Virtual Field Trip with Extension Activities

Objective

Students will be able to locate and use an online or virtual field trip.

Objective

Students will be able to use the internet to locate extension activities and lesson plans that coincide with the virtual field trip.

Introduction

Many times, teachers would love for their students to experience field trips that can be impossible to visit because of many reasons, especially the location of the field trip. However, with access to the internet, often these dream field trips are becoming more and more accessible to teachers and their students.

Along with these field trips the internet also provides teachers with the ability to search and find outstanding extension activities that coincide with the field trip. Using these extension activities allows teachers to reinforce what they are teaching. Students are able to continue to explore the field trip through these activities and gain a more thorough understanding.

Assignment

Use the internet to browse the virtual field trips available. Most places today have a website and a virtual tour available on their website. Below you will find several examples, or use a search engine to find a place that interests you and fits into your curriculum. On your document, create a hyperlink and a short annotation to explain your trip.

Then use a search engine and refine your search to help you find extension activities and lessons that coincide with your trip. Be sure to narrow your search to help you find lessons that are suitable for your grade level and topic. On many of these sites, there are a collection of lessons and activities are available to teachers. Create a bibliography which lists at least three extension activities or lessons and create a hyperlink with an annotation for each.

Examples of Virtual Field Trips:

Virtual Field Trips- Many interesting virtual field trips are available for a variety of subjects and areas of education.

http://campus.fortunecity.com/newton/40/field.html

Virtual Field Trips- A collection of many areas of interest are sorted by subjects and designed for teachers. With these interesting trips, many wonderful and interesting places can be visited.

http://www.theteachersguide.com/virtualtours.html

Submission – Send your completed assignment to the instructor’s website as an attachment.

Rubric

	unacceptable	developing	accomplished
Virtual Field Trip	Listed trip with limited description	Hyperlink and some details	Hyperlink with a very detailed description, also age and topic related
Extension Activities	Less than three activities with annotations that have little detail and little or no correlation to the trip	At least three hyperlinks with annotations that are not very detailed and informative	Three or more detailed annotations of extension activities that correlate to the trip and hyperlinks are included
Activity as a whole	Late, missing parts of the activity, and poor grammar	Late, but with proper grammar and may or may not be completed in its entirety	Completed on time, with proper grammar, and done in its entirety

ISTE
Standards

This course activity addresses the following ISTE Standards:

I. TECHNOLOGY OPERATIONS AND CONCEPTS.
Teachers demonstrate a sound understanding of technology operations and concepts. Teachers:

D. demonstrates continual growth in technology knowledge and skills to stay abreast of current and emerging technologies.

II. PLANNING AND DESIGNING LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS AND EXPERIENCES.
Teachers plan and design effective learning environments and experiences supported by technology. Teachers:

A. design developmentally appropriate learning opportunities that apply technology-enhanced instructional strategies to support the diverse needs of learners.

B. apply current research on teaching and learning with technology when planning learning environments and experiences.

C. identify and locate technology resources and evaluate them for accuracy and suitability.

D. plan for the management of technology resources within the context of learning activities.

E. plan strategies to manage student learning in a technology-enhanced environment.

III. TEACHING, LEARNING, AND THE CURRICULUM.
Teachers implement curriculum plans, that include methods and strategies for applying technology to maximize student learning. Teachers:

A. facilitate technology-enhanced experiences that address content standards and student technology standards.

B. use technology to support learner-centered strategies that address the diverse needs of students.

C. apply technology to develop students' higher order skills and creativity.

D. manage student learning activities in a technology-enhanced environment.

A complete listing of all ISTE standards can be found at:

National Educational Standards for Teachers - http://cnets.iste.org/teachers/t_stands.html