How wonderful would it be if we can take our students on field trips to Jasper, Banff, Vancouver, Paris, and all over the world? Wouldn’t it be exciting and fun?
What if I tell you we can do it, from the comfort of our classrooms, by going on virtual field trips?
What is a virtual field trip?
“A virtual field trip is a guided exploration through the world-wide-web that organizes a collection of pre-screened, thematically based web pages into a structured online learning experience. (Foley, 2003). Since 2007, another dynamic and interactive form of a Virtual Field Trip has been – and is – freely available.
Let this not just be an experience however, let it also be a LEARNING moment.
Some suggestions would be to have students share what they have learned about a location by having them do hands-on activities like writing postcards, creating sketch notes, making scrapbooks, creating their own pair or group news reports for presentation at a specified time, they can also answer multi-choice questions or write briefs about their experiences and all the 4 skills can be assessed from this perspective.
The essence is to gain students attention during this period, ensuring that they are focused, and having them re-live their experiences and doing activities about them to foster comprehension. Then, they won’t see it as just mere wasting of time, to just keep them engaged doing something.
Virtual field trips keep the students engaged and keep the class lively, while experiencing great explorations unimaginable. Let’s take a trip now! Click HERE for locations.