Virtual Field Trips – Page 4 – iLearn Technology

Google Street View Gallery

March 3, 2010Kelly Tenkely5 Comments2953 views

What it is: Google Street Gallery is a must add bookmark for any classroom. This is a collection of Google Street views of famous landmarks, buildings, and art, sport, and entertainment venues from around the world. Landmarks includes places such as Big Ben, Tower Bridge, Golden Gate Bridge, Space Needle, Gateway Arch, CN Tower, Tokyo Tower, Plaza de Cibeles, Eiffel Tower, Arthur’s Seat, The Colosseum, Arc de Triomphe, and Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall. In Famous Buildings students can see the street view of Westminster Abbey, City Hall, St. George’s Hall, Coventry Cathedral, Sydney Opera House, Sagrada Familia, Chateau de Chillon, Belem Tower, St. Peter’s Basilica, and Taipei 101. In Art, sport and entertainment students can tour Angel of the North, Coronation Street, Trafalgar Square Fourth Plinth, Tate Britain, Wales Millennium Centre, Glasgow Gallery of Modern Art, Guggenheim Museum, and The Louvre Museum. Not only can students explore the street view of all these places, they can also see users pictures embedded right in the street view. Each place can be viewed on Google Maps with the click of a button. Students can also quickly find more information about any of the landmarks by clicking “more information”. Students are taken to a Google Search that shows the location on a Google map, gives details, photos, videos, reviews, tells about nearby places, and gives more information about the place.

How to integrate Google Street View Gallery into the classroom: Google Street View Gallery makes it easy to whisk your students away on virtual adventures around the world. Bring your geography, history, and social studies lessons to life by letting students take a virtual field trip with Google Street Views. Using an interactive whiteboard or projector, your students will feel like they have visited landmarks around the world during class. Allow students to be the “tour guides” and navigate the street view and pictures associated. Make sure to view the Google Maps so that students can get a sense of where each landmark is located and practice their map skills. Google Street views can be used during math to study architecture shapes, angles, etc. in real world settings.

Display a Google Street View on your projector or interactive whiteboard and ask students to imagine they have just visited this landmark or building and write a story about what happened there. The street views make excellent writing prompts.

Tips: I love using Google Street Views with an interactive whiteboard. Students really get the sense of what it is like to stand on the street in the middle of Prague or London and take a look around. It is fun to imagine the stories that take place every day on those streets.

Google Street View Gallery is not a comprehensive collection of available Google Street Views, it is a great collection of famous landmarks and buildings, grouped together for easy access.

Please leave a comment and share how you are using Google Street View Gallery in your classroom.

NASA’s Be a Martian

February 22, 2010Kelly Tenkely5 Comments4035 views

What it is: I have always been intrigued by space exploration. NASA’s Be a Martian feeds this intrigue by giving an up close view of Mars exploration. Here students can virtually explore and learn about the human-robotic partnership that makes virtual exploration possible. Students can become citizens (this requires them to create an account) or explore with an “Anonymous Tourist Visa”, which is how I explored. Students can send virtual postcard messages to the Spirit Rover in her new home. After composing their own message, students are taken to a virtual Mars where postcards with messages rain down. Students can click on a postcard to read what others around the world have written. In the map room, students can watch a video detailing the history of mapping and learn how NASA scientists map today. Students can become virtual map makers by matching up map image fragments, and counting craters. In Two Moons Theater, students can watch videos starring NASA scientists, explorers, and Mars. Students can ask and vote on questions that they would like to see answered in the Polling Place. In Tourist Mars Atlas, students can explore the surface of Mars and learn that there is more to Mars than a giant expanse of tan.

How to integrate NASA’s Be a Martian into the classroom: Feed your students curiosity about space exploration and Mars with this great interactive environment. Students have the opportunity to learn about the work that NASA scientists do, practice their observation skills in map making, and learn some great history about space exploration, and map making. I really like that NASA has included a place for students to ask and vote on questions that they would like answered. What a neat way to help students understand that we don’t have all the answers and that scientists ask questions, explore, and experiment to learn more. I think that younger students (primary elementary) would really enjoy the crater counting activity. Do this activity as a class using an interactive whiteboard/projector or individually as a center. This will help students to look for detail and practice counting together. Older students will enjoy trying their hand at mapping Mars and learning more about the history. Have students learn about the Spirit Rover and her job on Mars before sending a message. Some of the postcards include location information, it might be fun to track the locations of the postcards in Google Earth with placemarkers. Then, explore Mars using Google Earth or Google Space. The Google tools complement this site nicely.

Tips: There is an impressive contest section on NASA’s Be a Martian site, the deadline for entries is April 16, 2010. The contest challenges us to come up with videos about Mars, interactive software or games, or write an efficient image processing application. NASA is including us all in the exploration of Mars. These challenges would be outstanding for older students to take part in…talk about authentic learning!

Please leave a comment and share how you are using NASA’s Be a Martian in your classroom.

Win a month subscription to Wiglington and Wenks contest!

February 9, 2010February 25, 2010Kelly Tenkely9 Comments6292 views

What it is: Wiglington and Wenks is a rich virtual world for kids that I wrote about a few weeks ago here. This virtual world brings together literature, history, and geography into one amazing learning experience for kids. Wiglington and Wenks is a place for students to explore, think, discover, and grow. I can’t say enough about this virtual world as a learning space, I wish every textbook company on the planet would move toward this type of model of presenting content and learning! While Wiglington and Wenks is free for everyone, they do offer memberships that give students access to extra features, special areas, and extra privileges. Wiglington and Wenks has provided 10 one month memberships for iLearn Technology readers! If you would like a free membership for your class or as a give-away to one of your students or children please leave a comment below. In your comment, tell us your favorite feature of Wiglington and Wenks. I will choose 10 winners randomly and send an email with instructions for redeeming your free membership.

How to integrate Wiglington and Wenks into the classroom: Wiglington and Wenks is based on a story book. Read these stories with your students or include them in your classroom library for reading. In this virtual world, students have the opportunity to travel to and explore real places. Students can learn about the Amazon, Madagascar, Singapore, the Grand Canyon, the Great Barrier Reef, the Great Pyramid, Chchen Itza, the Bermuda Triangle, the Great Wall of China, Big Ben, and more. As students travel through the worlds, they are presented with various quests and meet with famous historical figures. Right now students can interact with Gandhi, Charles Darwin, Genghis Khan, Beethoven, Buffalo Bill, Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, Neptune, and Chief Joseph. Many new characters are being released including Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell, Cleopatra, Issac Newton John, Albert Einstein, Pocahontas, and Wilber and Orville Wright. Send your students on quests to learn more about each of these characters and places. Find more ideas for using Wiglington and Wenks in your classroom on my original post here.

Tips: Make sure that you use a valid email address in your comment so that I can contact you!

Leave a comment and share how you are using Wiglington and Wenks in your classroom.

5 of the BEST Virtual Field Trips

January 26, 2010Kelly Tenkely12 Comments3961 views

Kelly Tenkely | TheApple.com (Posted at The Apple.com)
Field trips can be amazing learning experiences. They provide students with the opportunity to actively participate in education, offering learning possibilities that aren’t readily available in the classroom. Unfortunately, it isn’t always practical or possible to take students on field trips. Tight budgets, location, transportation, time, and resource restrictions can keep your students school-bound. Virtual field trips can fill this void. Virtual field trips have come a long way from the page of links they used to be. Now students can explore the world with simulations that are so realistic, they will believe they have left the classroom. Below are five of the best virtual field trips on the web:

Virtual Field Trip #1:

Smithsonian Museum
Not all cities have access to an incredible natural history museum like the Smithsonian. This virtual tour is the next best thing to taking an actual field trip to the Smithsonian.

The Smithsonian Virtual Museum is truly remarkable. Students can ‘step’ into the exhibits and take a tour through the entire museum in a 360 degree environment. The virtual museum is made up of panoramic pictures of the actual exhibits inside the Smithsonian. Using their mouse, students “walk” through the museum room by room. They can zoom in, look left and right, look up and down, and walk forward or backward. Camera icons throughout the museum show students hot spots where they can get close to an exhibit panel. As students explore the museum, they will see: the ocean hall, ancient seas, dinosaurs, early life, fossils, plants, mammals, African cultures, the Ice Age, Western cultures, reptiles, insects, butterflies, bones, geology, gems, and minerals.

Students can explore the various exhibits on individual computers in a computer lab setting or life size with an interactive whiteboard or a projector. Split your students into groups and assign them an exhibit to explore and take notes on. After students have explored and become the ‘expert’ on their exhibit, project the Virtual Smithsonian Museum on an interactive whiteboard/screen. Explore the museum as a class. As you enter an exhibit, invite the group who explored the exhibit to act as tour guides.

Even if you have access to a natural history museum for field trips, the Smithsonian Virtual Museum is still incredibly useful. Prepare for a field trip to your local history museum by visiting the virtual museum. After the field trip, students can compare and contrast what they saw at the local museum with the Smithsonian.

Virtual Field Trip #2:

UPM Forest Life
A field trip to a forest is a wonderful way to learn about tree species, ecosystems, habitats, and animals. The UPM Forest Life virtual field trip will have your students believing that they are actually in a forest smelling pine trees.
UPM Forest Life aims to teach about forest sustainability. It does this by inviting students to take a virtual hike through a forest. The forest is made up of panoramic pictures of an actual forest. Students can zoom in, look up and down, left and right, and ‘walk’ through the forest with their mouse. Students start their field trip with a virtual tour guide. As students ‘hike’ through the forest, they will click on hot spots that reveal videos of forest life, pictures with information, and sounds. Throughout the forest are opportunities for learning about forest planning, harvesting, regeneration, re-spacing, thinning, transport, recreation, training, berry picking, bird watching, hunting, fishing, natural forests, valuable habitats, deadwood, forest structure, water, native tree species, and the various animals that call a forest home. This virtual field trip is impressive on individual computers and amazing when viewed as a whole class on an interactive whiteboard or with a projector. Allow students to take turns acting as forest rangers. They can click on various videos, pictures, and information embedded in the forest. Students can record their observations of the forest, trees, animals, and sounds they experience in an observation journal.

Virtual Field Trip #3:

Moon in Google Earth
The moon is no longer off limits for field trips! Students can visit the moon virtually using Moon view in Google Earth. Google Earth makes for excellent virtual trips around the world; in Google Earth 5.0 you can also take your students to the moon.
Moon in Google Earth makes it possible for students to take tours of Apollo missions to the moon, from takeoff to landing – all narrated by Apollo astronauts. Students can explore 3-D models of landed spacecraft, zoom into 360-degree photos of astronaut footprints on the moon, watch rare TV footage of the Apollo missions, and, of course, explore the surface of the moon. Take your virtual field trip to the moon as a class with an interactive whiteboard/projector, or send students on their own mission to the moon using student computers. Assign groups of students to an Apollo mission to explore. When the ‘astronauts’ return to earth, they can tell other students about their mission to the moon or write a newspaper article about their journey.

Virtual Field Trip #4:

Planet in Action
Real field trips don’t allow for adventures like a helicopter ride above the Grand Canyon, an expedition to Mount St. Helens, or a helicopter tour of Manhattan or Disneyland Paris. Planet in Action makes all of these possible with the help of Google Earth.
Planet in Action is an outstanding way to bring learning to life. Students can take a guided tour of the Grand Canyon, Mount St. Helens, Manhattan, or Disneyland Paris or take control and explore on their own. These journeys are incredibly lifelike on an interactive whiteboard/projector. Take your whole class on a virtual helicopter ride above famous landmarks that they are learning about in class. First, watch the recorded tour and discuss the different landmarks as you see them. Then ‘hire’ a student helicopter ‘pilot’ who can navigate a trip for the class. On individual computers, students can create postcards of their virtual field trip or create their own virtual tour that can be saved and shared with others or with Planet in Action. As students fly above the landmarks, a Google Map will show them exactly where they are in the virtual tour.

Virtual Field Trip #5:

AR Sights
Most students probably won’t have the ability to travel to the pyramids or the Eiffel Tower for a field trip.
Augmented Reality makes it possible to see these landmarks, and more, using Google Earth in 3-D.
Augmented Reality requires a webcam, browser add-on, and a printout provided by the AR Sights website.
After a simple graphic is printed out, it is held up to a webcam. Students will see a landmark spring to life right before their eyes on the computer screen. As the printout is tilted, twisted, and moved the landmark moves accordingly. Students can view the famous landmark in 360-degrees, 3-D, and up close. It is truly incredible!
AR Sights makes it possible to view Google Earth right in a web browser and then zoom into places of interest, looking at them in 3-D with Augmented Reality. Students can ‘fly’ around Google Earth, when they find a place of interest, they will hold the printout up to the camera and explore the landmark. This is an amazing visual method for learning about geography and famous landmarks. If you only have access to one webcam, use it with a computer connected to a projector or interactive whiteboard for whole class exploration.

Geography, budget, and time are no longer field trip restrictions. With virtual field trips, students can explore the universe using a computer. These simulations are so realistic that your students will believe they have traveled the universe, actively participating in their learning.

Kids Interactive-Whales

January 25, 2010January 25, 2010Kelly Tenkely11 Comments3129 views

What it is: The stories in our 3rd grade reading curriculum are all about whales this week. I found this great interactive about Whales put together by the Australian Government Department of the Environment for the students to explore. In the Kids Interactive-Whales, students board the Discovery where they can explore 5 different rooms including the science lab, the research center, the office, the library, and the bridge. Each room has an “expert” that will help the students as they explore the room. As students explore each room, they can take notes by saving text to a clipboard. In the research center, students learn about whale migration, the effects of whale hunting, watch video footage of whales, take an up close view of whale pictures, learn about whale sounds, and even report a whale sighting. On the bridge, students will learn about the rules for viewing whales from land, listen to sounds that different whales make, learn about sonar, steer the boat, learn about the whales that live in Australian waters, learn the rules about watching whales from a boat, and learn the best time to go whale watching. In the underwater library, students will use the database to look up facts about whales (they can take notes on their clipboard), use a dictionary to look up unfamiliar terms, learn about the history of whaling, see how whale populations have suffered, and see pictures of whales that can be used in a research project. In the office, students can watch whales through a portal, read about Australian whale preservation, read a brochure, and view a timeline of how whaling activities have changed throughout the years. The science lab is the last room on the Discovery. Here, students can learn about what whales eat, take a closer look at the anatomy of whales, play a game to practice identifying whales, find out how whales are important to the ecosystem, learn about the difference between whales and dolphins, learn about the research that scientists do, and take a closer look at whale statistics.

How to integrate Kids Interactive- Whales into the classroom: Our 3rd grade students study whales every year in both reading and science. This is an excellent interactive to send kids through to help them build background knowledge about whales for future reading or study. This is also a great place for students to begin a research project about whales. Students can save notes to a virtual clipboard as they learn and explore each room. The clipboard can be printed out and used as research notes. The interactive is packed full of good information and activities. Set up your room so that as students file into the room, they feel like they are boarding the Discovery ship. Choose students to act as tour guides for each of the 5 rooms. Using a projector or interactive whiteboard, have the tour guides lead the class through each room. Students who are at their seats can take notes about whales and ask the tour guides questions. If you have access to a computer lab setting, students can explore the site individually. Create a guide of things to search for as they complete their tour, make it a scavenger hunt for information.

Tips: As an extension activity, encourage students to learn about whaling practices and preservation in their own country.

Leave a comment and share how you are using Kids Interactive-Whales in your classroom.

Wiglington & Wenks Virtual World

January 13, 2010February 25, 2010Kelly Tenkely20 Comments12314 views

What it is: I absolutely love when I learn about a new site, especially those that I immediately know will be a winner with students. You know the sites that have incredible graphics, are easy to use, and involve kids in the story (instead of just drill and practice). Wiglington & Wenks is one such site. One of the creators of the site @aldricchang alerted me to the new site today via Twitter.

Students are dropped into the middle of a story where they become world travelers to places around the real-world, meeting historical characters, playing brain games, building culture inspired houses, exploring secret locations, and solving ancient mysteries. There are 100 educational real-world and imaginary places for students to visit from the past, present, and the future. Wiglington and Wenks was originally a children story book series written by Johan Bittleston. It has exploded into an online world where students can learn and explore.

Wiglington and Wenks is so much more than your standard virtual world, it has a rich story line with well developed characters, plot, mystery, and quests. Students are dropped into the story and invited to participate, learning through exploration, problem solving, and critical thinking. The world highlights famous real-world landmarks, historical figures, inventions, culture, nature, and wildlife. Students are motivated to learn more about each as they complete a series of quests.

The story behind the virtual world is about two water rats from England, Wiglington and Wenks, who are in search of a legacy left by Wiglington’s great explorer ancestor. A series of magic maps guide them as they travel through time and space. Through a series of events, a time portal was accidentally created that transported famous figures from the past to the future. All of the historical figures seem to have forgotten who they are. Students embark on a quest to help Wilington and Wenks find the famous missing characters and recover their lost memories.

Wilglington and Wenks are the main characters of the story. They are the heroes. There are a host of other characters that further enchant students as they solve the mysteries of this virtual world.

Carto is the map creator who created the magic maps that keep track of geography, cultural evolution, and climate change over time. Fragments of the map piece together to form a complete real-world map.

Sir Ordy Nace is the curator of the maps at the British Museum.

Filo rat is the head of the Traveling Academy in the town. He is an inventor, code breaker, and skilled strategist- a genius in every way. He loves a challenging game of sudoku or master mind.

Scuttle Butt is a search engine. Ask him a question and he provides a useful list with the most relevant information at the top. He is Filo Rat’s assistant. (This is an awesome way for students to familiarize themselves for using search engines to solve problems!)

Chacophonous is a crab who also happens to be a conductor. He is reportedly connected by an ancestor to Beethoven. He introduces students to classical music.

Walpole the whale makes cross-ocean transportation possible. He has a terrible sense of direction so students have to give him directions and help guide him.

Every story needs a villain and the Count is the villain of this story. He is known for using his knowledge of the magic maps for the destruction of the environment along with his side kick Warrior Wolf.

Historical figures include Thomas Edison, Alexandar Graham Bell, Cleopatra, Confusious, Copernicus, Damo, Emperor Quin, Galileo Galilei, Issac Newton John, Marco Polo, John Rolfe, Nostra Damus, Pocahontas, Wilber Wright, Orville Wright, Vlad Dracula, and many more.

How to integrate Wiglington & Wenks Virtual World into the classroom: The rich storyline alone makes this site one to bring into your classroom. Students can do character studies, learn about plot, mystery, and suspense. Use this site to teach your students about environmental issues such as global warming, forest preservation, protection of marine life, and endangered animals. This is an immersive learning environment where your students will learn by doing. As students travel the virtual world, they will learn geography, cultural differences, history, and inventions. Students are encouraged to think creatively to solve the issues facing the world today. Wiglington & Wenks would be a great site to introduce to students at the beginning of the year that is used throughout the year for learning. Make it your goal to solve the mysteries of the magic maps before the end of the year. Throughout the year students can visit the virtual world, learn about historical figures, famous inventions, and geography. Hang up a world map in your classroom and keep track of the places that have been visited. Encourage students to create character cards as they learn about new historical figures, and story characters. Each student can have their own account but keep track of progress as a class. Create PSA posters for the classroom as students learn about environmental issues. Explore more about the inventors and inventions that students come across in the virtual world. Have students keep a journal of discoveries (on or offline) as they discover new clues. Have students write newspaper articles about the happenings of the virtual world and it’s characters. This site can be tied into your curriculum for the year in a variety of ways.

I love the way this site encourages discovery of knowledge, teamwork, and critical thinking. This site will have your students excited about learning the whole year through. Fridays would make a great day of discovery each week and give students something to look forward to. Create a single class account and explore Wilington and Wenks as a class each week (or a little each day) using an interactive whiteboard or projector. Give each student the opportunity to be the navigator of the world. The other students can take observation notes in a journal about what they see and learn. If you have classroom computers, cycle your students through the virtual world as a center activity. In this model each student can have an account. If you have access to a 1 to 1 environment (one computer for each child) or a computer lab setting on a regular basis, students can each have their own account and solve the mystery individually. Form small groups where students can discuss their findings and give each other tips and tricks. (Hint: these groups will form whether or not you create them…it is that engaging!)

Wiglington and Wenks is the way that learning should be!

Tips: Read the Wiglington & Wenks books (Amazon link) as a class…the tie into the virtual world will have your students eager to read these books to learn more!

Your students will catch on to the virtual world environment quickly and know more about the characters, games, etc. than you could ever hope to learn. There is a great guide that will clue you into everything the world offers so that you can keep up with your students. Check it out here.

Leave a comment and share how you are using Wiglington & Wenks Virtual World in your classroom.

Track My T

November 19, 2009Kelly Tenkely5 Comments26831 views

What it is: Track My T is a truly impressive website that I learned about from @dianadell on Twitter. Track my T lets students type in the unique lot number on their t-shirt and then go through an amazing interactive journey tracking their t-shirt from its very beginning as a cotton seed on a farm, to every step before they bought it. Students can track their actual t-shirt or choose a random t-shirt to follow. On their journey students will learn about picking cotton, the cotton gin, yarn spinners, textile mills, cut and sew factories, and distribution centers. This is an incredible journey that teaches students the process that goods go through before they end up in the local store. Each stop on the journey includes video, images, and information about what happens during that part of the t-shirt creation process. In addition, students will learn about and encounter historical figures like Eli Whitney. At the end of the journey students can check out their custom T tag, learn more about the screen printing process, and learn how to reduce their carbon footprint.

How to integrate Track My T into the classroom: Track My T is an amazing site. From beginning to end your students will be engaged and enthralled with this website. The ability to track their actual t-shirt is really something! Use this activity as a whole class with an interactive whiteboard, as a center activity in the classroom, or individually in the computer lab setting. As a follow up activity, have students put placemarks on a Google Earth map on the location where their t-shirt/pants/shoes were made. This activity could easily be expanded to the geography classroom (perfect for national geography week which is this week!). Students could do additional research about the country where their t-shirt originated from. To expand the activity even more, have students Tweet about their findings, see if they can get a response from someone that lives in that country.

Tips: Be sure to take a look at the accompanying lesson plan on Track My T. The lesson teaches students all about fair trade.

Leave a comment and share how you are using Track My T in your classroom.

Investigating the First Thanksgiving

November 18, 2009Kelly Tenkely1 Comment2571 views

What it is: Investigating the First Thanksgiving is a fun interactive where kids are the historians. Students explore all the clues to learn about the first thanksgiving (really a harvest festival). This site provides great primary source material for kids to sort through. First they explore a section called Fact vs. Myth where they match pictures and descriptions. Each section includes an expert video that talks students through the section and explains a little about the first Thanksgiving. In the next section, students explore the Wampanoag people and learn about their different celebrations and traditions throughout the year. Then, students visit an English Colonist village and learn more about life for the pilgrims. Students can then learn about the events that happened prior to 1621 and what led up to the harvest celebration. The timeline in this section clearly shows what events were happening from the colonists point of view and what events were happening from the Wampanoag point of view. Finally, students can share what they have learned on a virtual informational poster where they can type the text of the poster. Students can print their completed poster at the end.

How to integrate Investigating the First Thanksgiving into the classroom: Investigating the first Thanksgiving is an outstanding activity that involves students and makes them the historian. Use this site to teach students the history of Thanksgiving but also how history changes. This site does a great job of teaching students the difference between “the past” and “history”. It makes the distinction that the past is always true but history (the way we interpret the past) can change based on additional information and resources. You can go through the Investigating the First Thanksgiving interactive as a class on the interactive whiteboard, inviting student “historians” to come up and help guide the class through the activities. Or as a center or individually on classroom or lab computers. Finish the posters together as a class, filling in information, or each students can complete the final project. If you do complete as a class, give a copy of the final to each student.

Tips: There is a great teacher guide that accompanies this site and offers great ideas for using the interactive in the classroom.

Leave a comment and share how you are using Investigating the First Thanksgiving in your classroom.

Virtual Dinosaur Dig

October 16, 2009Kelly Tenkely4 Comments11961 views

What it is: The Smithsonian site is full of amazing activities and interactives. A few weeks ago I stumbled on their Virtual Dinosaur Dig interactive and immediately sent it on to our second grade teachers who are teaching a dinosaur unit. During the Virtual Dinosaur Dig, students act as paleontologists who find a virtual fossil, learn how vertebrate paleontologists excavate the specimen, learn about the anatomy of the specimen and where it lived, view an illustration of what the specimen may have looked like, transport the speciman to a museum, and reconstruct the speciman (a stegosaurus) at the museum. Each step of the interactive gives students information about the tools used to excavate, and why the tool is used. Students get to virtually use each tool to excavate, transport, and reconstruct the dinosaur.

How to integrate Virtual Dinosaur Dig into the classroom: This Virtual Dig makes students virtual paleontologists. The activity is perfect for a interactive whiteboard or projector. Choose a student team of paleontologists who will help with the excavation. Each student can use one of the tools and explain their portion of the excavation to the class. While these students are at the board demonstrating the excavation, students at their seats can fill in their official “Paleontologist Field Guide” to record the steps and tools used in the excavation (I created the field guide for our second grade teachers and will post the pdf version below). The Virtual Dinosaur Dig could also be used as a center activity for teams of paleontologists to visit on classroom computers or in a computer lab setting. Students can fill out their Field Guides as they work. After the virtual dig, set up a hands on dig. Students can “excavate” chocolate chips out of a chocolate chip cookie by carefully digging with toothpicks.

Tips: I created this Paleontologist Field Guide journal to accompany the Virtual Dig. Included in the pdf is an answer guide. Print these pages back to back to create a book that is folded down the center. dino dig field guide The field guide asks students to match the tool picture with its name and order the sequence of events during the excavation.

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using Virtual Dinosaur Dig in your classroom.

Take a Video Tour of Planet Earth

October 14, 2009Kelly Tenkely1 Comment2379 views

What it is: Take a Video Tour of Planet Earth with the combination of Discovery channel “Planet Earth” and Google Earth. Witness animal behaviors, dive into the deepest cave on the planet, and come eye to eye with a 30-ton humpback whale in this interactive tour. Explore the earth through Discovery channel’s Planet Earth series embedded in Google Earth. Just zoom into a location in the Planet Earth tour and view video clips from the popular 11 part series. The tour is free to download and plays directly in Google Earth.

How to integrate Video Tour of Planet Earth into the classroom: Geography lessons come to life in Google Earth. The Video Tour of Planet Earth infuses even more life into your classroom with an up-close look at the incredible animals and vegetation around the world. This tour is an excellent resource for teaching students about habitats, ecosystems, geography, animals, animal kingdoms, and more. Your students will be able to virtually ‘fly’ to locations all over the world and get a real life look at each stop. This is an outstanding resource to view on the big screen with a projector or an interactive whiteboard. Allow your students to take turns acting as tour guide at each stop. Students can preview the video, do some additional research and present their findings as the class visits their stop along the tour. Set up the tour on classroom computers for a fun geography or science center. Use a stop on the video tour as a writing prompt for journaling.

Tips: Google Earth is a free download, if you don’t already have it, this is a MUST have for every classroom.

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using Take a Video Tour of Planet Earth in your classroom.