Community School
for the Arts
Students
Teachers
Theatre
Dance
Art
Music
Supported by the Marshall University College of Fine Arts and the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation
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VFT QUOTES
Teacher, Grade 3
Teacher, Grade 5
Technology Coordinator, Elementary School
Reading Teacher, Elementary School
Special Education Teacher, Grades 1-5
Teacher, Grade 5
Art/Music Teacher, Grades 6-8
Business Education Teacher, High School
Computer Teacher, Grades 7-8
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"The teacher has the ability to take students on field trips all over the world. They have the ability to take these field trips without the worry of expense or time. Virtual Field Trips are especially nice for teachers who teach in rural areas that have little or no funding for field trips. … Teachers that plan actual field trips spend a lot of time actually preparing and planning for students to go on a field trip. Virtual Field Trips are less time consuming in the preparation and planning part for teachers. Having the ability to take students on a field trip and give them an experience and opportunity to learn without leaving the safety of their school or classroom, is absolute rewarding for the teacher.I feel this class needs to be a requirement for Music and Art teachers."
- Grade 3 Teacher and Technology Coordinator, Genoa Elementary School
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"I strongly believe that virtual field trips would benefit students and teachers at my school for several reasons. First, funding is always the issue. With the prices of fuel rising, the cost of a bus and driver is a big concern for us. Also, not every student can afford to contribute. We are a rural school in southern Wayne County, which means we are at least an hour drive just to get to Huntington, WV. Therefore, time and money are obstacles in actually traveling to a place. The benefits of virtual field trips are that students can be a part of the experience at school. Our students and teachers do not have access to culturally stimulat[ing] experiences because they are rarely available in this area. We have the equipment; let’s connect and really do this together!!"- Grade 5 Teacher, Genoa Elementary School
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"Being able to solve many of these problems will allow students to have experiences such as ballet, opera, jazz and other fine Arts. Students can sing, clap and tap their feet as they listen to the performance. The performers can also interact with students. Asking the students questions, giving them information, and having the students perform. The opportunities for students using virtual field trips are endless.
In conclusion, students will have the ability to experience performances near or across the world though the use of virtual field trips.- Technology Coordinator, East Lynn Elementary School (Wayne Co.)
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"I am happy that I learned about virtual field trips because I believe it can take my teaching to a higher level. Being a reading teacher, I see that literacy goes far beyond words written on paper. In order to support 21st Century learning, I need to incorporate more technology into my instruction. This would allow my students to explore the endless opportunities literacy can provide and see that technology is a tool that will allow them to reach this.Many of the children I work with are disadvantaged and rarely receive opportunities to experience culture outside of their hometown. Virtual field trips would provide students with limitless opportunities to examine and discover a multitude of people, places, and events in the world around them. This would not only strengthen critical thinking skills, but also raise awareness and acceptance of differences in cultures in society. Virtual field trips are truly a wonderful way to expand the intellectual horizons of students."
- Reading Teacher, Peyton Elementary School (Cabell Co.)
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"Teaching at East Lynn Elementary, I have been able to participate in several VFT’s this year. Since this is a rural school, this exposure to the arts is the only exposure they will have. Our Board of Education has become more stringent and strict with their out-of-state field trip policies, thus making it difficult to attend performances at Ashland’s Paramount Arts Center. Additionally, our Board of Education has also cut our curriculum down to Math and Reading, and we are unable to leave for a field trip until after 10:00AM due to UNINTERRUPTED READING BLOCK. With it being a one-hour drive to Huntington and a nearly two-hour drive to Charleston from East Lynn, it is difficult to make it back to school by 2:45. As you can imagine, today’s students in some of the rural schools are really missing out on arts experiences. I went to an excellent school that, although it was rural, was not necessarily low-income or low-achieving. We went on many, many field trips to the Paramount Arts Center in Ashland, the Keith Albee in Huntington, and also to Charleston on a few occasions. We saw wonderful plays and performances during my six years at Crockett Elementary. Although we did not have the challenges of fulfilling our legal obligation to of the 90-120 minutes Reading Block, myself and several of my peers actually placed in the gifted program. I feel that we had an incredibly well-rounded education.Somehow, though, I feel that today’s students are cheated. Virtual Field Trips are an excellent way of continuing to expose children to the arts, while still maintaining the school curriculum (as long as VFT’s don’t begin until after 10:00AM). I personally feel that going to public arts performances is a better choice, because it allows students to learn important skills, such as how to behave in public. At the same time, with safety being such a focus of today’s education one could argue that it is much safer to participate in a VFT than a traditional field trip. As a teacher or student, I feel that my first choice would be to participate in a traditional field trip. There is so much more excitement involved when you actually experience “going to see a show.” However, VFT’s are a good alternative when traditional field trips are not possible."
- Special Education Teacher, Grades 1-5, East Lynne Elementary School
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"The Virtual Fieldtrip gives the students the world."- Grade 5 Teacher, Buffalo Elementary School (Wayne Co.)
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"The best aspect of using the VFT for arts experiences is the personal interaction with presenters in an intimate setting. For example, a field trip to a live concert performance does not have the degree of intimacy and personal attention students can have with the VFT presenter. This type of instructional setting allows for the students to become actively involved in developing understanding. It creates an experience unique to the group and time with the questions and discussion with the presenter. It also allows for a wider range of experts to “visit” the classroom.
The VFT is well suited to the arts, allowing for engaging and unique instruction.The class has given me concrete examples of authentic learning experiences, sources for assistance with this in lesson development and sparked ideas that I am anxious to present to students. TechArts is a model for the authentic learning experience, putting the concept into practice by requiring authentic tasks to complete in class assignments. This is much more enjoyable, motivating and will insure greater retention. Using Bruner’s Modes of Learning theory, we heard it, we saw it and we did it."
- Art/Music Teacher, Grades 6-8 Wayne Middle School (Wayne Co.)
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"… with a virtual field trip the artists would come to the student with a live arts
performance. Interaction would take place in a doing nature not just a viewing nature. The students would sing and make up verses and also dance, thus feeling they contributed to the lesson."- Business Education Teacher, Tolsia High School (Wayne Co.)
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"Today, we discussed Virtual Field Trips. This was an awesome experience. It combines audio, visual, and kinesthetic learning into one lesson. I feel this will bring to life the things we could only show before in video or CD form."- Computer Teacher, Grades 7-8, Pt. Pleasant Middle School (Mason Co.)
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