District's first-ever virtual field trip is a hit
November 3, 2010—What do you get when you connect a camera, a projector and a couple of speakers to a media hub? Tenth-grade global studies teacher Mr. Pierce and his students will tell you: A virtual field trip!
That's right, this morning Duanesburg students and their teacher--with the help of some technology--soared across the USA and into another country where they were welcomed into the Royal Tyrrell Museum in Canada.
Students toured the Royal Tyrrell without even leaving their seats. They were guided through a live, interactive visit--complete with graphics, sound effects and music--through the museums galleries and exhibits that focused on paleontology.
The museum is outfitted with a state-of-the-art distance learning studio that brings amazing exhibits that are too far away to visit right to classrooms.
With the use of a camera and microphone positioned at the class, the museum's guide was able to see and hear Duanesburg students just as easily as the students could see and hear the guide.
"It was like being right there at the museum taking a tour," said one student. "If any of us had a question we just raised our hands or spoke aloud an answer to a question that was asked, and the museum's guide on the screen in front of us could see and hear us--she even called on some of us to answer questions as if she were right there next to us."
Another
student adds: "It was really wild how clearly we could see everything,
especially when the camera zoomed in on a dinosaur tooth and we could see the
detailed serrated edge on it--it was so cool."
Virtual field trips are changing from a thing of the future to right now. "This is something that we would like to look into offering more often to our students, as well as our faculty and staff for professional development and video conferencing," says Superintendent Christine Crowley who also attended the virtual field trip. "One of the fantastic elements of virtual fields trips, tours, and distance learning is that it exposes people to places and things that they may not otherwise be able to see and experience."