Digital Blog Post #F

   In Chapter 6, Fostering Online Learning with Educational Websites and Apps I learned about ‘Virtual Field trips’. Although my students’ go on one amazing school field trip a year they have an opportunity to go on an adventure without ever having to leave the classroom. “A virtual field trip take students to places without ever leaving their classroom or school computer lab” as referenced by Platoni (Platoni, 2008). Can you imagine coming to school and your teacher saying ok boys and girls we’re going to take a magical adventure and it will happen right here in this classroom? As a child I would be so excited! My students’ have taken virtual field trips before and enjoyed it. The web offers so many websites that teachers can use so students’ are able to expand their horizon on education. Virtual field trips can take students’ to a completely new world. FieldTripZoom is an online service that allows users to access zoos, museums and historical sites with amazing interactive programs. This website is free for teachers to sign-up and are able to browse the field trips that are available. I think using virtual field trip is a great idea to use and keeps students’ entertained and focused while not having to leave the classroom. Many schools sometimes don’t even take field trips because of the cost, so this would be a great interactive software that is less costly. Another website that has an impressive collection of virtual tours is Google Earth. They provide a wide range that are available online such as Baseball Hall of Fame, United States Capitol Building, Sistine Chapel and so much more.

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    I would have never thought that I would be taking online classes. I always thought it was so much better to learn while in the classroom. Over the decades things have changed dramatically with all the new technology advancements that are available for both teachers and students’. So fast forward to now. I’m doing what I thought I could never do and that is take online classes. I love it because I don’t have to go and waste gas money to drive to school, it’s on my own time even though I still have deadlines and it’s convenient. “Virtual schools are educational organizations that teach students mainly through online learning” as referenced by Maloy (2013, pg. 142). Virtual Schools are not the same as home schooling. Virtual schooling is done through a company that is acting as the school. There have been debates over virtual schooling because of the isolation experience and the lack of full-time teachers. The pros of having a virtual school is flexibility, time and cost. The cons would be school interaction, home all the time and being in front of the computer screen all day. I think the best pro out of this debate is that it helps students’ that have a disability. They are able to learn while at home at be in a comfortable setting that they are familiar with.


 There are a lot of educational websites available for students’ and teachers. In the classroom the students’ are familiar with Math Facts Pro. Math Facts Pro is a free online computer game to memorize the basic math facts. “Educational websites is a source of Internet-based digital content specifically designed with K-12 learning goals in mind” as referenced by Maloy (2013, pg. 144). Ask a Historian is an educational website that I found to be insightful and could benefit my students’. This site allows students’ to virtually explore historical buildings, meet famous historical figures, play games and participate in a number of learning activities. I love finding great educational websites for my students’. The web offers so many learning educational websites that is available with just a few key strokes on your computer. When I become a teacher these websites will be what I use to educate my students’. I love these different creative tools because students’ don’t have to sit in the classroom and open their books. They are able to explore the many technological advancements that software’s have to offer and many of them are either free or not costly.


   In Chapter 6, I learned about Virtual Field Trips, Virtual Schools and Educational websites. These are all great information that will help me to become a better teacher. Technology has changed so much from when I was young. Technology has helped teachers and students’ with so many different resources. Out of the three different concepts I learned from I loved the topic on educational websites because I feel that will educate my students’ academically and they love being on the computer and learning new websites that will teach them new things they never knew they could do and accomplish.




 Resources: 

Ask A Historian. (2016, April 21). Retrieved from http://teachinghistory.org/history-content/ask-a-historian 

Field Trip Zoom. (2016, April 21). Retrieved from http://www.fieldtripzoom.com/

Google Earth. (2016, April 21). Retrieved from https://www.google.com/earth/

Maloy, Robert, O’Loughlin, R., Edwards, S., & Woolf, B. (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Ed. Boston MA: Pearson Education Inc.

Math Facts Pro. (2016, April 21). Retrieved from http://www.mathfactspro.com/#/home

Platoni, K. (2008, October). Internet explorers: Virtual field trips are more than just money savers. Edutopia. Retrieved from www.edutopia.org/virtual-field trips

Portillo, N (2016, April 22). Virtual Trip. Created with ToonDoo http://www.toondoo.com/MyToondoo.toon