Virtual Field Trips: Show Your Students

The World!

Victoria E. Meredith & Audra RobertsonHolbrook Middle School

Who are we?

What’s a virtual field trip?

• Virtual field trip, virtual tour, electronic exhibit, electronic field trip, podcast, vodcast, interactive feature, multimedia

• Commercial, informational, educational Many definitions, many forms!

No, really, what is it?

• Images and words • Uses electronic technology• Engages student interest• Gives a sense of place

Example of virtual field trip

Why virtual field trips?

• You choose time and place• Free or really cheap• Use only what you need• No permission slips,

receipt books

Possible Goals

• Prepare students for RL trip• Review from RL trip• Provide info for places class can’t go• Provide info for places teacher

visited• Give students “sense of place”From http://www.ncsu.edu/meridian/jan99/vfieldtrip/

How do I design them?

Plan it•Storyboard•5 Themes Plan Sheet Wing it•Audio first•Pictures first

So what?

• Have a point / theme / goal• Activities before, during, after–Why Take Field Trips? • Preview, preview, preview!–Is the point obvious?

What free tools can I use to make VFTs?

• Windows MovieMaker (comes with XP)

• Audacity (make audio tracks)

• Irfanview (crop and resize photos)

---Click on above links to download tools---

How do I use the tools?

Windows Movie Maker

Audacity

Irfanview

Using Movie Maker

• If you can’t find it, check Start > Programs > Accessories

• Sometimes it hides other places—check folders, desktop

Using Movie MakerName of open

collection

Preview window

Work area

Task view, collections view

Add new collections folderTools menu

New Collection folder

Name new folder

Type folder name

Hit enter or click in white space

Select collections folder

Click to select.Blue highlight

without black border means it’s selected.

Import into collectionsFile menu

Import into Collections

Pictures must be imported before use.

Find photos to import1. Click “Look in”

drop-down arrow

2. Click on folder that contains photos

Switch to thumbnail viewClick Views drop-down

Switch to thumbnail view

Select Thumbnails

Switch to thumbnail view

Select pictures by clicking on

them.

Select photos to use

Click to select one

Select photos to use

Shift+click to select

several in a row

Select photos to use

Ctrl+click to select

non-contiguous

photos

BE PATIENT! Photos take a long time to load.

Go get some

coffee or something.

Timeline view

Switch to timeline view

Click “Show

Timeline” to change

to timeline

view

Timeline view

Drag and drop to make movie

Drag from here…

…to here

Click and drag

Drag and drop to make movie

Drag and drop to make movie

Drag and drop to make movie

Let go.

Save! Save! Save!

Save early, save often

No, really, SAVE!

Save….Save Project to

keep making changes

Save Movie File to show it on

your computer

A note:

(Not Responding)

Don’t Panic!Wait a few minutes

before you freak out.

Zoom in on timeline

When picture is selected, Page Dn to

zoom timeline

Zoom in on timeline

Scale changed

Add more pictures

(Drag and drop onto timeline)

Now what?

Four pictures added

Import and add sound and music the same way.

Adjust photo length by dragging right side

of photo.

Click on picture, hover over right-hand border

Click and drag red arrow…

Click on picture, hover over right-hand border

Click and drag red arrow…and let go.

Sample movie, take 1

Adjust timing by dragging right edge of photos

Start with first photo on left

Trial and error: Drag, preview, repeat

How to preview

Click on first picture

How to preview

Click Play

Trial and error:Drag, preview, repeat

Sample movie, take 2

More help with Movie Maker

•Get Started with Windows MovieMaker (from Microsoft)

•Tips and Tutorials from Mightycoach.com

Audacity opening screen

Toolbar

area

Work area

Audacity: edit preferences

Edit menu

Preferences

Audacity: edit preferences

Quality tab

44100 Hz

Audacity: edit preferences

WAV 16 bit

File formats tab

OK

Audacity: recording

playrecord pause

stop

Audacity: recording

stop

Audacity: editing recordings

Click and drag to select an area.

Audacity: editing recordings

The darker area is now selected.Hit “delete” on the keyboard….

Audacity: editing recordings

The dead air (empty space) is gone.

Audacity: continuing a recording

Click at end to align cursor,

then hit record again.

Audacity: continuing a recording

Tracks combine when exported

Tracks combine when exported

Audacity: export as WAV

Lets you edit later

Export as WAV to use in Movie Maker

More on Audacity

• SourceForge tutorials

• Audacity Wiki tutorials

• TeacherTube basic tutorial

Using Irfanview

Open file Paste icon

Zooming in Irfanview

Click to zoom out

Zooming in Irfanview

Cropping with Irfanview

Cropping with Irfanview

Crop selectionEdit menu

Select area to crop

Cropping with Irfanview

Saving in IrfanviewFile menu

Save as…

Saving in Irfanview

When in doubt, use JPG.

Rotating in Irfanview

Rotating in IrfanviewImage menu

Rotate (R or L)

Rotating in Irfanview

Irfanview and PrntScrn

• Get image on screen• Press PrntScrn key• Open Irfanview• Ctrl+V or Edit > Paste or Paste icon• Crop and save

PrntScrn capture of SmartArt from Microsoft Word

Cropped screen capture

What are some other free tools I can use?

• Free music by PacDV • Hi-Q—alternative to Audacity• Quick Media Converter—changes video

to WMV format• Paint.net—detailed photo editing• Google Earth

What about maps and images?

• Freeworldmaps.com

• Flickr photo sharing—always get permission

A quick trick for better pictures…

The rule of thirds

Where can I find premade virtual field trips?

• Handmade with love by Victoria and Audra

• List of Online VFTs, articles, sourcesRemember: Preview, preview, preview!

How do I evaluate virtual field trips?

Kathy Schrock's Guide for Educators: Evaluation of Virtual Tours

What if I’m willing to spend some money?

• Headset ($10-$25)• All-in-one PSC (<$50)• USB drive (<$20)• Commercial software (like Roxio MyDVD)

for burning DVDs ($50-$100)• Digital camera (<$100)

Headset

• For recording audio, playback• Types: Folding/portable Over the head Behind the ear Bud / loose• Boom mic

All-In-One PSC

• PSC: printer / scanner / copier• Scan non-digital photos, ephemera• Some with camera card slots• Inexpensive--$30-$50 on sale

USB drive

• Jump drive / thumb drive / USB drive• 8 gig < $20 online• Use for photos, videos• Buy big

Commercial Software

• Burn your trip to DVD• More transitions, cooler effects• Roxio MyDVD 10 < $70• Nero 9 / Nero Burning ROM < $100

Digital Camera

• Is resolution that important?• 5-10 megapixels for < $100• 3-5 megapixels < $50• 3 mp fine for most VFTs• Preview screen

What are some other tips?• Don’t reinvent the wheel• Scan maps, tickets, brochures• Photograph signs, posters, info• When in doubt, ask permission• Use guidebooks• Include yourself

Other ways to create virtual field trips:

Using PowerPoint

Using Photo Story• Photo story trip: Snow

References p. 1

• How To Make the Most of Virtual Field Trips: http://www.edutopia.org/virtual-field-trips-tips

• Virtual Field Trips Are More Than Just Money Savers: http://www.edutopia.org/virtual-field-trips

• Meet Me @ The Corner (includes video field trips of about 3-4 minutes, and several instructional videos on how to make own video podcasts): http://meetmeatthecorner.org/

• Kathy Schrock's Guide for Educators: Evaluation of Virtual Tours: http://school.discoveryeducation.com/schrockguide/evaltour.html

• Visual Literacy (Kathy Schrock--has tips on videos, camera angles, colors, composition): http://kathyschrock.net/visual/visual.pdf

References, p. 2

• Why Use Virtual Field Trips? http://www.phschool.com/eteach/professional_development/virtual_field_trips/essay.html

• Virtual Field Trips http://www.ncsu.edu/meridian/jan99/vfieldtrip/ • Why Take Field Trips? (Includes lists of things to do before, during, after

trips that can be helpful with VFTs, too) http://www.campsilos.org/excursions/hc/fieldtrip.htm

• Virtual Field Trips - Why, Where and How-To (huge list of trips, sites, guideline articles): http://www.internet4classrooms.com/vft.htm

• Get Outta Class With Virtual Field Trips: http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/tech/tech071.shtml

References, p. 3

• Take a Museum Field Trip -- Without Leaving Your Classroom!: http://www.education-world.com/a_curr/curr057.shtml

• An OOPS Virtual Field Trips Page! http://oops.bizland.com/vtours.htm • Cost-Free Travel with Virtual Field Trips:

http://www.techlearning.com/article/1338 • Virtual Field Trips How-To:

http://www.d.umn.edu/~hrallis/guides/VirtualFieldTrips.html • How to Create a Virtual Tour (part of a Utah Education Network staff

development course) http://www.uen.org/utahlink/tours/tourFames.cgi?tour_id=6018

• Windows Movie Maker: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/moviemaker/default.mspx

References, p. 4

• Irfanview: http://www.irfanview.net/ • Audacity http://audacity.sourceforge.net/ • Quick Media Converter http://www.snapfiles.com/get/qmconverter.html • Paint.net http://www.paint.net/ • Google Earth http://earth.google.com/ • Freeworldmaps.net http://freeworldmaps.net/ • Photography Tips: The Rule of Thirds and Photography

http://www.betterphoto.com/exploring/tips/thirds.asp • Free music by PacDV http://www.pacdv.com/sounds/free-music.html • Ken Rockwell's page on photo resolution

http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/mpmyth.htm