Dianne Krause's List: Virtual Tour Resources

An amazing virtual Sistine Chapel with the ability to zoom in, scroll around, and really view the amazing artwork. Better than real life because you are alone and can really zoom into the ceiling!

Great resource for Social Studies teachers! Google Map with each marker being either a virtual tour or a webcam.

"Google has just unveiled a new feature in Google Maps called "Earth view". It's quite simple -- there is a new button in Google Maps for "Earth", which loads the Google Earth Plug-in into your viewing window."

PhilaPlace is an interactive Web site, created by the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, that connects stories to places across time in Philadelphia’s neighborhoods. PhilaPlace weaves stories shared by ordinary people of all backgrounds with historical records to present an interpretive picture of the rich history, culture, and architecture of our neighborhoods, past and present. The PhilaPlace Web site uses a multimedia format – including text, pictures, audio and video clips, and podcasts – and allows visitors to map their own stories in place and time. More than a Web site, PhilaPlace includes ongoing community programs and publications, from workshops for teachers, to trolley tours, and exhibits. PhilaPlace is an engaging, meaningful way to understand more about where we live, and will serve as an enduring record of our heritage.

"View Dozens of Kid-Friendly Educational Videos or Submit Your Own

MEET ME AT THE CORNER, Virtual Field Trips for Kids takes you to meet fascinating people from all over the world.

New educational, kid-friendly episodes are uploaded every two weeks. Included are links to fun websites and our Learning Corner with follow-up questions. "

"Make your dream room a reality
Become your own interior designer with the help of the IKEA Planner Tools. Drag and drop your choice of furniture into the room and fit them to the exact measurements of your home. Rearrange and try different styles until you’re satisfied with the result. View it in 3-D and print with all the measurements, just like an architect. See how much it will cost and get the list of all products. "

A really nice list of online French magazines, updated regularly.

One of the wonders of the Internet is that it can bring the world to you instead of your needing to find the time and money to explore the traditional way. The following virtual tours bring opportunities to explore cities, famous landmarks and buildings, museums, college campuses, and even outer space. You can learn how things are made, explore the human body or that of a life-sized whale, and visit ball parks and theme parks. There is even a section of incredible virtual tours that Google Earth has compiled that shares the world in a whole new way.

Use the study of photography to explore with your students the power of images and their impact on history. In this lesson students learn about the history of American photography by selecting and  critiquing  photographs in an interactive and collaborative activity. The lesson also incorporates geographic literacy into the fine arts experience by challenging students to focus on the significance of the place, captured in time, that influenced events.

A bunch of lessons for using Google Earth at all educational levels.

"General Videoconference Information & Clearinghouses"

" * Search the Berrien RESA VC Content Providers Database
* TWICE Video Field Trip Streaming Samples
* Berrien County Collaborative Curriculum and Videoconferences Grade Level Guides for Science, Social Studies, and Language Arts.
* Favorite Field Trips by Berrien RESA
* Quality Indicators of a Field Trip by TWICE Members.
* Getting Started with Videoconferencing
* Michigan Content Providers, International Content Providers, Speaker's Bureaus and more details."

The "OOPS" Virtual Field Trip Page!
A virtual field trip is the next best thing to being there! Choose a destination below and click your trip into action

Images of the Eiffel Tower, the Seine and Notre Dame - in 360 degrees with sounds. Amazing!

If you could solve our greatest real-life challenges, what would your solution look like? How would it develop, function, grow and change? Join students from Pennsylvania as they build virtual solutions and reinvent life as we know it in The Genesis Project.

Virtual field trips debuted in the early days of the Internet with an awesome promise: They'd take students to exotic places no school bus could, they'd be a boon to low-income classes without a travel budget, and nobody would get stuck in the car listening to the umpteenth verse of "99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall."

Yes, today’s post is another freebie for teachers featuring webcam feeds you could be incorporating into your classroom. Consider these as teleportation devices to many of the world’s greatest landmarks, national parks, and historical significance. In addition they are virtual eyes that allow students to study animal behavior patterns and habitats. Possibly they could be regarded as voyeuristic tools where students can ride along with a big rig truck driver or observe the physics of skateboard parks. The choices are vast, but they do bring a bit of the outside world into the walls of your classroom.

Today’s post is another teacher freebie gathered to help enrich learning through multimedia web tools. These links provide your students opportunities to virtually experience some of the world’s finest art, science, and historical museums. Some sites are image galleries, some are learning games, and others are unique multisensory journeys through the past.

Video Conference programs offered by MAGPI - all Free!

Videoconferencing Out on a Lim is about one distance learning coordinator’s experiences, curriculum thoughts, and technology rants related to k12 videoconferencing. I coordinate videoconferencing for 18 school districts in southwest Michigan. We have 70 Polycom units and we also have Tandberg infrastructure (MPS, Gateway, Gatekeeper and TMS). We’ve been doing videoconferencing since 1999. You can read about our program online here: SouthwestNet Distance Learning.