Introduction
Instructional technology has achieved great development in the last few decades, and Virtual Field T rips (VFTs) is definitely one of them. This paper will mainly discuss the definition of VFTs, the reason why it is needed, example of its application with screen shots, advantages and disadvantages; provide information on its future development as well as great resources links. Teachers and educationists will be interested most in this paper because it will further their existing understanding of VFTs, show them the future directions as well as present them with several helpful and practical websites.
What is Virtual Field Trips (VFTs)?
Foley (2001) writes,
…Virtual Field Trips are explorations through the Web, typically an organized set of links with a particular theme. Some trips simply consist of a list of links on one Web page, while other trips use some type of navigator (or buttons) to move through the tour. In its best implementation, it's a guided and annotated tour of pages on the Web that have been selected by educators and arranged in a 'thread' that students can follow from page to page, or site to site" (The Big Pocket Guide to Using & Creating Virtual Field Trips, Foley, 2001).
It is important to note that “virtual” here means “digital alternative representations of reality”. VFT currently is not an attempt to replace a virtual reality, whose intention is to get the user fully involved in an interactive computer-generated environment by using sensors and input devices such as data gloves and body suits and output devices such as head mounted displays and surround--sound audio systems. Instead, a VFT is simply an attempt to give more autonomy to the users, by...
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...stems today: an interactive casebook (http://www.wiley.com/college/ford test/index.html).
Garcia, J. M. (1993) The development of the electronic field trip to strengthen and enrich existing K-12 curriculum. Doctoral dissertation, Oklahoma State University.
Gilmour, I. (1997) Skiddaw Virtual Field Trip. A study of thermal metamorphism (http://earth2.open.ac.uk/Skiddaw/Text/Skiddaw.html).
Jenkins, A. & Williams, N. (1997) The aims and objectives of a virtual field course (http://www.geog.le.ac.uk /ufc/publications /paper001.html).
Stainfield, J., Fisher, P., Ford, B., & Solem, M. (2000). International virtual field trips: A new direction? Journal of Geography in Higher Education, 24(2), 255–263
UNWIN, D. (1996) The Virtual Field Course (Den Haag, International Geographical Union, Commission on Geographic Education Workshop on Geography Teaching over the Internet).
Now that we’ve made our way through the journey of Ken Jennings’ incredible book I feel as if it’s important for me to try to sway you to become more involved in geography. It’s a truly fascinating subject and can take you places you never thought you could ever visit. If you don’t want to leave your home, at least buy an atlas, map, or visit Google Earth. You never know what you could discover in your journey. If you don’t think maps or an atlas is your thing, you never know if you never try. Jennings created a journey, for me I would have never cared to take had it not been assigned as a college class assignment, but now I’m so glad I did. Jennings shined a different light on geocaching, and map hunting. He made it fun, interesting, and overall thrilling.
Working as an Instructional Technology Specialist for the past seven years has provided many opportunities to observe teachers and students in a classroom setting. During this time teachers have been in the process of phasing in a new standards-based curriculum with an emphasis on student mastery of these standards. New technology tools have also been incorporated in many classrooms including studen...
The term Virtual Reality (VR) is used by many different people with many meanings. There are some people to whom VR is a specific collection of technologies, that is a Head Mounted Display, Glove Input Device and Audio. Some other people stretch the term to include conventional books, movies or pure fantasy and imagination. However, for purposes of this research, we restrict VR to computer mediated systems. We would define Virtual Reality as a way for humans to visualize, manipulate and interact with computers and extremely complex data.
...l Society for Technology in Education (2007). National educational technology standards for students. Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForStudents/2007Standards/NETS_for_Students_2007.htm
Van Dusen, L. R. (1995). Can integrated instructional technology transform the classroom?. Educational Leadership, 53(2), 28. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
Virtual reality can be defined as a, "technology that enables users to enter computer generated worlds and interface with them three dimensionally through sight, sound, and touch" (Newquist 93). Virtual reality combines computer simulation and visualization into a single, coherent whole (Peterson 8). Researchers say it embodies an attempt to eliminate the traditional distinction between the user and the machine. Virtual reality is intended to provide a means of naturally and intelligently interacting with information (8). Virtual reality is contending to be the interface of the future, allowing ordinary users to use their senses to interact with complex data.
Over the years society has changed in many different ways. In particular, technology has been the largest change that has occurred over the year. Only a few years ago the iPhone came out and it has forever changed the way people view their phone. Internet has also become very assessable resource. There are places everywhere to access a computer or free Wi-Fi. These changes have led to the alteration of the accessibility and use of technology in the education setting. The changes made to technology in the education setting have led to many positive outcomes that have allowed many types of people access to education that could not get it prior. There are however, many critics that refute these changes and say that virtual education can be biased and expensive. Although, there are many critics that do not agree with technology in education, have this can give access to many students with disabilities as well as people who have limited time or ability to further an education.
Immediate engagement, which means in the world we live in today with the little attention span that it is useful.
Definition of virtual reality is "A technology that assures participants that he was actually in another place by replacing the main sensory input with data received by the computer" [6] [10]. One of the key elements of the virtual reality of cyberspace; it is a space fantasy or simulation environment. Which is always linked here is a virtual world and immersion virtual reality, perception is born into the world of alternatives such as ethereal or other point of view of our world
Some of the advantages of digital learning are providing a flexible way of education from anytime, anywhere and any place where Internet connection and computers is accessible. It is also an affordable way of learning which reduces travelling cost for coming to classrooms. Students can take the exams and quizzes over the web; even they can submit assignments over the Internet. Instructors can provide all the materials online which in turn no cost for paper and printing. Ernst & Young University had 35% cost decrease because of virtual learning (Hall, 2000).
Technology enables students and teachers to have a fast and easy way to acquire unlimited access to tons of information. With all of the useful technologies, the curriculum is bound to change in endless ways, creating more opportunity for learning.
Imagine studying for history exam about ancient romans, put on oculus rift goggles and all of a sudden arrive right there in ancient Rome and be able to walk around and have the ability to look around, experience the culture and interact with objects. Teachers say that kids or people learn more at fieldtrips than actual books but the time it takes to make the trip there, lunch breaks and grouping the people together takes almost as much time as the actual learning experience. Yu are also limited to which fieldtrip you want to go on because both the distance could be too long or limited resources for the trip itself. Teachers are hoping that devices like ocu...
Technology is getting smarter each and every day as we look towards the future. There are many state-of-the-art products and programs that are being developed to fit our needs. One the biggest devices that came out recently is Virtual Reality. Virtual reality is also known as “VR”. Virtual Reality is a computer engineered simulation of a three-dimensional image or setting. It can be interacted with almost a real or physical way by a person using special equipment. Some equipment includes a helmet with a screen inside and gloves or remotes fitted with sensors. Virtual reality is becoming more popular as major companies are developing the technology and making it more accessible to the community. Many people ask the question such as “What is
You are 10,000 feet in the air, the skydiving instructor yells for you to jump, you push yourself into the open air, you freefall for 10 straight minutes as the air pushes against your face, as you land, you remove your virtual reality goggles and you are back in your cozy living room. Alright we may not be at this point yet, but this could be how we entertain and thrill ourselves in the near future; the full implementation of virtual reality into our daily lives. As soon as I found out about virtual reality, I was entirely intrigued. The idea that you could experience anything without having to leave your home enticed the adventurer in me. We will explore the history and progression of virtual reality and discuss the pros and cons of the emerging
Mariani, Matthew. “Distance Learning in Post-Secondary Education: Learning Whenever, Wherever.” Occupational Outlook. 45. 2 (2001): 2-10.