Jan Zanetis’ article discusses what virtual field trips are, how they can be used in the classroom and why they can be important resources for students and teachers. Virtual Fieldtrips (VFTs) have two forms, asynchronous VFTS and interactive VFTs. Asynchronous VFT’s are static sites that can be visited at any time and the content is not delivered to students in real-time. An example of an asynchronous VFT is the Smithsonian website’s virtual tours of exhibits. Interactive VFT’s occur as the students are watching, and interacting, in the VFT and are generally lead by a field matter expert at the site that the VFT is broadcasting from. Interactive VFT’s might include lectures or tours, and an example is a program by the National Baseball Hall of Fame that uses baseball statistics to convey math concepts to students. Special technology is required for Interactive VFTs, but many schools already have the technology and others may be eligible for grants to cover the costs of purchasing the technology. There might also be a fee for the VFT, but compared to the cost of an actual field trip, VFT costs are low.
VFT’s can engage students in ways that regular lectures and curriculum might not. They give real world relevance to the topics being covered in the classroom and often give students a broader perspective, one that transcends the borders of the school. VFTs also make interactive and real world applications of knowledge accessible to much larger groups than real fieldtrips. Resources and money limit the fieldtrips that students can engage in, and many fieldtrips are completely impossible for most schools. However, VFT’s provide access to places most schools might only dream about.
Question 1: How could you incorporate a VFT into a High School English Class?
I think that it would be great to be able to integrate video, pictures and experts about the authors students are studying. One example would be to replace the normal diagrams of Shakespeare’s Globe Theater with an online tour of the theater lead by someone who is an expert on Shakespeare.
Question 2: If students are still in their seats, in their classroom, will VFT’s actually be an exciting and engaging alternative to normal classroom activities?
To begin with, I think that asynchronous VFT’s can actually become a part of normal classroom activities, as opposed to an alternative. That said, I think students relish the opportunity to do anything not lead by the same teacher they see 5 days a week. Movies always felt like a break to me, even if they bored me. I imagine that interactive VFT’s would be more engaging than movies, and therefore students would feel as if something different, and perhaps even exciting, was happening when they participated in an interactive VFT.
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