Virtual+Fieldtrips

Virtual Fieldtrips in Education - Page 1
Virtual fieldtrips are becoming quite popular in k-12 education today as schools have less money to fund actual fieldtrips for students. There are numerous sites on the Internet, such as virtual museums and virtual laboratories, that contain rich resources to enhance student learning.

For this assignment (linked to this page), students worked in pairs to discover and evaluate sites that would be appropriate for a virtual fieldtrip for their content/grade level area of study. Then students were asked to develop an activity for students to engage in related to the unit of instruction.

Below is a description of the student pair's activity, relevant websites for the virtual fieldtrip, and a short reflection on the use of virtual fieldtrips in education.

Link to Virtual Fieldtrips - Page 2

@http://remember.org/auschwitz/ @http://www.ushmm.org/museum/exhibit/online/deadlymedicine/ @http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2007/05/jamestown/jamestown-standalone
 * Kaylin, Amy, Scott**

__**Activity of Auschwitz virtual tour **__ //Directions//: Use the first link to go on a Virtual Tour of the Holocaust concentration/death camp of Auschwitz. Read the information and use it to answer the following questions below. Questionnaire

1. Where was Auschwitz located? How big was the camp? How many people died at the camp? 2. Who was Father Maksymilian Kolbe? Why did he choose to die? 3. If you were in Father Maksymilian Kolbe’s position, what would you do? 4. How were prisoners killed in the Auschwitz camp? 5. What is the significance of the waiting room aka the prisoner’s hospital? 6. Upon entering Auschwitz there is a sign that reads “ Arbeit Macht Frei”. What do you think the significance of this sign was to the prisoners and what does it mean to you?

I feel that virtual field trips are a great resource for teaching. These videos give students an opportunity to witness different areas outside of their communities. Students may not be able to travel due to budget issues. These virtual videos provide students with rich knowledge of many places and stories behind these historical places. I think that this technology should be highly integrated into school curriculum and lesson plans for teachers.
 * Kaylin- **

Virtual field trips are a great way to bring the content right to the students. It is almost just as good as going in person, but virtual field trips save money and time. A teacher can still maintain a normal routine and lesson for the class or because of time constraints, the field trip could span more than one class period. The students are still involved in learning and with integrated technology, they still are able to get a good experience and see things they might not normally get to see.
 * Scott- **

After taking this virtual tour online, I found that it was very enlightening on the information that was presented. By having a virtual field trip, it allows students to see what they are learning about. The tour has valuable information as well as pictures that make you feel like you are there. Using this technology cuts back on cost for teachers and for students, and it makes it easier to learn visually without actually personally visiting the site. Technology creates another world for teachers to utilize resources to enable students to learn more just from sitting on a computer. I think that virtual tours are a good new source that will allow a cut on budget, yet still engages students in a matter where they can visually learn.
 * Amy- **

Teaching about the Holocaust is always an intense lesson; the images contained in these links contribute to that emotional intensity. However, students need to learn about this topic and see the images so that it never happens again. Good work on this.

__ Virtual Field Trip for Elementary Science __
 * By: Katie Matarazzo, Cassie Crisostomo and Cari Czarnecki **

** Engagement: ** @http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnBoQe2rsgo This is a video appealing to young students to introduce the three states of matter; solids, liquids and gases.

** Lecture: ** @http://wwwfac.mcdaniel.edu/Graduate/TI/pages/LEWIS/matterweb.htm Use this websites to find examples of solids, liquids and gasses. Divide a piece of paper into three columns, then draw the examples from the websites onto the paper and put them in the appropriate column.

** Video following Lecture ** : @http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btGu9FWSPtc&feature=related This is video takes a more in depth look into how solids, liquids and gases are related to one another.

** Activity #1: ** @http://www.catie.org.uk/testing_time_index.html This is activity is for students to quiz themselves on whether certain objects are solids, liquids or gases. This activity provides guidance by defining the purpose of the object to help them decide which state of matter they are.

** Activity #2 ** : @http://school.eb.com/lm/games/GS_4_7/GS_4_7.htm This activity is a formal assessment to test for understanding of the lesson. It is a game where they are given the state of matter and have to decide which items fall into that category. If a question is missed they have to begin again and at the end it will show how many mistakes they made. This is a good way to conclude the lesson.

This website is a great way to show children how liquids and gasses are related. It is a safe and easy to actually SEE how if you add head to a liquid, it will turn into a gas and the opposite will happen if you add cold.
 * Virtual Experiment: http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/ks2bitesize/science/materials/gases_liquids_solids/play.shtml**

Topic
E. Indicator
 * **1. ** Recognize and describe that water can be found as a liquid or a solid on the Earth's surface and as a gas in the Earth's atmosphere.

Objectives

 * 1) Describe that air is a substance that surrounds us and contains such things as oxygen, water vapor (gas), pollen, dust, etc.
 * 2) Observe and explain what happens when liquid water disappears.
 * Turns into water vapor (gas) in the air
 * Can reappear as a liquid or solid when cooled, such as clouds, fog, rain, snow, etc.

__ Reflections __
** Katie Matarazzo ** : I believe that incorporating technology into a lesson is beneficial to students because it allows them to learn both visually and audibly. This lesson begins with a video to engage the students given them a brief understanding on the material and later on gives further detailed information. I believe that these fun activities are an exciting way to help the students learn.

** Cassie Crisostomo: ** I believe the students will become more interested in the lesson once the videos are presented. I also really liked the online activities. I felt that they provided the students with a fun way to learn the information, rather than just pure lecture. Some students need the visual stimulation, and the hands-on interaction with the material. It will allow the students to become active participants in their learning.

** Cari Czarnecki: ** I believe that this lesson allows students to have a chance to be interactive with their learning. The videos are a fun, interesting way to introduce a new topic since the younger generation is growing up on technology. The games a fun way to assess what the students actually learned from this lesson in an educational way.

There are so many rich resources on the web to enhance the teaching of science. These activities and sites fit perfectly into the VSC standards. Nice work, ladies.

Taking a Trip through a Virtual Cell

 * __Voluntary State Curriculum__:**

//**Expectation**//

 * 3.2** The student will demonstrate an understanding that all organisms are composed of cells which can function independently or as part of multicellular organisms.

//Indicator//
Lesson Objectives: The Students will be able to- __**Student Activity:**__
 * **3.2.1** The student will explain processes and the function of related structures found in unicellular and multicellular organisms.
 * Identify and explain the function of important cell organelles
 * Recognize differences in plant and animal cells
 * Examine one example of why knowing these structures is important- Mitosis
 * 1) Visit The following website and follow the directions on the worksheet to complete this assignment**.**
 * Visit this website to fill in the worksheet**

2. Once you have completed the worksheet, use your answers **to complete the quiz on the following website .** This will tell you how well you learned the information! media type="youtube" key="VGV3fv-uZYI?fs=1" height="385" width="640" __//**Reflections:**//__
 * Click here to take the quiz!**
 * Once you get here click on START QUIZ **
 * 3. Watch this video and see if you can determine which organelles are at work and why they might be important.**
 * Katie Dell**- While this is not a conventional field trip to an actual place, I think this is a really effective way for students to explore a basic unit of life they cannot otherwise see. Microscopes are extremly expensive and not all school districts have the money to pay for them. Taking a virtual tour through a cell allows students to explore the new, and sometimes confusing content at their own pace, and in a media that they can truly interact with. Even with microscopes, this field trip takes students to place that they are physically constrained from traveling to. It engages several different learning styles and provides multiple methods for reinforcement and assessment throughout the lesson.


 * Jolynn Cooke-** This field trip allows for the students to explore the cell in an unsual way. They will be able to explore a topic that is very popular on the Maryland HSA's. It gives them a 3 dimensional version as well as a view of motion. I believe a teacher could use this program whether they have microscopses or not. All students are able to benefit from this, they can go at their own pace and it appeals to several different learning styles. I could see myself using this in the future when I become a teacher.

As I said above, there are many rich resources for teaching science now on the web. If a school doesn't have the capability to allow students their own microscopes to view cells, this is the next best thing!

=﻿**Virtual Fieldtrip for Middle School Math: Grade 6**= By Chris Bohle and Matthew O'Connor

__** Topic: **__ __** Indicator: **__ __** Objective: **__
 * Voluntary State Curriculum:**
 * F. Ecology
 * 1. Give reasons supporting the fact that the number of organisms an environment can support depends on the physical conditions and resources available.
 * b. Identify and describe factors that could limit populations within any environment, such as disease , introduction of a nonnative species , depletion of resources, etc.

Break students into pairs and provide the following worksheet to be completed by the end of class.
 * __Student Activity:__**

Matt O’Connor- I believe this trip would enhance the students understanding of the subject matter because it give the first hand experience with the rain forest. This field trip makes students critically think various social changes in our world and the effects it has on our ecosystem. Through the investigation of different species in the rain forest students learn about how life is all interconnected through ecology and the enormous biodiversity that we have on earth. Furthermore, through this virtual trip students get to learn about terms that will enhance their comprehension of scientific field and give an excellent view on what is happening in our current world. Finally, this field trip bring student close to the biological field and the abundant species that live on earth.
 * __Reflections:__**

Christopher Bohle - I believe that this virtual field trip would give the students a great hands on experience with using technology and finding out alot about the rain forest, its inhabitats and the dangers present to the rain forest. I also like this activity because it follows a specific objective in the Maryland State Curriculum. This trip allows the students to explore the rain forests, learn about the different species in the rain forest, and learn key vocabulary from the curriculum. This field trip also lets the students work together which increases their learning and interest in the assignment.

Teaching about the rainforests has been popular in the last decade. A virtual trip allows students to have an experience with the environment that they may never have in their "real" lives.

Link to Virtual Fieldtrips - Page 2