Virtual technology allows students to take a hike or climb a mountain
Published: March 22, 2007
Ray Barber, a science teacher at Pleasant Valley High School, thought of a way to take his students on field trips without ever leaving the classroom.
By using some state-of-the-art technology, his ninth-grade students can travel virtually to science-rich sites and reap educational benefits there — places such as Oroville Dam, Lassen Park, Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., or the water treatment plant.
“Science is in and around us in our community,” Barber explained, “And I think they should see it.”
Now Barber has the funds to create his virtual program and he plans to have it in place when school starts next fall.
Barber received a $10,000 grant from Toyota to fund the project, one of 50 given nationwide, based on a grant he wrote with the help of Chico Unified School District grant-writer Liz Metzger.
Barber, who’s taught at Pleasant Valley for 13 years, said he got the idea when he was talking to classmates in a master’s class last fall. He got a lot of encouragement then and from Metzger later.
The idea, Barber continued, is to take advantage of seven or eight nearby places where students can learn applied science, but not disrupt other periods the way typical field trips do.
Rather than having students miss all their other classes, running up transportation costs and recruiting extra chaperones, Barber will take about eight students on each field trip and connect with his classes through Web cameras, laptops and a wireless Internet connection.
At the beginning of the school year, Barber will present an overview to his students and poll their interests, determining then which ones will travel on which trips.
Every student will learn how to use the laptop computers and how to operate the Web cameras while in the field.
The students in the classroom will be able to ask questions and make comments through the live feed, and Barber will be able to see his students in the classroom, too.
“If I get an expert on Oroville Dam,” Barber said, “People in class will be able to ask him questions.”
His two periods of freshman science are typically scheduled consecutively first thing in the morning, Barber explained, so the field trip crew will miss one or two other classes while they broadcast to both his classes.
Another science teacher, Tom George, will be trained in the technology and take over Barber’s classes during the virtual trips, while a substitute carries George’s classes.
The cost of the sub is part of the grant, Barber explained, as is all the technology and some summer training.
To Barber, the additional technology is a logical next step for his classroom, which already utilizes computerized teaching techniques.
When Barber lectures, his notes are projected from a computer onto a screen, while he walks around the room, carrying a wireless computer “tablet” that allows him to alter or add to the projected notes.
All his labs are presented as videos, as well, he said, giving the students a much better view than if they all tried to crowd around his desk while he demonstrated.
The field trip program will add an exciting extension to his classroom, he said, and since he purchased most of the equipment in his classroom himself, he’s grateful funds are coming from elsewhere to make the next project possible.
Barber will travel to St. Louis, Mo., at the end of the month, all expenses paid, to receive the award.
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