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What Do You Have To Do To Take A Fieldtrip?
Finding Your Trip
Costs For Your Field Trips |
One service that can be accommodated by the Van Buren ISD is the provision
of facilities for two-way interactive meetings and field trips that are
available from literally thousands of sites around the world. This is
possible through the connection of multiple telephone lines that allow not
just voice but video images to be connected to a remote site.
The biggest paybacks for these meetings are time saved, and travel
expenses saved by almost all participants. In the cases of the Video Field
Trips, students of all ages get to see places and situations that they
would not get to experience any other way.
The purposes of these meetings can be for almost any reason. We have
served as a site for job interviews shortly after the September 11th
attack at the World Trade Center, have connected sites around the United
States to colleges and universities in Mexico, and provided
“videoconferencing field trips” for elementary schools around the area to
places like the Cincinnati Zoo. Videoconferencing is also an effective
format for meetings, professional development activities, college classes,
and degree programs from colleges geared to provide complete degree or
certification programs through Distance Learning.
Most videoconference field trips are fairly inexpensive, and can draw
students into the excitement of remote places. Presenters are skilled at
providing content in a visual, “hands on” fashion. Many of the
presentations fit in with curriculum requirements for different grade
levels.
The key to having a successful videoconference, at any level, is to have
all of the participants prepared for what is going to be happening. Some
of the videoconference sites may have formalized pre-conference
activities. In one program, students read books, study them, and as a
culmination have a videoconference with the book’s author. Only through
advanced preparation will students have a good enough understanding of the
book with which to form insightful questions.
In other conferences, current affairs or world events may be the subject
matter for the videoconference. Preparation is key to maximizing the value
of the experience. In most cases, these presentations cannot be
videotaped, as the interactive component is crucial and there may be an
issue of copyright protection. Because of this spontaneity of
presentation, students or staff need to be prepared for the meeting or
lesson.
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