Virtual Tours

With budgets so tight these days, field trips have become a luxury for most of us.  Luckily the Internet has made it possible for students to have a great experience without ever leaving the classroom.  Here are some amazing virtual tours for your students:

Take a tour of the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History.  "Walk" through the whole museum by following the blue arrow that connects the rooms.  Truly amazing!

Tour an Ancient Roman Villa from the Roman Open-Air Museum Hechingen-Stein


The Nine Planets provides an interactive tour of the solar system.

Education Database Online provides a comprehensive list of virtual field trips by subject.

New discoveries that I love this week

This week has been a lot of fun.  As part of a challenge to find a new project for a teacher, I discovered some really cool tools.  Here is a list of my new favorites this week:

1.  Vuvox- Okay, this one is not exactly new, but I have not taken the time to explore it.  Vuvox provides a space to create online collages that incorporate various media- photos, text, music, and videos.  Users can share or embed their work.  This might be a great alternative to Glogster!  You can also search Vuvox for slideshows previously created to use in your own classroom.

2.  Jux- This is really different.  Think of Jux as a way to make instant websites.   Create your personal page by adding one of the following- a top ten list, article, block quote, photo, video, or slideshow.  I could only imagine the possibilities with students.  The result is a professional looking space.

3.  Geotrio- Create virtual tours of anywhere in the world by choosing locations on a Google map.  You can upload your own images and add audio to narrate your tour.  You can also search for previously created tours to view.

4.  Primary Wall- Primary Wall is a web-based sticky note tool designed for schools.  No sign-up is required to use.  Students and teachers can collaborate in real-time on a question or brainstorm.

5.  Sketchcast- Record sketches as you draw, and save them for sharing or later viewing.  I could see this working great in math as students work out a problem and have a chance to review it later.

Jog the Web- Create Annotated Tours of the Web

Yesterday I discovered a tool that could be really fun to use with students.  It's called Jog the Web.  This free site (premium options are available) allows users to create tours or "jogs" of the web.  Once a site is saved or added to the jog, descriptions are added to annotate the site.  I can only imagine the great possibilities for use with students- as both a research and a teaching tool. You can also search for web jogs already created by others to use in your classroom as well.   Click on the link below to see my example below to get an idea of how it works.

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