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One form of an online Virtual Field Trip starts with creating a web site that conveys information about a particular place. Museums, observatories, archeological sites, historical landmarks, science labs, hospitals, geological formations -- almost any location is possible (with permission from the proper authorities, of course). Your class uses this VFT web site to "visit" the setting by viewing pictures, video and/or audio clips, and reading the text you've provided. There are hundreds of existing VFT's. A quick search will yield plenty of links for you to preview.
Do you have pictures, videos, or audio from your own travels or experiences? Does your destination or event relate to the topic of your class? Can you create a web page? With a little basic knowledge of web page creation, it's easy to build your own VFT. It can be as simple or as complex as you wish. Check out some existing VFT's and then make your own.
ITV Virtual Field Trip
One kind of ITV Virtual Field Trip is a partnership between two or more classes. One class acts as the local host and the other class is the remote partner for the field trip. The host class gathers data, answers questions and reports their findings to the remote class. For example, the host class can explore a local point of interest and create a presentation complete with pictures, video/ audio, and guest speakers. To promote student-to-student interaction, students can work in small groups to create the presentation and exchange pictures, documentation, and video/audio clips via email.
Another form of VFT using videoconferencing connects students to experts in a particular field. These VFT's are often presented as panel discussions or small group interviews. Meeting with these real-world contacts increases interest, motivation, and retention as it enhances the students' understanding of a particular subject.
Some interactive VFT providers charge a fee to access their programming, over and above the ISDN line charge you'll have to pay. A good rule of thumb is to budget .25- .50 per minute, per channel for dial-in charges. For example, if the VFT provider suggests a speed of 384K for the connection, that would require six 64K channels.
NASA LIVE offers
interactive virtual field trips for university level and for K-12 students
in the form of 60-minute lecture and Q&A sessions. They do not charge
a fee for the programming itself, and since they will dial in to NETnet, there
is no cost to NETnet members for this programming. Don't
see what you need on the list of topics at NASA
LIVE? They may be able to create topics based on teachers' requests --
email them your wish list.
Browse through the (fee-based) VFT's and other interactive programming Vision
Athena- CILC has to offer. You can also use the NoodleTrip
VFT search engine to find virtual field trips.
Look at some ideas for VFT's using videoconferencing technologies to help plan your own VFT, keeping the following points in mind for web-based and ITV trips:
Consider
teaming up with your colleagues so you can swap or work together on some VFT's.
For example, guided by the colored words in the text below, you can clearly
see the overlap and connections between these disciplines. Look them over,
and then try to come up with your own collaborations. Such team efforts will
strengthen interdisciplinary connections and also foster more explicit intellectual
connections between students -- and between students and their faculty.
ART HISTORY
In Athens, Greece,
marble statues and intricate carvings
adorn the pediment of the Parthenon,
which is made of white Pentelic marble
from Atticus, a natural resource
of Greece.
GEOGRAPHY
Marble is one of the natural
resources in Greece.
The Parthenon in
Athens is constructed entirely of white
Pentelic marble from Atticus.
GEOLOGY
Marble has many variations, including
the white Pentelic marble from Greece.
The Parthenon in Athens
is constructed entirely from Pentelic marble.
Obsidian is an abundant
natural resource in Southern
Mexico. Anthropologists now think the
city of Teotihuacan was the hub of a thriving obsidian
industry. Obsidian
is formed by the cooling of molten lava, is harder than steel,
and fractures smoothly. The Aztecs split
the rocks to create sharp blades that were used as weapons.
ANTHROPOLOGY
Anthropologists can learn a lot about
a culture by examining its artifacts. For example, the superior quality of
the Aztec's
obsidian blades reveals their fine craftsmanship, industry,
and that they used weapons for practical
as well as religious purposes.
TEXAS
HISTORY
Hernando Cortez is well-known in Texas history. He and his men conquered
the fierce Aztec warriors in spite of
their impressive obsidian blades, in part
because Cortez and his men fought on horseback and with weapons
and armor made of Toledo steel.
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The Northeast Texas Network Consortium
Coordinating Office / 11937 Hwy 155 at Hwy 271 / Tyler, TX 75708
phone (903) 877-7510 / fax (903) 877-7430
