Dive Brief:
- Virtual field trips have opened the world to schools without the time or money to let their students travel, and eSchool News recently offered tips on how to make the most of them.
- Schutt writes teachers should prepare students by connecting the trips to content in the curriculum, and continue connecting them during the trip by pre-submitting questions to panelists or participating in any backchannel conversations on Twitter tied to the trip.
- Teachers can also model good learning for students by documenting aspects of the trip, reflect on connections to other content while the trip is happening and share the experience with parents, administrators and community members after it’s over.
Dive Insight:
The article suggests virtual field trips to the White House, Mt. Everest and Hershey’s factory, and to see panoramas of the world. Structured field trips, where hosts welcome students from multiple classrooms all at once, not only give students an opportunity to see places they wouldn’t, but interact with new people. Much of this can be done on a Twitter backchannel.
Many teachers are exploring global connections for their students outside of virtual field trips. As teachers expand their professional communities outside of their schools and even the country, students have been able to collaborate on class projects and study phenomena with peers on the other side of the world. This practice will help students participate in the global economy as adults and create a level of tolerance for other cultures that employers increasingly require.
