| Digital Public History. Virtual Field Trips (VFTs) as Engaged Learning addresses new opportunities and challenges in teaching with technology, specifically, capturing the attention of the emerging "cyber-literate" generation by using virtual field trips to directly engage learners in public history and community memory. The project will consist of three parts: an assessment of the opportunities for technology integration in teaching and learning, the connection between digital resources and social studies, and case study of a virtual field trip using the Boca Raton Army Airfield (BRAAF) site.;Our view of the past is influenced by the media, religious upbringing, monuments, memorials, and cultural influences such as family and school. History and social studies classes are where most young people learn about the collective, public past. Virtual field trips (VFTs) are an ideal way to transport students back in time to learn about different communities and to experience the history of the people and place in thought-provoking ways. VFTs can introduce learners to primary materials that are too far away or too fragile to examine. History can be brought to life with first-person narratives that "virtual travelers" can watch via streaming video technology. Activities such as scavenger hunts for specific objects using maps and 3D virtual environments can be incorporated into virtual adventures so visitors can move around and "walk" through a room or landscape. Hand-held computers, cell phones, and tablet computers are being used with wireless networking to connect participants in geographically diverse locations. Classes in different schools and even in different countries can work collaboratively on projects.;There are many advantages to taking, designing, and developing virtual field trips, however, the two reasons I chose to use a virtual field trip as a method of engaging students in history and social studies are: (1) History is more engaging when presented in an interactive, multimedia experience; and (2) Virtual field trips can be used to build relationships between generations and cultures. The ways students are taught must engage them in a journey of self-discovery in order for them to become self-directed, lifelong learners. |
