Enriching the Common Core through Virtual Field Trips in Bolivar-Richburg

Photos:  NASA and Bolivar-Richburg Central School 

What's out there in space? How do we get there? How do you live in space?  These are some of the questions that were answered for Bolivar-Richburg Elementary students.  Over 300 elementary students and teachers were invited to a Virtual Field Trip Showcase event that took place in their school on Friday, March 28, 2014.  Each grade had the opportunity to have the world brought to their classroom through Distance Learning.  Students sat patiently as Scientists, Firefighters, and Museum experts talked with the students about space, habitats, building communities, and fire safety.

Imagine the Common Core enriched through the addition of virtual field trips, collaboration exercises with remote classrooms, and accessibility to subject-matter experts from all around the globe.  Bolivar-Richburg got a preview of how easily these interactive learning experiences can happen, right in their classroom.   The VFT showcase was aligned to content that the elementary students were currently learning in their classrooms.  Every hour a new virtual field trip began that looked something like this:

• 1st grade students connected to the National Park Service to learn about communities
  
• 2nd grade connected to Fireman Fran at the Fireman's Association of the State of New York
  
• 3rd grade went to the Milwaukee Museum to learn more about butterflies to go along with their science kits
  
• 4th grade went into space with NASA to learn about how to live in space
  
• 5th grade students also went into space to learn about the solar neighborhood
  

When asked if students would like to do this again and connect virtually to an expert, in unison they all yelled "YES!"  What a better way to extend student learning and the Common Core by learning from the world around them through text, media, and social interaction.

Written by:  Betsy Hardy, CA BOCES Distance Learning