What's Better Than a Field Trip? A Virtual Field Trip! (Due March 2)

A virtual field trip is a guided exploration through the web that organizes a collection of pre-screened, thematically based web pages into a structured online learning experience. It is an inter-related collection of images, supporting text and/or other media, delivered electronically via the World Wide Web, in a format that can be professionally presented to relate the essence of a visit to a time or place. The virtual experience becomes a unique part of the participants' life experience. (Nix, 1999)

It's always easier to use someone else's definition than to come up with one of my own. We have been hearing the importance of incorporating technology into lessons in order to make them more engaging for students. However, this can prove to be a difficult, time-consuming task, often leaving one foaming at the mouth shouting expletive deleteds at the computer. Virtual field trips can help curb this anger.

Virtual field trips can look quite different, depending on their creator. There are virtual field trips that create a 360 degree atmosphere where you can navigate the page, almost like you are walking on the Great Wall of China. Then there are virtual field trips that are several pages, much like a powerpoint presentation, that incorprate pictures, words, sounds and/or videos.

The assignment for this week is to take a look at one or both of these websites (http://oops.bizland.com/vtours.htm www.theteachersguide.com/virtualtours.html). These websites contain several virtual field trips.

Your blog post for this week should answer the following questions: How easy/difficult would it be for you to incorporate a virtual field trip into one of your units/lessons? Did you find a particular virtual field trip that you might use in the future?

The Best Classroom Blogs

Greetings fellow bloggers! Your posts made for an interesting and informative reading session at Starbucks over the weekend (after I finished reading The Blind Side of course). It is exciting that we are now underway with discovering ways to funnel technology into use in the classroom.

Many of you stated that you would like to either a) learn about the benefits of setting up a classroom blog or b) how to improve the classroom blog you already have in place. This common curiosity leads us to the focus for this week. Edublogs.com is a website designed specifically for educators who are interested in incorporating technology into communication with students and parents. Each year they choose the top blogs for several different categories, such as best student

blog and best teacher blog.

For those wanting to know more about the benefits of blogging, you should check out the top ten reasons to use blogs to teach. Technically, this link will lead you to the top reasons to use “edublog” to teach, but they are applicable to any blog you may create from any site. Also, you don't have to search far and wide to find good blogs; just take a look at what our very own Christine Thurston has created for her first grade class at Shadow Lake.

After looking over these reasons, check out the awards for the top teacher blogs for 2009. For the post this week, please tell us about which teacher blog you found to be your favorite and why. In your post, please include the link to that blog. Before you post your comment, please be sure your first and last name is on your post or your first name with your last initial. This immensely helps the process of making sure you get checked off for class credit.

Although the discussion for this class takes place on a blog, the primary focus for this class, ironically, is not blogging; we are merely using this blog to foster discussion and unearth new technologies that may be useful in your classroom. If there is enough interest, there may be a separate class in the future that focuses primarily on blogging. If you currently have or are planning to create a classroom blog, please take a look at these helpful hints, guidelines and other policies through sharepoint: https://owa.tahomasd.us/owa/redir.aspx?C=5e4e8dd7441749f08be4ef7bbe4d057d&URL=http%3a%2f%2fintranet%2fcentraloffice%2fTL%2ftechnology%2fTeacher%2520Tech%2520Resources%2fblogging%2fdefault.aspx