VIRTUAL FIELD EXPERIENCES: MAKING THE INACCESSIBLE, ACCESSIBLE

Earth Science teachers face a daunting task in teaching students content that is either conceptually difficult to access or is physically difficult to directly model, demonstrate, or experience. Limited budgeted resources set aside for curriculum materials, equipment, lab supplies, and travel allowances only make the task of developing meaningful, shared experiences that teachers can implement in a school-sanctioned environment that much more difficult to achieve. Gone are the days in many districts in which a science teacher could take his or her class somewhere to experience something that would reinforce and expand classroom learning. The classic science field trip or fieldwork experience is quickly becoming a relic of the past. Field trips and educational travel have been the low-hanging fruit for budget cuts in K-12 education for years. Virtual Field Experiences (VFEs) offer an innovative way around limited budgets and resources that also incorporate technology into the classroom. VFEs make concepts that may seem abstract and not relatable to the average student suddenly something that can be seen and interacted with in a concrete manner. VFEs use free software such as Google Earth and Prezi to bring field experiences into the classroom. VFEs can be assembled with relatively little time and effort, tailored to fit directly into your curriculum covering your needs and interests, shared among a vast community of online educators, and used to cover key instructional and technology goals together at once. Since the ReaL (Regional and Local) Earth Inquiry professional development program funded by the National Science Foundation provided teachers with collaborative technical and instructional support, several VFEs were developed on varied topics such as South Dakota glacial movements and the Sanford Underground Lab in Lead, South Dakota. Of particular interest, a VFE that uses Prezi creating an interactive virtual layout of the NOAA ship Pisces that provides opportunities for students to research NOAA-related science and careers through the Teacher at Sea program will be presented. Remember, if you cannot take the class to the field site, bring the field site to the classroom!