A special thanks to Shanna Leonard, library media coordinator at Tyro Elementary. Shanna did an extensive collaborative unit with DCS Teacher of the Year Tonya Baity and her 5th grade students about the Titanic integrating both print and digital resources. I had the opportunity to observe one of the 5 VFTs Shanna scheduled and it was simply amazing the breadth of knowledge and the student engagement in this group! Virtual Field Trip to the National Archives in London After hearing about the National Archives in London Virtual Field Trip from the DCS Virtual Field Trips website, http://dcsvirtualfieldtrips.weebly.com/, we signed up to discuss the Titanic. Our fifth grade students have recently been working on a big Titanic unit during Reading and Social Studies. Initially we signed up as one big lesson for all our 4th and 5th grade classes, however the National Archives preferred one class at a time with each student on an individual computer. So after rescheduling each individual class, with Rachel Hillman ([email protected]), we were good to go. In all, we scheduled 5 different Virtual Field Trips. The National Archives supplied lots of preparation materials and we used them all (see the sticky notes and chart paper pics below). Yes, there were a few technical hiccups. Ideally, the Education Officer at the National Archives wanted each student at a computer with microphone headsets. So, we worked to set up and test our Dell Lab with microphone headsets. On the day of the first Virtual Field Trip, we assigned all students a computer. The students eagerly put on their microphone headsets to start the Virtual Field Trip and our troubles began!! Some of the students could hear, some could not, and some only heard loud echoing noises. I chatted to inform Rowena, our Education Officer for the Field Trip of our problems and asked if we could participate as a whole group activity. She kindly said yes. So we proceeded with the Virtual Field Trip as a group activity. Students sat around the SMARTBoard and participated. We were able to see and hear the Education Officer, however, she could not see or hear us. We asked and answered questions with her through the chat box. Considering all of this……..the experience was wonderful! The teachers want me to reschedule this event next year. Please consider scheduling this Virtual Field Trip for your teachers and students! You won’t regret it. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to email me at [email protected]
3 Comments
Leah Leonard
4/26/2016 06:00:59 pm
This was a wonderful experience for our students. I am so thankful I was able to view a portion of the lesson! Thank you to everyone who made this special event happen!
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Tracy Varner
4/26/2016 08:27:21 pm
This looks like an awesome experience! We'll be signing up for the next virtual field trip for our students!! I can't wait. Thanks, Shanna, for the wonderful blog!!
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Lorie Steed
4/26/2016 10:42:54 pm
Thanks for sharing Shanna! I'm glad you shared your technical difficulties as well--it's a good reminder that we shouldn't avoid these kinds of experiences out of fear that there might be glitches, because inevitably, they will happen. If we never took risks, we wouldn't learn, and the students would miss out on amazing opportunities like this.
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