OTAN News
Using Virtual Visits to Explore Our National Parks
Photographs by Jonathan Irish By National Geographic Staff
Whether to build context in a unit or offer choices about places to explore, make a note to use Expeditions in Education. This non-profit site seeks to increase student understanding of “natural and human communities.” It gives students a virtual field trip to our country’s National Park treasures. There are over 90 virtual learning experiences on this website.
Instructors can choose a national park virtual learning experience and then decide what kinds of products, writing or presentations students can create to demonstrate their learning. Included with each experience is a cost-free STEM challenge, which includes a real problem facing the park.
Along with learning about a variety of regions and geography around the United States, students can also learn about the scientific challenges. Perhaps writing a persuasive letter to a legislator or creating a campaign to help the park demonstrates learning mastery.