Journal 7: The Beginner's Guide to Interactive Virtual Field Trips- NETS 2 and 5

Zanetis, Jan. (2010). The Beginner's Guide to Interactive Virtual Field Trips. International Society for Technology in Education, 37(6), 1-5. Retrieved March 11, 2010, from http://www.iste.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=March_April_No_6_1&Template=/MembersOnly.cfm&NavMenuID=4516&ContentID=25443&DirectListComboInd=D


Summary: This article, by Jan Zanetis, defines what virtual field trips are and how they can be used within the classroom. Zanetis makes the distinction between Asynchronous VFTs (which are not delivered in real time) as compared to Interactive VFTs (which are synchronous, real-time experiences for students). After listing three different websites for Asynchronous VFTs, Zanetis stated that approximately 300 museums, science centers, historical sites, and similar organizations offer interactive VFTs to schools. Zanetis was definitely pushing the usage of interactive VFTs in schools because it provides a nice break for students from traditional classroom lecture structure and enables them to literally interact with the outside world while sitting in their desks.

Question 1: What steps should a teacher take to virtual field trips in their classrooms? First, teachers should find out if their school already has a videoconferencing unit. If it does, that’s great; they can begin using it immediately. If not, there are ways of obtaining them either through videoconferencing equipment vendors that give school demos, or by applying for grants or assistance programs. After the videoconferencing unit equipment is obtained, teachers should access to quality content. The last step is registering for the programs one wishes to use and then display them in the classroom!

Question 2: Could I see myself as a future educator using interactive virtual field trips in my classroom? Yes, I definitely will use these interactive virtual field trips in my classroom. Not only is it engaging and interesting, it saves the school the expenses of getting transportation for each student to travel to a museum or institute. Also, using these virtual field trips shows students that the material they are learning about within the classroom applies to outside contexts. Other professionals use the very same information they are learning for their jobs every day. I think allowing students to see the usefulness and value of the information they are learning will help them to be more interested in learning it. Lastly, I would use these VFT’s in my classrooms because it allows develop positive communication skills in practicing asking questions and discussing different topics with professionals who are in specific fields.