Virtual Field Trips

I think that taking a virtual field trip is a great alternative to taking an actual field trip when funds, time, etc. are not readily available. However, I do not think that virtual field trips should take over the real thing. There is just no comparison to up looking at a 2-story dinosaur; seeing a picture cannot do it justice. Teachers need to find a balance between using virtual field trips as a resource in the classroom and taking their students on actual field trips. As one of the articles pointed out, a virtual field trip could be a great way to get students ready to go on an actual field trip.

Digital Pictures

Digital pictures can be very useful in the classroom. They help students experience a hands-on lesson that is interesting and breaks the monotony of classroom activity. Taking the project that we were assigned on Thursday, we were able to get out of the classroom and create something using our own methods and tools. By creating a visual story, students are able to explore many levels of imagination and creativity. The technological benefits are also important in the development of students in a world that is always progressing in terms of innovation.

Digital Images, Virtual Field Trips

I think that digital images are a really useful tool in the classroom. It can make a lesson very clear by bringing it to the outside world. It is also good to incorporate images to meet the needs of visual learners. But in general, I think all students benefit from visual representations of things. It is also a good tool for students to use in their own projects. Using different media types keeps things new and interesting for students. There are a lot of ways to be creative with images and creativity is also a valuable skill to learn.

I think the idea of a virtual field trip is really interesting. While sometimes, it is better to take a real field trip, I think that virtual ones have a lot of potential. I never really had a virtual field trip when I was in school so I'm not exactly sure how it would work, but it sounds interesting. Someone made a point in class about being able to "visit" places that are otherwise unaccessable for a classroom. For example, in Spanish students can "visit" the different countries we study. They can investigate museums in other countries, and do other activities that would otherwise be available to them. I am really excited to learn more about this technology and learn how to implement it in my classroom.

Lots of Images

I thought that the article about the museum tours and virtual tours was very interesting. I am not sure how exactly I would be able to tie something like that into working with a patient but if the child I was working with had a big obsession for art work or loved going to a museum and was not going to be able to for while because of their situation. This would be something I could pull up on a computer or possibly something like a Smartboard if I would have access to one and let the child pretend like they are actually going through the museum themselves. I think this could be really neat especially if it could get enlarged onto a really big screen.

After getting a quick introduction to Flickr, I think this could also be a problem that I use with children in some way. I was thinking about a project idea and thought that I would be able to take pictures of different parts of the hospital and operation room and other areas where the child will be and title them and add in notes and a description so if the child can not go on a physical tour of the hospital they would still get to see where they are going to be so they can ask questions and try to feel as comfortable as possible. I think this can be a program that would help me and I am looking forward to finding out more about it and how I will be able to use it.

Virtual Field Trips

I enjoyed reading these two articles. I thought they offered a lot of good suggestions about virtual field trips. I think virtual field trips are a good idea for any class, but especially for those schools who are short on money. Now, I think actual field trips are good and beneficial and should be kept if possible, but virtual field trips have many benefits as well. One of the best things is that they can only take up one period which is nice because they don't disrupt any other subjects. Actual field trips usually take the whole day and so the students end up missing all of their classes instead of just the subject they went for. I think they can offer a lot of substantial information, especially since a lot of museums are handing out information and programs to schools. You can learn just as much from a virtual field trip as from the actual one. Virtual field trips also save a lot of money. They cut down on the cost of transportation, admissions, and a meal. They also cut out the need for a permission slip. Virtual field trips are good not only for a replacement, but also as an enhancement to the actual field trip.

Flickr

New project time...and the introduction is Flickr. Yet again...this is a new program for me and hadn't heard of this before. I can already see how beneficial it can be. Students can learn from it (especially using the notes options) to see what is important in the pictures. I don't know what exactly I would use this for in a classroom. Maybe to discuss different cultures, histories, maybe tie in media when teaching different types of literatures. Possibly use it to help show speeches...but it is nice to have a new tool introduced. It should be interesting to see how everyone uses it to benefit their students.

Flicker

We only had a quick introduction to Flicker, but I can already see how it would be very interesting. I like that you can add notes in order to highlight the main objects of your photo. Also, for Spanish it would be very helpful to point out the objects for vocabulary practice. As for math, I wish I could change the size of the note box. The objects that I want to highlight are larger than the tiny box that appears. I am curious what else we are going to do with Flicker.