Virtual Field Trip of Machu Picchu

Sites that would be used for Virtual Field Trip:
Interactive Map and 360 Panoramas 
National Geographic
UNESCO
Map 



What I have learned from this experience is how much information is out there that can be used in the classroom. We have talked about how to engage students and get them excited about learning and I think for social studies this is a great way to do it. Taking virtual field trips when real field trips aren’t possible or practical seems like a great way for students to get to experience a place without ever leaving the school. I found myself in awe of the panoramas and of the information that I read and I have no doubt that it wouldn’t have the same effect on students. I don’t think that having students look at a text book with static pictures would give them the same experience that they could have through a virtual field trip where the material is interactive. I have always loved traveling. While traveling I have been fortunate enough to experience so many great things that I read about in books or learned about in the classroom. Actually experiencing these things in person was so much more powerful than what I had experienced before and virtual field trips are the closest that I can come to giving students the in person experience in most cases. After this experience, I know I will try to use virtual trips whenever possible in my classroom.

Week 7

This week we explored wikis and web 2.0 sites. I have mixed feelings about the wiki, although it is quick to create and edit, it is not very attractive. It will take some time with playing with formatting and perhaps playing with other sites to find something that is more appealing to my tastes. Again, I think it would take time using all of the different tools to see what the benefits would with a wiki compared to others. I found a couple cool 2.0 sites. Pixton.com seems like it would be really fun way to learn, having the students create comic strips.

Week 6

This past week we worked on another lesson plan. With learning a new way of writing the objectives, it made it a bit more difficult. I'm sure this will become easier as I get more used to it. I enjoyed making the animoto. It was really easy to do and the end product turned out very nicely. I may make some just for fun. Something that I have found challenging at times when writing the lesson plans is to be sure that I'm meeting the standards. At times I have stop and think about it and sometimes go a different direction.