Tours

The essence of a Virtual Field Trip is that it brings together students from widely scattered locations so that they can broaden their perspective and understanding of the world. Students in their local environment become the eyes, ears, noses, mouths and hands for distant students. As well as gathering data, answering questions and reporting their findings on a situation in their local environment they have the opportunity to pose questions and develop solutions to the issue at hand in a collaborative environment.

An information problem solving approach is a good way to work with others in various locations to develop opinions and action plans for issues that are common to the group. Examples

Whenever you join an e-mail based project introduce your school-not every student involved(!!)

Where you are from, a bit about the area, something interesting about school/area

Thinking Skills: What is happening, why is it important, what do we need to know about the matter?-things to remember, recall & relate (Bloom's revised taxonomy-Remembering)

Steps (for students)	Implementation Suggestions (for teachers)
Establish context and understanding Use a scenario provided or write your own Read some suggestions	-The stimulus material is the basis for further activity.
Tell your own story 1. In the classroom Brainstorm Discuss Plan ie. What, who where-describe the physical and human aspects of the issue. List key words and concepts. Sketch a concept map to show how the fit together Decide what id already known about the matter, what needs to be known and devise some questions that need to be answered.	Design some activities to get the students thinking about the issue from a personal perspective. Suggested strategies Collaborative Strategies Whole group Paired discussion + Round Robin Individual, pairs, fours, whole group Interviews Rotating groups Critical Thinking Strategies Brainstorming-Strategies eg-De Bono's 6 hats of Crtiical thinking Concept mapping KWL Info chart-Who, what when Assist the students to write their own focus questions on the matter. (more on Students writing their own questions) In this case they might be Where are ... Why do .. How are .. What can be done ...
2. On the web Use the web page building tool to collect data on the matter. To go there Click here Details to add to your web page -take a digital photo of examples around the school or home. (Hints) -write about the surfaces you have to walk on at your school	-The purpose of building a web page is to allow all participants to look at your information that can later be used for higher order thinking tasks such as creating a substantiated viewpoint -To do this with a class build the web site as a group telling relating the situation in your area
3. On the e-mail list Contribute to the online discussion about shoes. Rap Point 1: Describe the issue in your local area What should you say? Brief others on your location and its character. Relate a story, add to an opinion, ask for opinions and similar stories Make a comment or suggestion Respond to someone else's' story Ask for more information about a story you find interesting?	-This is essentially a brainstorming discussion that will need to be facilitated by the project organisers. Facilitating on line is similar to face to face however there are some considerations worth reading about. Read more -Discussion on the e-mail list is best developed by designing a series of 3 or 4 rap Points (discussion points). These should be developed when planning the project with your partner school. In the classroom students can be organised and participate individually, pairs, fours. In cases where there is no computer in the classroom responses can be formulated and added by a student on behalf of the class.

Thinking Skills: Things to find out and locate (Bloom's revised taxonomy-Understanding)

Steps (for students)	Implementation Strategies (for teachers)
1. In the classroom Brainstorm Who cares about this issue What are the parts of the issue? Collect more information Plan where to look & what to do Plan, write and carry out a survey to find out more about the matter	-this stage is designed to broaden the students understanding by looking at the issue from other peoples point of view. -the stakeholders should be identified eg. school admin, teachers, shoe manufacturers -the key parts of the issue need to be identified as a basis for further primary or secondary research eg. people aspects and environmental aspects
2. At the website Search Library resources or the web for information and good web sites on your issue	-Add and annotate useful web sites on the project site. Education Network Australia is a database of teacher selected websites whose links are updated regularly www.edna.edu.au
3. On the e-mail list Rap Point 2 To find out more about the issue we could ask the people in your neighbourhood what they think about the matter. Suggest a format for the survey and some questions. Give some feedback to another person on their idea for a survey.	- A survey would be an ideal rap point here with students discussing what they would want to know from people in their area about the issue. -An online guest would be ideal here to provide a 'expert' or first hand perspective. More about online guests

Thinking Skills: Things to sort out and make sense of. (Bloom's revised taxonomy-Application & Analysis) ie How does it happen, why does it happen, what impact does it have?

Steps (for students)	Implementation Strategies (for teachers)
1. In the classroom Collate survey data and make conclusions Make flow chart to show the critical stages. Construct a graph to illustrate selected information. Discuss & test theories and ideas	-in this stage students are applying the information they have found to their own situation -organising the information into a chain of events and deciding on the important issues that need to be considered eg Impact on people, impact on the environment
2. At the web site	-
3. On the e-mail list Rap Point 3 Post your findings from the survey you carried out as well as your conclusions about the data. Is there a significant issue regarding the matter. What would happen if ....? Look for similarities and differences between the survey locations, ask questions and compile a list of common points.	-This rap point should encourage students to compare their findings to date and look for similarities and differences The sorts of questions you might use in the rap point or use to facilitate discussion are... Which events could not have happened? If. ..happened, what might happen...? How is...similar to...? What do you see as other possible outcomes? Why did...changes occur? Can you explain what must have happened when...? What are some or the problems of...? Can you distinguish between...? What were some of the motives behind..? What was the problem with...?

Steps (for students)	Implementation Strategies (for teachers)
1. In the classroom	-by this stage the students shave a good idea of what the matter is all about and now need some guidance in developing their opinion
2. At the web site Add your conclusion once you have developed it according to feedback from the group.
3. On the e-mail list Rap Point 4 Share your class/group views on what should be done about the issue, providing evidence and reasons. Comment on the ideas of others.	Rap Point 4 should encourage students to share their ideas on what should be done about the matter. Their ideas should be supported by evidence and reasons for their position. You then need to encourage students to respond to the ideas of others suggesting for example something positive about their idea, something negative and some information type comment

Steps (for students)	Implementation Strategies (for teachers)
1. In the classroom	-a good time to discuss how change happens and shadow the discussion online
2. At the web site Add to the web site the group recommendations
3. On the e-mail list Contribute to a discussion on the group solution Rap Point 5 Contribute your thoughts on a plan of attack on the problem and how it should be solved. Comment on the ideas of others.	-this is an important time for the facilitators as you need to negotiate a group solution as to what to do about the issue Agreement should be reached on how to solve the problem Then assist them to put together their recommendation What to do with it eg. prepare a submission (web template available), write to relevant authority.