Module 3

DevelopingaVirtualFieldTrip

MargitLanze
InstructionalObjective
Whenpresentedwithaglobe,firstgradestudentswillbeableto;
describehowtheirlocalcommunityrelatestothecontinentofNorthAmericaandthe
othersixcontinentsand
nameatleastonecharacteristicforeachcontinent
with80%accuracy.
AECTStandard2.4IntegratedTechnologies
StudentswillgoonavirtualfieldtripusingGoogleEarth.Thefieldtripwillleavefromthe
school,gototheneighborhood,thenthecity,state,theUS,thecontinentofNorthAmerica,
andfinallyallaroundtheglobe,onecontinentatatime.Eachgeographicalareahasacolor
overlaytoillustrateitrelatestothegeographicalareastudentsarefamiliarwith.Tomakeat
leastonelastingconnectionwitheachcontinent,studentswillexploreeachcontinentusing
multimediamaterialsinsmallgroups.
BecauseoftherelativecomplexityofpilotingGoogleEarth,thefieldtripwillstartwitha
teacherdemonstrationofhowthelocalarearelatestothenational,international,and
continentalareas.
LearnerControlsandInteractivity
Phase1GoogleEarthdemonstrationofthecontinentsbytheteacher
Inthisphase,studentsobservetheteacherasshepilotsthe
worldtour
.Studentsare
alertedtowatchcloselyforthedifferentcontinents.Ona
worksheet
,theycirclethe
continentsmentionedinthetour.Whiletheteacherdrivesthefirstpartofphase1,
subsequentlyallowingstudentstoretracetheteachersjourneyontheiPads,gives
themtheopportunitytostrayandexplorethecontinentsinmoredepth.A
worksheet

willgivethemalistofcities.Theywillflyintothecityandmakenoteofthecontinent
thecityison.
Phase2Studentexplorationofthecontinents
Insmallgroups,studentswillexploreeachcontinentusingmultimediabookscreatedin
BookCreatorandpublishedon
ISSUU
.Astheyworkthroughthecontenttogether,they
keep
notes
ofnewcontentthatarerelevantorinterestingtothem.Thisactivitygives
learnerspacingcontrolandcontroloverwhattheywanttorememberfromthebook.
Interactivityisnotonlytakingplacethroughpersontopersoninteractionswithinthe
group,butalsobybeingabletonavigatethepagesofthemultimediabookandthe
optiontowatch,rewatch,andrewindtheembeddedvideo.
Integratedaudio,video,andgraphicenvironments
Thisprojectmakesuseofmultiplemultimediaresources.TheGoogleEarthtourplaces
studentsinagraphicenvironmentthatallowsthemtovisualizetheotherwisedifficult
conceptofcontinentandhowitrelatestotheirlimitedunderstandingofthesizeof
spaces.GivingstudentsanopportunitytoexploreplacesontheiriPadsaddsanother
layerofexposuretoenhancedgraphicenvironments.Forexample,studentswillbe
instructedonstreetviewandwillbegivenanopportunitytoexplorecountrieswhere
streetviewisavailable.ThemultimediabooksinISSUUincludeintegratedtext,photos,
andvideo.
ContextofLearning
ThisactivitywasdesignedforfirstgradestudentsinCharlotte,NorthCarolina.The
GoogleEarthtourispersonalizedtostartthemoffattheirownschool.Theyaremostly
middleclassstudentsthatarelikelyexposedtomanydigitaltoolsintheirownhomes
andare,therefore,quitetechsavvy.Atschool,theyhaveaccesstoaclasssetofiPads
andhavereceivedsomeformalinstructiononvariousapps.
Standards
AECTStandard2:Development
Objective

Whenpresentedwithaglobe,firstgradestudentswillbeableto;
describehowtheirlocalcommunityrelatestothecontinentofNorthAmerica
andtheothersixcontinentsand
nameatleastonecharacteristicforeachcontinent
with80%accuracy.
Assessment(s)
Formative:
Theworksheetactivitiesserveasformativeassessmenttoolsthatwillhelpthe
teachergagestudentsunderstanding.
Through
Quizizz
,studentswillpracticeanddemonstratetheirknowledgeofthe
sevencontinents.
Summative:
Theteacherwilldemonstratehowaglobecanbecollapsedtobeviewed
twodimensionally.Studentswillbehandedacopyofaworldmapandaskedto
indicateanapproximatelocationofCharlotte,tolabelthecontinentsand
includeoneinterestingfacttheylearnedforeach.
Procedures
Day1

Teacheractivatespriorknowledgebyaskingstudentsiftheyknowinwhatcity
TrinityEpiscopalSchoolislocated.Shewillthencreatecuriositybytellingthem
thattheywillbegoingonaflightaroundtheworldtoday.
InGoogleEarth,theteacherstartsthe
tour
attheschoolinstreetview.
Zoomingout,shewilltakestudentsfirsttoplacesneartheschoolandshow
wheretheseplacesarewithinthecitylimits.Shewilltaketimetopointouthow
theirschool,thatappearstobelargetostudents,becomesjustalittledotinthe
map,especiallyoncethemapiszoomedouttocapture
NorthCarolina
.The

teacherwillintroducetheterm
continent
asshezoomsoutfurthertocapture
NorthAmerica
andreintroducesthetermforeachothercontinent.Color

overlayspreviouslycreatedandsharedviaakmzfilefacilitatenavigationforthe
teacheranddemonstrationoftheconceptforthestudents.Whiletheteacher

navigatesthroughGoogleEarth,studentscircleeachcontinenttheyhearher
mentionona
worksheet
.Attheendofthedemonstration,theteachersolicits
studentinputbyaskingthemwhichcontinentstheycircled.Eachcontinent
writtenontheboardinlargeletters.
Day2

Oncethetouraroundtheworldhasbeendemonstratedbytheteacher,
studentswillworkinGoogleEarthontheirindividualiPads.Theywillretrievethe
kmzfilesfromGoogleDriveandwillbegivenanopportunitytoreviewthetour
withtheoptionofstoppingitandmanipulatingtheglobewiththeirfingers.
Another
worksheet

extendslearningbyaskingstudentstolookupcitiesin
GoogleEarthandtoidentifyinwhichcontinenttheyarelocated.Throughthe
useofthekmzfile,studentswillbeabletoidentifycontinentsthroughthecolor
andlabelingoverlays.

Day3

Studentswillpracticeanddemonstratetheirknowledgeoftheseven
continentsusing
Quizizz
.

Day4

Theteacheropensthelessonbyonceagaindemonstratingthecontinentof
NorthCarolinainGoogleEarth.Studentsareplacedintosmallgroups(34
students).Theyaregivena
multimediabook
onNorthCarolina.Withinthe
group,theywillworkthroughthecontent.Studentsareencouragedtointeract
anddiscusswhattheyarelearning.Astheyworkthroughthebook,theyare
askedtofindthreeinterestingfactsaboutNorthCarolinaandtoexplainwhy
theythinkitisinteresting.Groupssharethreeinterestingfactswiththeclasson
Padlet
.

Days510

Repeat
Day4
foreachcontinent.

Day11

Summativeassessment:Studentslabelaphotocopied
map
andindicateatleast
onefacttheylearnedabouteachcontinent.

ModificationsforLearners
ForlearnersthatmayhavemoredifficultiesworkingindependentlyinGoogleEarthon
Day2
,asmallgroupofstudentswillworktogetherwiththehelpofateacherassistant

whowillassiststudentsinthenavigationofonlyoneiPadforthegroupastheyfindthe
requiredinformation.
Duringtheactivitieson
Days410
,studentswillbeheterogeneouslygroupedtoallow
forpeersupportofweakerstudents.
Todifferentiatethesummativeassessment,studentsmaybeallowedtousetheirnotes
tolabelthemaps.
Shouldthetechnologyfailalltogether,severalglobesand/orlaminatedmapsmay
substitutepartsoftheGoogleEarthsegment.Studentengagementmaybedecreased
somewhat.ShouldindividualiPadsfail,studentswillbeaskedtopairup.
Closure
Asstudentslearnedaboutthedifferentcontinentsandmadenoteofinterestingthings
oneachcontinent,theywillbeplacedinoneofthefollowinggroups:Charlotte,North
Carolina,NorthAmerica,SouthAmerica,Africa,Europe,Asia,Australia,orAntarctica.
Withthehelpoftheirteachersandartteachers,studentswilldevelopfloatsfortheir
areathatrepresentstheareaandreflectstheirinterestsinthearea.Uponcompletion
ofthefloats,parentsareinvitedtowatchaparadeofthefirstgradeon9thStreet.
Reflection
GoogleEarthwasawonderfulchoicetodemonstratetheconcept,meonthemap.
Zoomingoutfromtheactualphysicallocationoftheschoolreallyhelpedstudents
understandjusthowsmallweareincomparisontotheearth.WhileIdontthinkthere
isabettertooltodemonstratethis,GoogleEarthisquitedifficulttoworkwith.
Teacherswerenotsuretheycouldnavigatethroughthetourwithoutusingthe
prerecordedtour,thoughmypresenceintheclassroomhelped.Lettingstudents
exploreontheiPadsisawonderfulwaytogivethemagencyintheirlearning.Thisisnot
tosaythatitwentwithoutdistractionandfullconcentration.Theworksheethelpedand
gavestudentsfocus,buttheallottedtimehadtobeextendedbecausestudentseither
gotlostorcouldntnavigateefficientlyenough.Makingthisasmallgroupactivitymay
alleviatesomeoftheseproblems.

Themultimediabooksworkedwell,thoughalittlemoreinformationmayhavegiven
studentsmoreopportunitiestofindsomethinginterestingthattheycoulduseintheir
float.Booksshouldberevisedandexpanded.
Thebiggestchallengeforthisactivitywastoanticipatehowallofthemovingpieces
wouldfittogether.Overall,implementationwentwellandthesummativeassessment
confirmeditseffectiveness.