Take Your Students
On A
Virtual Fieldtrip
Who said you can't take your students on a fieldtrip? Do you physically need to go on a trip to consider it a fieldtrip? Why can't you go on a fieldtrip without leaving the comfort of your classroom?
These are all questions many teachers have asked themselves. I have spent ample time researching this topic and have come up with an answer that might be shocking. After careful observation and gathering evidence, I have come to the conclusion that students and teachers alike can take virtual fieldtrips.
A virtual fieldtrip is a trip which explores a real, physical place from an internet website. There are many websites now hosting images, textual information, and video clips of people, places, and living things being studied by students in school. The benefit to this is that you and your students do not have to concern yourselves about
travel, bus schedules, ordering substitute teachers, paying for museum or exhibit fees, or having to deal with permission slips. If you can't go on a fieldtrip and don't have the time to fit it in your schedule, bring the trip to them! The best thing about this is: it's free! All that's needed is a computer and an internet connection.
Bright Tip of the Day: You can use virtual fieldtrips as an incentive for students finishing their work early or use it also as a visual representation for a topic taught in the curriculum.
For examples of websites hosting collections of Virtual Fieldtrips, visit:
http://www.techtrekers.com/virtualft.htm