Rural STEAM Leadership Network - Virtual Field Trips

Virtual Field trips

This is one of several themes that have emerged from the group for further study and exploration since launching the network in early 2020.

Guiding Questions for this work:

Q: What are you hoping to emulate when shifting* your program, experience, or activity online? Why?

Q: What strand** of learning science in informal environments are you focused on? Why? How?

Q: What can nonformal educators, formal educators, and administrators learn from each other about new possibilities for these adventures?

March 10, 2021:

Virtual Field Trips Regional Share Outs

This 55 minute session featured two active Rural Learning Collaborative participants who shared their process and products from the past year reimagining their in person informal/nonformal offerings for the limitations of the pandemic.

Full Session Recording (Slide Decks Below)

0:00-22:00 - Christina Cid shares Virtual Resources from the High Desert Museum (Bend)

22:00-41:00 - Anne Armstrong shares Outdoor School Virtual Resources at the Coastal Discovery Center (Newport)

High Desert Museum, Christina Cid Presentation RuralLearningCollaborativeMarch2021

Slide Deck: Christina Cid, High Desert Museum (Bend)

Christina Cid, Director of Programs at the High Desert Museum in Bend

2021-03_Rural Learning Collaborative.pptx

Slide Deck: Anne Armstrong, Coastal Discovery Center (Newport)

Christina Cid, Director of Programs at the High Desert Museum in Bend

January 12, 2021:

Virtual Field Trips/Explorations - Shifting!

This session offered opportunities for Rural Learning Collaborative Participants to work collaboratively to think about how to shift from in person to virtual using the strands from Learning Science in Informal Environments.

**Link to folder of Virtual Explorations Practice Storyboards: Shift This! Activity

Small groups in the Rural Learning Collaborative worked collaboratively to shift portions of a generic field trip example to an interactive and multi-faceted virtual exploration. What would you do? What's missing? How can you emulate these experiences over a different timeline than an afternoon?

*Learning Science In Informal Environments Strands used in session

Which strand of learning science in informal environments does your work focus on with learners? Why? How?

One pager definitions of these strands here. This one pager was used in small group conversation to build understanding on which strand different virtual field trips or explorations were focused on when planning for shift towards virtual.

Learn more about these strands by heading to the Learning Science in Informal Environments: People, Places, and Pursuits