Journal 7 The Beginners Guide to Interactive Virtual Field Trips (NETS I and V)

Zanetis, J. (2010). The Beginner's Guide to Interactive Virtual Field Trips. Learning and Leading with Technology, 37(6), Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=March_April_No_6_1&Template=/MembersOnly.cfm&NavMenuID=4516&ContentID=25443&DirectListComboInd=D

The Beginners Guide to Interactive Virtual Field Trips
The article began by discussing how great field-trips are for breaks in the day to day activities and for cementing curriculum in student’s minds. With recent and not so recent budget cuts, schools are becoming less and less able to take their student’s on far or even local field trips. Today another option is going on a virtual field trip. This is a field trip that is conducted virtually, over the Internet and/or videoconferencing equipment, so that students can learn directly from experts in far-flung places without ever leaving their classrooms. Virtual field trips take a number of different forms. They can involve touring a historic site, witnessing scientific experiments or processes at museums or organizations, watching live demonstrations in the field, attending folk festivals or other events, and much more. They differ from normal field trips only in that they are delivered over the Internet using technology in either asynchronous or interactive synchronous formats.

What is an asynchronous Virtual Field Trip? These field trips are not delivered in real time. They involve visiting a website that includes text, audio, and video resources about a topic. Asynchronous trip vary in quality, substance, and educational relevance.

What is an interactive virtual field trip? Interactive trips are synchronous, real-time experiences in which students in one location learn from informal educators in another location, such as a museum, historic castle, or organization such as NASA. These interactive trips take place over the Internet using h.323 videoconferencing technology. Using the videoconferencing interface, students can interact with the experts to get a real-world angle on the topic they are studying. The experts are usually trained and adept at adjusting to the students' level of comprehension.