government, etc.) via a global exchange with students from all over the world.

• International travel, while having advantages, also can have disadvantages (culture shock, affordability, language barriers).

Virtual Field Trips Created by Teacher Candidates

• Study: This project began in Fall 2012 and was sponsored by a research grant from the Georgia Reading Association.

• Integrated Content: Teacher candidates selected a topic for their VFT based on science and social studies standards and ELA common core standards.

• Time Commitment: For eight weeks the teacher candidates worked in grade level groups.

Basic VFT Requirements:Preservice teachers had to include the following in their VFT:

• Used www.Edu.Glogster.com (Educational version)

• Graphics

• Student-friendly navigation and language

• Virtual Field Trip “Guide”

• 4-10 minute VFT (original VFT created by the group & related to Georgia Performance Standards)

• 2 Additional Glog pages & links to various additional resources related to the topic

• Include a minimum of 1 comprehension, vocabulary, assessment, and extension activity related to the VFT topic

Examples of VFT’s

Weatherhttp://www.glogster.com/tossvft/vft-intro/g-6l6t5udbaq2ftr7mofusda0

Plantshttp://mirandaolsen.edu.glogster.com/virtual-field-trip/

Community Helpershttp://elltoss.edu.glogster.com/community-helpers/?from_alert=true

Comments from Other Preservice Teachers

Two preservice teachers used some of the Virtual Field Trips with their K-5

students in Quito, Ecuador. They offered their comments about using VFT’s in the

classroom.

In Groups…1. Choose one content area topic that could be used for a VFT

2. In groups, list:1. Potential field trip locations

2. Types of experts to interview

3. Global connections

4. Extension activities

5. Other (What else would you want to be sure to include?)

6. Share with the larger group or post your thoughts to Todays Meet.

References

GILMOUR, I. (1997) Skiddaw Virtual Field Trip. A study of thermal metamorphism. Found at (http://earth2.open.ac.uk/Skiddaw/Text/Skiddaw.html).

Kirchen, D. (2011). Making and taking virtual field trips in Pre-K and the primary grades. Young Children, 2(3), 22-26.

Stainfield, J., Fisher, P., Ford, B., & Solem, M. (2000). International virtual field trips: A new direction? Journal of Geography in Higher Education, 24(2), 255-262.

Woerner, J. J. (1999) Virtual field trips in the earth science classroom, in: P. A. Rubba, J. A. Rye & P. F. Keig (Eds) Proceeding of the annual conference of the Association for the Education of Teachers in Science (Greeville, NC, Association for the Education of Teachers in Science), 1232–1240.