C4T Summary #2

Comment #1

Take a Virtual Field Trip To the Deserts and Grasslands of Africa

Summary

In this blog post Mr. Brian Crosby shared a resource known as a virtual field trip. Basically students are able to go on a field trip without ever leaving their school. this particular virtual field trip was accessible through Google hangout or live streaming on YouTube. Mr. Crosby encourages teachers to get involved with online learning and take advantage of resources like these. Mr. Crosby provide an ample amount of links making all the necessary information very easy to navigate.  

My comment

"Hello Mr. Crosby,

My name is Paige Inman and I am currently enrolled in a Micro-computing Systems course at the University of South Alabama. Each week we are assigned a teachers blog to read, comment, and later summarize on our own class blogs. I intend on being an elementary school teacher and fully embracing the use of online learning in my classroom. Do you think that future educators will be more willing to use resources such as these as opposed to educators that have been in the field for some time?

I had never heard about a virtual field trip until I read about it in this post. This is something I want to become more familiar with in order to utilize it in my future classes. I think it is incredible that students can be exposed to experiences such as these and never have to leave their school. I appreciate that you included a number of links throughout your post so that all the information was easy to find and navigate. I look forward to reading your future posts.
Paige Inman
@Inman_Paige"

Comment #2

The “High Hopes Project” Explained

Summary 

The "High Hope Project" is a collaborative project that is bringing together the work of elementary schools, middle schools, high schools, universities, Nevada’s Northwest Regional Professional Development Program,the 21st Century Division of WCSD, and students from all over the globe. Basically students are helping design and build payloads that will be attached to high altitude weather balloons that will then be released. There are many ways that students are getting involved. Some students are engineering water pressure gauges, some are writing computer code, some are designing a release mechanism, and students from all over the world are sending in their own "high hopes" to be part of the payloads. They are still inviting teachers and students to get involved. These launches will happen in the end of April and June from various locations.

My Comment

Mr. Crosby,
This is an incredible collaborative project unlike any I've heard of before. What a great way to get students of all ages engaged. I love how this project extends on a global level to involve students from all over the world. I imagine this project is creating some authentic excitement in the students knowing they will be apart of something so grand. Is this something you hope to repeat with new students in the future? I will be checking back to see the video and photos of what the GoPro cameras document!