eField Trips

Laura Bevan

Removing Classroom Walls. Opening Windows to our World.




What is an Electronic Field Trip?
The electronic field trip (EFT) is a field trip that students and teachers take through the Internet using their computers to access up-to-date information right from the classroom about places such as museums, parks, countries, or wildlife. According to Distant Learning, each field trip is geared to a certain topic and a specific grade level. The e-trip is websites that contain information a selected subject and has activities for student and teacher to interact. Teachers and students “travel” to a selected topic anywhere in the world and see current information, all without the expense of leaving the classroom.


How to use it?
The teacher picks a subject matter from a website like Cooperative Educational Service Agency (CESA). There is a fee to pay to take the field trip.
There are 4 components in an e-field trip:

• Trip journal- which is a fill in the blanks question worksheet for the students to complete. This helps the teacher grade participation and helps the student retain information.
• Virtual Visit- a Flash movie that educates the student on a selected topic.
• Ask the Experts- students can ask and receive answers to their questions.
• Live Chat- a group discussion on the topic.

To watch a quick presentation on how to use it click below:



Why to use it?
EFTs help teachers and students visit places and focus on ideas that may not have been possible to go to before Internet technology. According to efield trips (2005), electronic field trips give students a number of unique tools that enhance the field trip experience and follow-up activities based on the field trip. Students are able to view materials for their understanding. For instance, a report on whales would come to life when enhanced by a short movie showing, with sound effects, how whales come to the surface of the water to breathe. Through electronic field trips, students also have the opportunity to connect, face-to-face and in "real time," with "real" people through video-conferencing. Teachers and students can then “replay” a scene that students did not understand or missed the first time unlike in a traditional field trip.


How are teachers using it?
Teachers are using e-field trips as an enhancement to the courses they are teaching. With a range of field trips from National Historic Parks to Health Education and more to come, they can integrate the program into class lessons without much difficulty.



For information on these topics, click on topic-
Forest Field Trips
Windows into Wonderland
Glacier National Park
Cooperative Educational Service Agency


Resources:
Distant Learning. Retrieved July 18, 2006, from discoverycenter.org Web site: http://www.discoverycenter.org/efieldtrips.php

(2005). efieldtrips. Retrieved July 18, 2006, from efieldtrips Web site: http://www.efieldtrips.org/

(2006). National park service. Retrieved July 18, 2006, from Sitka National Historical Park Web site:
http://www.nps.gov/sitk/pphtml/newsdetail22434.html