Virtual Field Trips

How would you like to bring the world to your classroom?  One fun and inexpensive way is to incorporate virtual field trips.   These multimedia-rich sites include video, audio, panoramic views, and live webcams. Take your class on a trip to the White House, a museum, zoo or experience the 7 Wonders of the World.  You can even embark on a journey through the galaxy with Google Sky!  Missouri locations include our state capitol, the governor’s mansion, the St. Louis Zoo, and the town of Weston. Be sure to check out the last link which will show you how to create your own virtual tour.

·        Martin Luther King Jr.’s Birthplace http://www.nps.gov/features/malu/feat0001/BirthHomeTour
Tour his home and learn about his childhood.

·        Inside the White House- http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/inside-white-house/interactive-tour
Take your students on a floor by floor tour as you learn about the history and unique features of each room.  Follow your visit at the White House with a tour of the US Capitol.  http://www.senate.gov/vtour

·        Panoramas.dk: http://panoramas.dk/7-wonders/colosseum.html
Bring the 7 Wonders of the World to your classroom with views of the Colosseum in Rome, The Great wall in China, Petra in Jordan, The Taj Mahal in India, Machu Picchu in Peru, Christ Redeemer in Rio and Chicken Itza in Mexico

·        Panoramas tours of the US can be seen at: http://panoramas.dk/US/index.html

·        Forbidden City: http://stuebegreen.com/wonderland/photos/ Visit the Summer Palace, the Ming Tombs and The Forbidden City in China

·        Google Art Projects: http://www.googleartproject.com  You can view over 1000 works from 17 acclaimed art museums in the world at this link.   You can virtually walk the aisle of the museums and see works like Van Gough’s “The Bedroom”. 

·        Google Sky:  http://www.google.com/sky  Travel the sky and view the position of planets, explore constellations and distant galaxies.

·        Smithsonian Museum of Natural History: http://www.mnh.si.edu/panoramas Follow the blue arrow and tour the museum.

·        Smithsonian National Zoological Park:  http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Animals/WebCams/ Use the links to view animals at the Smithsonian Zoo; includes a flamingo, tiger, and elephant.

·        National Museum of the United States Air Force- http://www.nmusafvirtualtour.com/full/tour-pkg.html
On this tour you can see the entire museum grounds and the progression of aeronautics in the US, starting with the Wright Brothers.

·        Oxford University Museum of Natural History: http://www.chem.ox.ac.uk/oxfordtour/universitymuseum/#

Join this tour to see an extensive collection of zoology, entomology, geology and mineralogy.  Be sure to check out their 40 ft Tyrannosaurus Rex!

·        The Human Body:  http://medtropolis.com/virtual-body Take a virtual tour of the human body by exploring the different parts.  This site includes interactive activities with the tour.

·        St. Louis Zoo virtual tour: http://www.360stlouis.com/zoo/coursetour.htm
This link allows you to see panoramic 360 views of their zoo.

·        Weston Missouri http://westonmo.com/visit/main.html    Click on the panoramic images to explore this town just north of Kansas City, Missouri

·        Governor’s Mansion in Jefferson City http://missourimansion.org/experience/photo-gallery/?pid=125

·        Tramline:  http://www.tramline.com/trips.htm This site has MANY different virtual field trips provided by Tramline;  including one about dinosaurs, baking bread, geographical regions, and more.

If these tours are not exactly what you are looking for to support your curriculum, then you can create your own virtual field trip.  The following resource is a tutorial to guide you through the process. http://online.howtomaster.com/training/html/itc2/itc20201/start.html

 Happy Trails!!!!!

Google Virtual Maps for the Grand Canyon

Last fall Google announced that it had a team setting out to capture "street view"  imagery of trails through the Grand Canyon.The first batch of that imagery has  been released. You can now explore more than 75 miles of trails in the Grand Canyon in Street View. Click here to watch the youtube video of the Canyon.   What a wonderful way to teach about America's landscape!  I am afraid of heights and have avoided the Grand Canyon for that reason but now I can join with the rest of you by clicking  here to start my explorations and experience the panoramic views!

Are You Looking For a Grant?

If you're looking for funding sources for a classroom project or a school grant, take a look at what Grant Wrangler has listed  Grant Wrangler is a free service that lists grant opportunities for teachers, school administrators, and students. Grant Wrangler also lists some contest opportunities. You can search Grant Wrangler by content area, grade level, and application deadline.

New Year's Themed Activities

If you do not have interest in Pinterest yet, perhaps I will convince you with the following resource. This New Year’s Board is packed full of fun ideas to use when you come back to school in 2013.  Enjoy seeing what will work with your students and have a blessed holiday and New Year!

https://pinterest.com/pediastaff/new-years-themed-activities/

22 Story Telling Apps

Matt Gomez does it again! What a great post. He includes 22 storytelling apps linked to actual class and student examples of most. You can check out the 22 apps at the following url: http://mattbgomez.com/folder-full-of-storytelling-apps

I-Pad Apps for Schools

There is a wonderful new resource that reviews educational I-Pad Apps.
http://ipadapps4school.com

This new blog will feature reviews of iOS apps (both free and paid) as well as some occasional bits of how-to and advice on using iPads in education.  Richard Byrne has created an index on his site and categorized the resources by grade level. I personally love the time this will save busy educators when they are searching for an appropriate resource.

If you're interested in subscribing to updates from iPad Apps 4 School,  use the following link: http://www.feedblitz.com/f/?sub=870102

Vizaroo- Student response from any Internet device

http://www.vizaroo.com
 

Vizaroo is a new FREE service.  The idea behind Vizaroo is to use the web to collect instant feedback from students in your classroom. Audience response systems like Vizaroo or e-Insturction clickers can increase student engagement through active participation.  Vizaroo allows students on ANY internet connected device, such as a smartphone or a laptop, to share their thoughts for the whole class to see. Ideas are displayed instantaneously from the device that connects to the Internet.

Student feedback can be displayed in a web format of connected ideas, a Venn diagram format, or in a simple "yes or no" two column format.