A Bridge to the World
Videoconferencing technology now makes it possible for students to go almost anyplace they can imagine — interacting with curators at distant museums and sharing experiences with students around the world. Just this year, students at Howe High School, located in a tiny rural Oklahoma school district, have visited with Pearl Harbor survivors at the USS Arizona Memorial, surveyed Hurricane Katrina damage in New Orleans and compared notes about college placement tests with students in Canada. Teachers say they are finding some unexpected benefits. Since distance is no longer an issue, students are beginning to think globally, becoming citizens of the world. According to Wainhouse Research, about 25% of American schools have videoconferencing equipment, reaching an estimated 23,000 classrooms. California, Texas, New York, Oklahoma and Ohio lead the list of states with the greatest number of video-enabled classrooms. In response, zoos, museums and cultural institutions are developing videoconferencing programs to extend their educational mission beyond the immediate locale. Groups like the not-for-profit Center for Interactive Learning and Collaboration in Indianapolis help set up field trips, connecting content providers with interested schools. The Center currently offers 850 virtual field trip experiences, with more opportunities added monthly. Schools are also getting in on the action, creating their own virtual field trips. High school students in Stamford, Texas, created a course on growing cotton, doing the planning, camera work and presentations themselves. A teacher in White Plains, NY is collaborating with 25 schools in 14 nations to arrange virtual field trips that the group will; take together.
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