Virtual Field Trips

       What could possibly more exciting than field trips and technology? If you said smashing them together to create something totally new, you're absolutely correct! Virtual field trips are all the rage with classroom teachers these days. It is a safe and easy way to take your students to places you could never go before such as the moon, Egypt, and even back in time!

       Imagine how much stress you endure while taking your students on real life field trips. Are they truly receiving all the information you want them to gather from the experience? Virtual field trips give teachers the power to narrow down exactly what they want their students to know from visiting certain locations. With an endless amount of resources, taking your students on virtual field trips can be as simple as googling the destination.

       My favorite method of conducting virtual field trips is through the Nearpod app. It is very user friendly, and it allows you to incorporate virtual field trips right into your lesson presentations. During one of my practicum placements at Jacksonville State, I had the opportunity to take my students on a virtual field trip to the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. The students were very intrigued with this feature, and they were eager to explore the location we had talked about previously in the lesson. This allowed the students to make a connection from learning about the branches of government to seeing where it is actually located in the world. I feel that this tool makes learning translate into real life. The following picture shows where the virtual field trip tool is on the Nearpod app.

The following video provides information on how virtual field trips can be beneficial in a classroom.