Online learning and closures as a result of the global pandemic have shown us that we have to be creative. Many places are physically closed. Others require travel that is no longer encouraged for the time being. But what about when things begin to return to normal? Field trips are still expensive. For my students in California, visiting sites of the American Revolution are not possible. As a result of school closures, I began to rely heavily on virtual field trips to engage my students and make learning come to life. If you aren’t’ familiar with virtual field trips, I suggest you read about the three ways they can engage your students. Here are 10 of the best apps and Chrome extensions for virtual field trips that I have used during my experience.
1.) Google Maps and Google Earth
Topping my list of the best Chrome extensions and apps for virtual field trips is Google Earth or Google Maps.
If you are working on a Chromebook, using Google Maps allows your students to stand in places as if they were there. When creating your field trip, you can easily link to images in the FIRST PERSON view on a Google Map. Search for your location and select the person in the bottom right. Then, click on the little blue dots on the map to see the view. In many cases, these views allow your students to walk around and investigate. This is a great way to help your students experience a place, especially if it is too far away.
Of course, using Google Earth is a wonderful way to explore. Your students can explore much the same as they would in Google Maps, but they can also create their own trips by marking locations.
2.) Read Aloud
Second, on my list of the best Chrome extensions and apps for virtual field trips is Read Aloud. Chances are you have students whose reading level will prevent them from accessing the information on websites. Read Aloud is a text to speech app that allows your students to select portions of a text, or the text’s entirety and have it read aloud to them. They can also highlight their writing and have it read back to them.
3.) Internet Abridged
One way students can decide if a web page has the information they need is with Internet Abridged. This is especially helpful when you ask your students to design their own virtual field trip. Visit any site and select the Internet Abridged extension and a summary of the page pops up.
4.) Split Screen Layout
The benefit of a virtual field trip is that your students will be accessing various interactive activities from their assignments. However, to keep students accountable for their time and work, they should be completing tasks along the way.
Split Screen layout allows your students to easily have more than one tab visible on their desktop. This will allow them to see the website, video, or other interactive elements for their research, as well as the task they are being asked to complete.
This definitely makes the list for the best apps and extensions for virtual field trips, or for any digital learning that you are doing in your classroom.
5.) Google Translate
You and your students might find yourself accessing materials on websites that are in a different language than you read, write, or speak. Or, perhaps like me, you have students in your class who are learning that language spoken in your classroom.
Google Translate allows you to translate web pages into languages that you or your students can access. You can learn more about using Google Translate HERE. Usually, a popup appears on a web page in Chrome asking if I would like to translate that page.
6.) Save to Pocket
Number seven on the list is one of the best apps or extensions for virtual field trip creation. This is true from both a teacher’s or a student’s perspective.
The second step in my checklist for building virtual field trips is locating digital resources. As you explore websites, find videos, create or find other interactive elements, you are going to want to save those links.
This is important because once your trip is built, you will need to link them to your field trip document. Save to Pocket allows you or your students to save those links all in one place until you are done with them.
7.) Cite This For Me
Want your students practicing citing their sources? This chrome extension allows your students to create a citation in whichever format you require. The FREE feature will create the citation for you but then requires your students to copy the citation and paste it where you ask them to keep track of this information. The PREMIUM version will create a citation list for students.
8.) Google Keep
This Chrome extension is great for many different aspects of your teaching life, as well as for your students. If asking your students to create their own field trip, or as you are creating your field trip, Google Keep allows you to track materials that you want to include. As you look for photos, videos, and anything else that you want to include, you can save them as notes in Google Keep.
You can create a visual board for your virtual field trip, and even create a to-do list to keep you or your students on track.
9.) Classwork Zoom
No, it’s not related to Zoom the video conferencing software. This is a visual timeline that allows you to see the progress of revision history on assignments in Google Classroom. Assuming you assign your virtual field trip in Google Classroom, you can see student progress on the assignment.
This is especially helpful for ongoing long term projects, or feedback for parents.
The free version allows you to see one student at a time. I prefer the paid version as I can see ALL students in a classroom on a given assignment(s) at once. For $2.99 a month, it’s a worthwhile investment in my opinion.
10. Flip Grid
This app is great for having students share their thoughts, ideas, and building a community around a shared experience.
Within it, you can create different assignments related to what students are doing on their virtual field trips. It can be a wonderful way to bring in listening and speaking skills, having students develop interpretive talks as if they were a docent or leading a tour about their virtual field trip experience.
