This week our assignment was to research virtual field trips. For this assignment is researched two articles that go hand in hand. I researched about a company called Tramline who developed software called TourMaker© in the year 1996. This software provides teachers from grades K-12 with a free source for creating virtual field trips for their students. Since TourMaker© has been around it has grown to have a great reputation for being the best software used to create virtual field trips because it has features and elements that other software lacks. Later, AT&T funded Tramline in the creation of another site called Virtual Blackboard that allowed the virtual field trips to cover more than just science. Eventually the sites merged together to make things more simple.
The article also talks about Kim Foley who was one of the first founding members of the company Tramline. The article mentions that Tramline is always welcome to and searching for sponsorships to live on their mission of keeping Tramline free for its users.
The second article I read this week went hand in hand with the first one. However, this one was more about the use of the software rather than the background information of it. It compares and lists the difference between virtual field trips and web quests. The article says that "Both VFTs (virtual field trips) and WebQuests are typically designed to make efficient use of a learner's time and to spend time focusing on using information rather than searching the Internet." I think this is great because It pains me to even consider how much time I have wasted searching endlessly on the internet to find information. Any tool that aids us to use information rather than just waste time searching for it is a winner in my book. The article talks about how the software it simple to use for both the educators who are creating the field trips as well as the students who are experiencing them. The teachers using the TourMaker software can create their own field trips for use in the classroom as well as globally. The article expreses the main function of this software in saying that, "Tramline developed TourMaker with the very specific goal of creating an educational tool that would help to organize and focus Web resources into a simple, useable package."
In my personal opinion, I think this software is highly beneficial to both teaching and learning. Teachers benefit from having a free resource right at their fingertips that will aid thier students in the learning process. Students benefit from having an interesting and different way of experiencing new information that can help them get enthusiasticc and passionate about the things that they are learning. This is important because lets face it, all students will eventually get bored of learning the same way everyday. I think a great teacher is one who uses a number of techniques for teaching their students in order to keep the classroom exciting.
I would definatly like to furter research the topic of virtual field trips in the future and possibly even experience one myself. I would have liked if the article had had a link to an example virtual field trip so I could have observed it and seen how it works in real life not just in theory. I would definatly consider using virtual field trips in my teaching career someday in the future.
Link to the first article: http://www.field-guides.com/abouttram.htm
Link to the second article: http://www.tramline.com/lounge/vft-wquest.htm
About Me
- Amanda Walker
- Hi my names Amanda and im a junior at FGCU. Im majoring in early childhood education and love it! I grew up in Florida and have one younger sister. I have a boyfriend who is also my bestfriend. I am enjoying school but am looking very forward to graduating school and starting my career in the future!
3 comments:
Amanda,
Your articles were very interesting. They were alot like the two that I found. I also read about teachers making their own virtual field trips, and like you, I think it is an awesome idea. I mentioned in my post, even teachers taking a trip around the school and discussing what they see with their students, could be beneficial to students in Alaska or some other region who may have never been able to see what we have here in Florida.
I agree with you, and I think taking a few virtual field trips myself in the near future would be insightful.
:)
Corrie
Amanda,
I really learned a lot just from reading your article. I just found out from doing this project what Virtual Field Trips were. I find them fascinating as you do. Now, from reading your article I got to learn a little about the companies that make Virtual Field Trips.
Eleanor McIntosh
Amanda,
I greatly enjoyed reading your articles. You focused on a part of VFT that I had not even thought about. Where they start and companies that control them. I had never heard of a VFT until this assignment and i find them not only to be interesting, but extremely convenient in the classroom. I like how you demonstrated multiple ideas and opinions about this topic and look forward to reading your posts throughout the course.
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