Peer Review

CSUB- NASA 2008 Science Virtual Fieldtrips

Material Detail page

Reviewed:: Jan 28, 2009 by Teacher Education

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Ratings

Overall Rating:

Content Quality:

Effectiveness:

Ease of Use:

Overview:: This material is part of the Utah Education Network (uen.org). It is the portal to the science virtual field trips. The Take a Field Trip main page has 14 categories in addition to science, i.e., fine arts, health/pe and special education. The science field trips consist of text and digital photographs. Occasionally, there are animations. These field trips have been designed by students (Fish and Fish Biology by students of Mount Logan Middle School), teachers (Changing and Growing Animals by Katie Jones of Jeremy Ranch Elementary), and state and federal agencies (Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge by U.S. Fish and Wildlife. Both Utah and out-of-state Utah educators can register to design and post their own field trips.
Type of Material:: It is a collection of science information projects produced by Utah K-12 students, Utah K-12 educators and various agencies like the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Department.
Recommended Uses:: Teachers can use this material to enrich their science lessons with non-textbook content. In addition teachers who design and post their own sites can learn the technological skills to make electronic curriculum materials. K-12 students can use the material as a resource for science information. Preservice teachers can view the field trips constructed by students to develop an understanding of what science content, writing ability and technological skills different grade levels of students can achieve.
Technical Requirements:: Any browser although a few of the "field trips" require a variety of plug-ins to view completely
Identify Major Learning Goals:: The learner will be able to accurately identify Utah flora, fauna and abiotic objects. The learner will develop a deeper understanding of the science concepts taught in K-12 Utah schools. (For those who construct the field trip): The learner will develop a deeper understanding of the technological processes of designing and producing electronic information projects.
Target Student Population:: K-12 students, teachers, preservice teachers
Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:: None

Content Quality

Rating:
Strengths:: The material contains a wide range of scientific information. The field trips to Utahs natural wonders are very comprehensive. The photos are top quality and there is a reasonable amount of information that augments the photographic displays.
Concerns:: The quality of the content is extremely variable. Student projects although laudable frequently contain errors of fact and are far to simplistic to be of use as a source of scientific information. The teacher-designed field trips are usually scientifically accurate but are not much different than a traditional textbook presentation.

Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool

Rating:
Strengths:: For students and teachers designing the field trip, this material is a valuable tool to bring effective closure to a science topic being studied.
Concerns:: Because the content quality is so varied, it is necessary for the user (teacher or student) to determine the potential effectiveness of the desired field trip.

Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty

Rating:
Strengths:: The content of each fieldtrip or activity may vary, but the navigation buttons are easy to locate and remain consistent across the various sites. It is easy to use, even for first time visitors.
Concerns:: The "main page link takes the user back to the UEN index page where you click on the Take a Field Trip link. This opens the main index page for all the content area field trips. Then you click on the science icon to get back to the original list of science field trips. Most of the links in the student projects are no longer available. The user has no way of previewing who authored the field trip. The field trips should be grouped as student projects, teacher projects, and others. This would make the material much more effective to use and easier to navigate.

Other Issues and Comments:: Some of the information is not an actual fieldtrip experience, but rather a collection of activities. These are not simulations.
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