Dacia Jones Durham Public Schools Virtual Field Trips VIRTUAL FIELD TRIPS
An in-class experience to an out of this world place- Dr. Drizzle 9-14-2012
As we look to encourage students to explore their passions, we must provide
opportunities to pursue them.
"Think" through your curriculum, and make a list of those hard-to-teach topics. There
are many opportunities out there for virtual field trips.
Virtual field trips are NOT new. My first one was 20 years ago when I took twenty-four
kindergartners to China. It began with an itinerary and a dream. My students were
asked to bring a packed suitcase to school. As they stood outside the classroom door,
they received airline tickets and passports. When they walked into the room- they were
immediately transported to the inside of a plane. 24 chairs were aligned as airplane
seats. These included chair pockets which contained a magazine and safety
instructions, a jump rope for a seatbelt, and their own barf bag. After students were
seated and given the instructions for the flight, they were served a bag of peanuts and a
glass of juice. They watched an in-flight movie on China. I had rigged up curtains
around the plane using fishing line, pool noodles, and shower curtains. The shower
curtains had the inside of a plane drawn on them so students could look out the
windows at clouds. When we landed, the curtains were pulled and magically we were in
China. Students were simply amazed when they saw the room. When I went to the
college graduations of these students, they told me that those trips were days that they
would always remember.
Now with the ease of technology and the world being closer than ever- virtual field trips
just make sense.
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They are free!
They are equitable!
They surpass poverty lines!
They are inspiring!
They are memorable.
Please feel free to use, reuse, or create your own ways to inspire your teachers and
students. It takes all of us to prepare our students for the future. The outline of VFTs
will look different for you. Here is what works for us.
Our Levels of VFT's
Level 1- Sit and Get Trips
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Skypes or Google Hangouts that involve an interview or presentation from an
outside guest. Students sit and listen to an author or expert in the field. They may
www.engageinspireexpectinform.com 1 Dacia Jones Durham Public Schools Virtual Field Trips or may not ask questions. Usually lasts around 25 minutes and involves little
planning on the teacher's part, except for the initial invitation.
Level 2- Interactive Trips
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Involves a plan. Students will participate in the VFT through hands-on activities
and/or active questioning. Example- 5th graders are studying force and motion in
their science class. Teacher collects materials to build pool noodle roller
coasters. The Skype or GHO involves an engineer at an amusement park. After
the engineer speaks to the class- he or she encourages them to use the
materials at their tables to build a roller coaster with 3 elements. As they are
building, the speaker is giving advice and showing them around the roller
coasters on site. The engineer concludes the VFT by taking the students on a
roller coaster ride.. Students are usually given instruction before, during, and
after a level 2 trip.
Level 3- Shock Value Trips
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This trip will be an entertainer, STEM specialist, actor, musician, sports star, etc.
who will encourage the students in a VFT presentation. Normally, these happen
once a year in each grade level. Past guests have included Kid President,
Discovery Channel Stars, sports figures, and HUGELY popular musicians.
Take a look at where we have visited and then we will discuss process:
PAST Durham Public Schools' VFTs.
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Mayo Clinic
Maui Volcanoes
Smithsonian (Air and Space, History, and Science Museums)
Space Station
Goddard NASA
Mythbusters Headquarters
Google
Chobani
Chicago's Wrigley Field
John Hopkins
Duke University Bio-Lab
Sea World
San Diego Zoo
Carolina Panthers Stadium
Grand Canyon
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Grand Tetons
Yellowstone National Park
Carlos Bakery- Cake Boss
Storm Chasers-Reed Timmer
Weather Channel- Mark Elliot
NOAA
Colonial Wiliamsburg
Yankee Stadium
NASCAR
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The Paleontological Research Institution
Philadelphia Art Museum
Anne Frank's Home
Sistine Chapel
The Louvre
Galapagos Island
Ellis Island
Antarctica Penguin Research
Empire State Building
John Hancock Building- Chicago
Blackbeard's Lair
LBJ Presidential Library
Virtual Field Trips HOW DO WE DO THIS?
Sit down as a teacher, a team, or a school and plan out your virtual field trips. Start with
your standards and then build from there.
Example from a 2nd grade classroom
In North Carolina, we study sound, matter, life cycles, and weather in science. We meet
as a grade level PLC and discuss the upcoming standards- teachers throw out ideas on
where they would "virtually" like to go. We discuss each suggestion, make a list of pros
and cons, tie it to the standards, and then we work on making connections. After
connections are made, we then decide if it is a Level 1, 2, or 3 VFT- If it is a Level 2,
teachers volunteer to write lesson plans to accompany the event.
Life Cycle VFTs
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NC Arboretum
San Diego Zoo
Galapagos Island
NC Raptor Museum
The Angel Veterinarian Hospital
Yellowstone National Park
www.engageinspireexpectinform.com 3 Dacia Jones Durham Public Schools Virtual Field Trips MAKING CONNECTIONS
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Search websites for contact information.
Use Social Media to ask for ideas and volunteers.
Friends of Friends
Students' parents
Chamber of Commerce
AFTER EVENT
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Over thank your guests. You want to keep them happy so you can use them
again.
Send student thank you notes.
Thank them using social media.
ARTIFACTS
Students document their travels in different ways.
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Hard copy scrapbooks
Blogs
Digital scrapbooks
Journals
iMovie or MovieMaker travelogues
Tweets
Newspapers
District TripAdvisor (Design your own site)
VFT Website
Reporters
HOW TO GET STARTED!
1. Use what is already out there. Discovery Education has great VFTs coming up
and already archived. Leave it to the experts to get the ball rolling. You do NOT
have to have a subscription to be a part of
this. http://www.discoveryeducation.com/Events/
2. Use what is out there and throw in a few of your own.
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Durham Public Schools Virtual Field Trips Just go out there and create your own itinerary. The world is yours to explore.
Don't pay for anything! Begging is a lost art.
Document where you go.
Tweet it out!
Sharing is what we all do best.
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