Science Lesson

Every science teacher wants to make sure that their topic stays exciting, fun, fresh and relevant. The last thing you want is to let science get stuck in a rut, sticking to pen and paper, punctuated by a few laboratory experiments. It’s always great if your science lesson plans include field trips.

A virtual field trip is not the same as going on a real field trip and using all your senses – sight, smell, touch, hearing and even taste – but it’s the closest thing you can get to the real thing. So while your science lesson plans shouldn’t totally abandon real field trips (complete with packing jackets and safety warnings, which are part of the fun and the experience as well as being a learning experience in its own right), you should see how many virtual field trips you can fit in.

A virtual field trip is not the same thing as watching a documentary video – or not quite. While some documentaries available as videos, DVDs, TV programs or YouTube clips are very close to a virtual field trip (the documentaries produced by the late Steve Irwin have something of the personal touch about them, by crikey!), they aren’t. A virtual field trip involves linking up with someone working or living near where you want to study (a marine biologist, a park ranger, a zookeeper) and using wireless technology to look around and (the really important bit) to ask the expert questions.

Naturally, your science lesson plans for virtual field trips need a fair amount of prior planning. Teleconferencing tools are essential at both ends – but these are thankfully becoming cheaper.

It may come as a bit of a surprise to find out that park rangers and the like are very willing to participate in and guide these virtual field trips. Often, if students can see something fascinating at the park or zoo (or whatever) during a virtual field trip, the students are more likely to want to visit that park and see it for real.