Field trips no longer have to take place off campus, but can now occur at any Internet-connected computer. Many sites have created excellent Internet field trips for your students to complete. You can also create such a field trip by going to a website and creating your own information scavenger hunt. For example, you might go to the NASA website and create questions based on the information offered there.

Pros and Cons

Obviously, a lot less planning is required for this type of field trip — all you have to do is reserve the computers and create your lesson plan. Plus, you can “take” students to places they may never visit, like the Louvre or Colonial Williamsburg. You can show them the wealth of resources that are available to them through the Internet.

On the other hand, virtual field trips are less interactive than actual field trips. Some students might have a hard time getting into the field trip on a computer. Further, if you have slow Internet access, your field trip might take an inordinate amount of time.

Finally, lessons you create have to be updated frequently as websites often go up, shut down, or get changed significantly. The URLs that worked yesterday may no longer be active today.