Wednesday, October 13, 2010

BP9_Virtual Field Trip

Since many schools can not afford field trips, here is the perfect answer - Virtual Field Trips!  There are 12 different academic areas to choose from; including Language Arts, Math, Social Studies, Technology, and Science.  If you prefer, you can create your own field trip or visit sites related to virtual field trips.

Science is the area on which I am focusing.  Our first stop is the Chemistry Lab.  Here you can stop at the classroom welcome page, study safety rules, learn equipment, or take a quiz.
 Each section gives information and explains concepts using pictures.
The quizzes are all 6 questions long and multiple choice.   The questions can all be corrected and reset so the learn can continue to make progress and learn concepts.  

Another one of the sixty areas in Science to stop at is Plate Tectonics.  Here the student will find descriptions, plates, boundaries, earth quakes, volcanoes and much more.  Each are then includes assignments, demonstrations, and quizzes.  

Each of the boundary demonstrations shows the plates moving in the direction in order to give the student a visual to actually show the boundary occurring.  

The final area we will check out covers the water cycle.  

This section is extremely thorough and descriptive.  It begins with a visual of the different parts of the water cycle as it takes the student thorough each part and shows how each part relates to the entire cycle.    The student then has the opportunity to make their own water cycle wheel and label each of the parts accordingly.  The teacher could easily adapt this lesson for more advanced students or for students who are struggling.   It may be used for additional practice and reinforcement.  

This web 2.0 tool allows the teacher many possibilities in which to use this site and to make it match the needs of the classroom and the student.  With so many areas being covered with this tool, teachers in multiple grade levels and subject areas would find it useful.  



2 comments:

  1. Susan, Love the idea of a virtual field trip. I think created a great post. You had lots of great details, field trip ideas and images to back up everything were saying along the way. Our district cut out field trips this year, I can't wait to share this information with some teachers at my school. I think they will take advantage of this great site!

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  2. Wow, Sue! Virtual Field Trip looks awesome! This tool seems like a great way to help students experience new places and concepts. I think it is great that there are so many things to do in each subject area. The demonstrations are very clear and interesting, which will help students to stay engaged. (I had to go and check it out for myself!) It is also cool that you can create your own field trip! Virtual Field Trip could be used to introduce a topic, help teach a topic, or review a topic. Having such versatility is always helpful! Virtual Field Trip seems like a great tool for both teachers and students!

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