Field trips are an integral part of elementary school, but students in Jonathan Silverman's first grade class at Los Cerritos Elementary School sometimes get to take part in this experience twice a week.
In fact, Silverman and his students are used to ranging far afield, visiting places like the Wildlife Center of Virginia, the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, or California’s network of Marine Protected Areas (MPA).
On this particular day, Silverman’s class is traveling to Tennessee.
“We went on a field trip to a place called the Elephant Sanctuary, I think,” said first grader Antonio Mendez. “I learned they eat banana, pineapple, or seed.”
“It was beautiful in there,” added Josias Picado.
“They do cool stuff like go in the mud,” said Analaiyah Gasphar.
“They retired from the circus,” explained Angelo Campos. “They just walk around and drink water and get cooled down if it’s really hot there. . .Elephants are one of my favorite animals, because they have big ears and they’re really big.”
Silverman is able to arrange these forays using Skype in the Classroom.
“It’s a virtual field trip,” said Silverman. “It’s a real hands’ on experience, and even though it’s not hands’ on, it’s right in our face.”
He said he learned about the program a few years ago during a technology conference in Palm Springs involving the nonprofit group Computer-Using Educators (CUE).
“It’s more interesting than just watching a video. It’s more interesting than just reading a book. . . We can go across the world to different time zones. It’s quite incredible.”
The real benefit of the program, according to Silverman, is that it may inspire a future career or spark a love of nature by allowing students to meet and talk to experts from different fields and exposing them to unknown and unfamiliar environments.
“You can hear the kids go ‘ooh. . . ahh. . .wow,’ so for them I know those are memorable moments that they’re going to cherish and remember for the rest of their lives, and I just feel like they need those moments, those ‘ah’ moments, and they get it every time we go on a virtual field trip.”
The first grade teacher said he looks forward to continuing this type of learning and sharing it with other teachers in the district.