Some teachers may find it difficult to arrange meaningful field trips for their students for financial reasons or because of the distance needed to travel for certain experiences. With the technology available today, there are often options to do virtual field trips. Monica Burns addresses how virtual field trips can be helpful in the classroom in "Travel the World From Your Classroom: Free iPad Apps for Virtual Field Trips." She gives a list and description of nine apps to use ranging from National Parks to museums. While it is wonderful to have the opportunity to travel with students, it is still important to expose them to the beauty of God's Creation in the National Parks or the expressed creativity granted us in the form of art museums or operas when we cannot physically travel for such experiences. Last year, my class used the virtual tour of Ford's Theater (https://www.fords.org/visit/virtual-tour/) for a virtual field trip. It proved to be worthwhile, and it was definitely not somewhere that we could have easily traveled.
Link to article:
https://www.edutopia.org/blog/ipad-apps-virtual-field-trips-monica-burns
References:
Burns, M. (2013, July 31). Travel the world from your classroom: Free iPad apps for virtual field trips. Retrieved March 25, 2017, from https://www.edutopia.org/blog/ipad-apps-virtual-field-trips-monica-burns
Virtual tour. (n.d.). Retrieved March 25, 2017, from https://www.fords.org/visit/virtual-tour/
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With virtual reality (VR) headset technology becoming affordable and easier to use, virtual field trips are a great idea. Not only to places you cannot travel due to cost or inconvenience, but back in time to view Rome at the time of the Apostle Paul, or a trip to Jerusalem when King Solomon ruled. I think K-12 and higher ed have just begun to scratch the surface on virtual field trips. Great post!
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