Google Lit Trips

I love the idea of Google lit trips! Well, at first I did not, and then I changed my mind. When I began reading the article, I was a little skeptical about the whole thing. How could you use GoogleEarth to create a virtual field trip? Would it really work? What about real life, hand on experiences? As I read Suzie Boss’ description though, I was convinced. At first, I thought that there were so many other ways she could have connected the book to her students’ lives in a much more tangible way. As I read the article and thought about it though, it seemed like what she did was really so amazing. Through using GoogleEarth, the places that were charted became contextualized. It wasn’t just a point on a map, it was a point that contained a wealth of information and engaged the students in the learning process. Additionally, I was very excited to read about the last point on the map- the local soup kitchen. I think that virtual field trips can be great to visit places that would otherwise be too far but nothing can replace the experience of going somewhere in your community that relates to the learning going on in the classroom. I also love that the students shared their project and that it led to a school-wide project. I think the follow-up piece to any project is sometimes left off, often due to a lack of time. I was also very impressed that even though the project/ field trip was technology based, the follow up project that came out of it was not. Even when technology is used in the classroom, it is possible to create a meaningful outcome that is based in personal interactions. Technology and actual, real life experiences can be meshed to create amazing outputs!