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WHERE WILL
WE GO
TODAY?
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Imagine taking your class to meet the robotic
School excursions are Triceratops and Tyrannosaurusrex
at Adventure Science Center in Nashville; on a
dinosaurs
taking on a whole new Mission to Mars Challenge with NASA; or diving
on the reef with Reef HQ in Townsville? You can do
dimension with the advent of all of this for less than it would cost you to take the
class to the local aquarium!
videoconferencing. You A virtual excursion allows you to link live via
can now take your class to
videoconference to a place of interest and interact
with local experts. You can take students to places
many places around the
they would never be able to visit in person and have
experiences that may not be possible in person.
world without leaving
Your students will be able to participate in live
demonstrations and ask questions of the presenters.
the classroom! The presenters are very skilled at involving students
and this will certainly not be a case of ‘sit and listen’.
There are hundreds of virtual excursions you can
By Carol Daunt Skyring experience via videoconference. Below are just a
few examples.
Videoconferencing provides many opportunities
for teaching and learning, but one of the most Adventure Science Center
interesting is the virtual excursion. There is a wealth The Adventure Science Center in Nashville, USA
of content in far away art galleries, museums, offers a range of programs on subjects from bones
zoos and science centres, and now students to dinosaurs to magnets. They range in price from
can take advantage of these resources through a $95USD to $150USD – that is for the whole program
videoconferencing visit. not per student.
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One example is Dinosaur Discoveries, which is
offered for a range of year levels. Students learn
the facts about dinosaurs through fossil replicas
and animal artifacts and find out how scientists
draw conclusions about the structure and behavior
of dinosaurs based on observations of animals
living today. They also meet the Center’s robotic
Triceratops and Tyrannosaurusrex dinosaurs. The
fee for a 45-minute program is $150USD.
NASA Digital Learning Network
NASA offers some fantastic programs and they are
all free of charge. One example is Planet Hopping:
Exploring the solar system with mathematics.
Questions addressed in this session are: How
is each planet in our solar system unique? How
high can you jump on Mars? How high can you
jump on Mercury? In this highly interactive session
students use mathematics to explore and learn
characteristics of planets in our solar system and
they get to tour the universe with NASA.
NASA provides a set of materials that you can
download from the web and they encourage
student participation from the planning stage
onwards. They engage in advanced email
correspondence to tailor the session to fit the
EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS 035
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school's curriculum and suggest that questions for
the presenter should be sent in advance to focus
the presentation on the group's specific needs.
Introduction to Australia's Great
Barrier Reef
Wherever you are in the world, you can experience
the Great Barrier Reef with Reef Videoconferencing.
Thousands of students around the world participate
in this program each year. During this underwater
fact-finding mission, your class is transported to
the Coral Reef and Predator exhibits at Reef HQ.
This 60-minute program costs $295.
They offer a variety of lessons for
learners from the elementary level
to higher learning and professional
enrichment.
036 EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS
Your Reef Videoconferencing experience is
supported by comprehensive teaching materials
designed to educate students about a range of
marine issues. The virtual excursion begins with
a ‘Dry Presenter’ who introduces participants to
Reef HQ Aquarium and the Great Barrier Reef. A
scuba diver then takes students on a virtual dive
in the Coral Reef and finishes in the Predator Tank
with sharks and other reef predators. During the
session, your students can see and hear the diver
and ask questions that will be answered immediately
from underwater.
New York Institute of Technology
Culinary Arts Center
This Center is a leader in culinary education and
offers its lessons to learners worldwide through
videoconferencing. Students can explore foods,
nutrition, and cultural cuisine without ever leaving
the classroom. They offer a variety of lessons
for learners from the elementary level to higher
learning and professional enrichment. A favourite
is the chocolate truffle making class – where you
get to eat the results!
Organizing a Virtual Excursion
A videoconference virtual excursion is easy to
organize through one of the online databases
listing available content. Simply go to the
database, enter the topic, subject and/or the
place you want to visit and you will be given a
range of options to choose from. Each one has
an overview of the program, the cost, options
for connection speed and information on how
to book. Booking is usually through an online
form or email directly to the content provider.
There are two great online databases for finding
virtual excursions:
Polycom Videoconference Program
Database
This searchable content database offers access
to more than 1,500 programs from over 230
content providers. Updated daily, the database
contains content opportunities from such
organizations as Global Nomads Group, the
Cleveland Institute of Music and the Smithsonian
American Art Museum, to name a few. See:
http://moourl.com/polycomdb
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Your Reef Videoconferencing
experience is supported by
comprehensive teaching materials
designed to educate students about
a range of marine issues.
Center for Interactive Learning &
Collaboration (CILC)
This database lists over 150 content providers
such as Alaska SeaLife Center, the International
Wolf Center and the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
You can read content provider biographies to
learn how you can contact them and what
others are saying about their programs. See:
http://moourl.com/cilc
Both databases contain programs from
the United States, Canada, United Kingdom,
Spain and Australia. New content providers are
constantly being added.
Equipment Needed
To participate in a virtual excursion you must have
access to a two-way videoconference system. If
you do not have a system in your school you may
be able to hire a videoconference room locally.
(Check your local TAFE College or University if
you have one.)
Some content providers can connect via
ISDN and IP, while others only offer one option.
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The Polycom database allows you to search
for only programs available via the connection
method you have.
Getting the Most Out of Your Virtual
Excursion
Like any field trip, a virtual excursion requires
planning and participation to be successful.
Allow several weeks lead-time for booking.
Many programs are popular and are booked out
months in advance – NASA is one of these.
Some tips for making the most of your
virtual excursion:
• Involve students in the planning process.
• It is a good idea to complete a test call before
the session.
• Give the content provider a detailed overview
of your students’ ages, location and their interest
in the topic.
• Most virtual excursions include pre and post
activities that create a rich, in-depth educational
experience for your students. Take the time to
complete these activities so that students are
well prepared to interact with the presenter.
• If your students are not familiar with
videoconferencing, they may be shy about
interacting with the presenter. Encourage them
to prepare questions beforehand.
• Send a list of student names in advance
so that the presenters can call on them. You
can facilitate the interaction by calling on
students who have questions or answers during
the presentation.
• Provide an easy mechanism for students
to ask questions during the videoconference.
Place the microphone in a central location and
have students walk up to the microphone and
encourage them to speak clearly and distinctly.
Have the students give their first name before
they ask a question.
• Remind students to remain quiet while
others are talking - the microphones pick
up background noise, and this can be very
distracting for the presenter.
• You may need to mute the microphone
when no one is speaking – discuss this with
the presenter.
• Some content providers allow you to record
the session. If this is the case, have parental
permission for this.
A virtual excursion can give your students a
rich and motivating learning experience doing
something they would usually never get to do.
So what are you waiting for? Where will you take
your students? n
Ms. Carol Daunt Skyring has been involved
in the design, application and effective use
of videoconferencing since 1993 and is
recognized internationally as a leader in
the field. She holds a Dip T; Grad Dip Dist Ed;
B Ed & M Ed (Research) – her thesis
investigated the nature of interaction in
videoconferencing. Ms. Daunt Skyring
has been published in numerous journals
and is a frequent speaker at international
conferences.
Ms. Daunt Skyring writes a popular
videoconference blog at
http://videoconference.edublogs.org