Virtual Field Trips! A Great Alternative! Part 1

Screen Shot of the Djuma Safari with Mark the guide
This morning I went on a Safari at the Djuma Game Reserve in the Sabi Sand of South Africa!  Riding along in the back seat of the open jeep, feeling the bumps of the dirt road, I witnessed Water Buffalo and Hippos basking in the watering hole,  an impala hiding in the brush and a pair of female giraffes eating from the tops of trees.  The whole time I thought, "My students would LOVE to do this!"   Well, they actually can as the safari is broadcast LIVE (twice daily for 3 hours each) through WildEarthTV.    What a way to learn about the animals in Africa!  (AS of November 2011 the Live Safari is no longer available due to funding).

Virtual field trips such as this safari, allow the students to experience different opportunities without having to actually BE there.  Students need not travel far or wide to be exposed to new adventures and gain new understanding of topics they might once have only read about.  It's engaging and fun for students to see things first hand and in 'REAL' time.  
Check out ANIMAL CAMERAS: 
Screen shot of Giraffe (Speech bubble added using Big Huge Labs)
Extensive list of Live Animal Webcams broken into categories such as Aquariums, Horses, Bees, Penquins and more! Clicking on one of the categories will bring you to several options.




Check out more livecam virtual animal sites:
Africam:  Elephant Plains 
Africam: Nkorho Pan


Check out this website full of livecams:

Trinity Mountain Outdoors: Links to all kinds of  Animal/Bird Cameras
http://www.trmichels.com/AnimalCams.htm


Screen Shot of Polar Bear Cam on Explore.org
Check out these this site for webcasts to learn more about polar bears:
Polar Bear International Tundra Connections:   Sign up for live broadcasts during the polar bear migration.




Learning by doing is best, but experiencing something "LIVE" is a great alternative.  Part 2 will explore other exciting options as virtual field trips!      
















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