Conceptual Definition: "A Digitally vicarious experience that allows the participant to travel through space and time free of the constraints of real-world travel, including places, people and events that occur naturally throughout human and natural history."
Working Definition: "A topical collection of Web sites that help students to build upon their existing understanding of a subject or concept by vicarious experience."
Link to Walter McKenzie
Note: Due to the nature of Virtual Field Trips, some sites require users to download and install free browser "plug-ins" such as Flash Player, QuickTime Virtual Reality, or Shockwave Player. Downloads and installation are straightforward, but may take some time on slow connections. The enhanced content may also tax these connections more than typical web pages generally do.
As you will see, these programs can greatly enhance the look and effectiveness of such teaching environments--much more sophistication is possible in the design and interactivity of elements. The Examples section contains several of these sites. Be sure to explore as many possibilities in the modules as you can--some of them are very detailed. When using QuickTime VR, the Shift and Control keys (Apple key on Macintosh) zoom in and out of each interactive image, adding virtual "depth" to the four directions available with the mouse.
Step-by-step directions for creating a Virtual Trip at this site
Student Virtual Trip evaluation sheet
http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/index-learn.htm#index
