TOP PICKS | 35 TOOLS
Virtual Field Trip Apps and Websites
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Virtual Reality Experiences
Nearpod
Interactive slide show tool engages students and promotes collaboration
Bottom line: This effective tool leverages the capabilities of 1-to-1 environments and brings slide shows into the 21st century.
Grades: K–12
Price: Free, Paid Silver edition is free and supports up to 30 students. Gold edition is $120 per teacher per year and supports up to 50 students. Platinum edition is $349 per year and supports up to 75 students. Volume discounts available for schools and districts. There are also in-app purchases for additional material.
Expeditions
Fire up the warp drive to bring VR field trips to your classroom
Bottom line: With stunning scenes and a flexible delivery method, your students will thank you for journeying together through space and time.
Google Views
Spinning panoramas mesmerize viewers, play well with other Google apps
Bottom line: Use this tool to find winning, wonderful locations, integrate with other Google tools, then return to the meat of your lesson planning.
Grades: 2–12
Price: Free
Discovery VR
Immersive videos let students enter the magical world of VR
Bottom line: VR videos will grab the viewer's attention; just be sure to carefully select the content for your class.
Google Earth VR
Explore the world with an incredible new perspective and sense of scale
Bottom line: An amazing experience that brings the world to life, despite the heavy investment in VR required.
Grades: 3–12
Price: Free Requires a virtual reality headset.
NYT VR - New York Times
Immersive 360-degree videos take users inside the headlines
Bottom line: Though there isn't much explicit learning content, there's immense value in the extraordinary opportunity to take a walk in someone else's world.
On-the-Ground Reporting and Journalism
Detour - Immersive Audio Walking Tours
Great location-based history but presents implementation challenges
Bottom line: A compelling way to learn local history, but no classroom support and ultimately dependent on physical access to the tours.
Listenwise
Bring real-world stories from public radio into the classroom
Bottom line: A fantastic resource that brings both historical and current event public radio stories into the classroom.
Grades: 6–12
Price: Free to Try, Paid
StoryCorps
From the everyday to the extraordinary, personal interviews get kids listening
Bottom line: It's a great resource to help demonstrate the value of listening and the importance of storytelling and interviewing skills.
Grades: 6–12
Price: Free
Global Oneness Project
Dynamic multimedia resources explore life experiences around the world
Bottom line: Unique approach to incorporating global issues into the curriculum; monthly stories capture interdisciplinary topics.
Grades: 9–12
Price: Free, Paid Lesson plans and stories are free. Individual films, screening packages, and educational film toolkits are available to purchase.
NPR: Borderland
Illuminating, up-close-and-personal visit to the U.S.-Mexico border
Bottom line: As a truly unique resource that's worth using, teachers will need to create lessons that scaffold students' understanding of the complex issues found within.
Grades: 9–12
Price: Free
Online Museums
Asian Art Museum
Inventive lessons and activities integrate Asian history, art, and more
Bottom line: It offers an in-depth look at Asia’s influence on art and history and provides lots of creative tools for educators.
Grades: Pre-K–12
Price: Free
Lawrence Hall of Science: 24/7 Science
Outdated site still useful for science games and investigations
Bottom line: Many of these interesting and highly educational activities, though a bit disorganized, still challenge and engage kids in important ways.
Grades: K–5
Price: Free
National Museum of African American History and Culture
Powerful stories and media centralize African-American history
Bottom line: While there aren't ready-to-go curricular materials, this modern, well-curated, and well-contextualized digital collection is sure to inspire compelling lessons.
Grades: K–12
Price: Free
MoMA Art Lab
Interactive projects, cool prompts, and famous works inspire creation
Bottom line: The overall experience is very open-ended, making it easy to bounce between creating and exploring art.
Apprentice Architect: Foundation Louis Vuitton
Examine an architectural masterpiece from the comfort of the classroom
Bottom line: App has superb activities for kids who can visit the building themselves that are worthy enough for kids who can't, especially those interested in architecture.
National Geographic Education
Top geography resource site provides global exploration opportunities
Bottom line: This is a must-bookmark site for classrooms across the curriculum hunting for inspiring geography-based resources.
Grades: Pre-K–12
Price: Free
National Archives
Access U.S. history with treasure trove of docs, genealogy, and other resources
Bottom line: NARA's website wasn't designed for kids, but they can definitely use it to research and learn about history, genealogy, and the U.S. population and government.
Grades: 4–12
Price: Free
Ford's Theatre
Online museum offers exhibits, resources on Abraham Lincoln, Civil War
Bottom line: The resources here will add depth to your teaching and boost students' interest for any study of Lincoln and the Civil War.
Grades: 5–12
Price: Free
Google Arts & Culture
Excellent curation and an unmatched art collection invite exploration
Bottom line: A one-stop shop for a vast amount of compellingly curated and contextualized art, but it's lacking educator supports.
Grades: 6–12
Price: Free
Exploratorium
Science experiments and activities abound in this comprehensive resource
Bottom line: A host of mostly at-home activities are available if kids stick to the Explore tab of online resources.
Grades: 6–12
Price: Free
MoMA
Museum companion can stand alone as a modern art resource
Bottom line: Free access to a wealth of images with detailed commentary from artists and curators makes this a great arts education resource.
Newseum
Media museum's site mixes history and civics, teaches about journalism
Bottom line: An effective summary and introduction to the media; more exercises and tools to help budding young journalists would make the site even more noteworthy.
Grades: 6–12
Price: Free
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Extensive resource collection supports teaching about the Holocaust
Bottom line: As a valuable resource for anyone teaching or learning about the Holocaust, time to explore and plan is necessary in order to make the materials effective.
Grades: 6–12
National WWII Museum
High-quality resources and activities offer an in-depth study
Bottom line: Materials and activities support a thorough study of World War II, making this a valuable resource for both teachers and students.
Grades: 7–12
Price: Free
Other Tools and Resources
NOVA
Compelling science videos have high-quality classroom applications
Bottom line: Stellar simulations, teacher guides, and other activities can stand on their own, and they're enhanced with high-quality video content.
Grades: Pre-K–12
Price: Free
California Academy of Sciences
Expert research and diverse, rich lessons inspire future scientists
Bottom line: A perfect companion to (or substitute for) the Academy, this site delivers highly interactive resources and research with a lot of depth.
Grades: K–12
Price: Free, Paid Some of the educational kits and virtual programs have a cost for classrooms.
Google Earth
Cool geographical exploration tool has endless classroom applications
Bottom line: Google Earth is an engaging and completely open-ended app perfect for use across the educational spectrum.
Oddizzi
Kids travel the world, cultivate global curiosity and responsibility
Bottom line: Kids get a sense of culture and global responsibility via kid-friendly articles and great multimedia.
Grades: 3–8
Price: Free to Try, Paid 95 GB Pounds/year classroom and 280 GB Pounds/year for 99 students or under, up to 800 GB Pounds/year for 700 + students
GooseChase EDU
Digital scavenger hunts provide dynamic, fresh learning experiences
Bottom line: Students and teachers will enjoy the powerful learning of a modern scavenger hunt.
Grades: 3–12
Price: Free, Paid Free version supports 1 live game and 5 teams. Plus version is $49 per year and supports unlimited live games, 10 teams, and 40 participants per game. Premium version is $199 per year and supports 40 teams and 200 participants per game and has email and phone support.
Google Lit Trips
Guided tours with google earth navigate literary and personal narratives
Bottom line: A good starting point for extending students' engagement with the classroom’s most-used literary texts.
Grades: 4–12
Price: Free
Google Treks
Cool tool uses maps to create fun projects, could use some updating
Bottom line: The site offers a good variety of subjects and grade levels, but project quality across the site could use more consistency.
Grades: 4–12
Price: Free
Project Noah
Engaging online community for relevant, hands-on science fieldwork
Bottom line: Project Noah is a free and easy way to take part in biodiversity research with the support of a knowledgeable and global community.
Grades: 4–12
Price: Free
Google Maps
Cool extras bolster top navigation app
Bottom line: Google Maps is an essential navigation tool that can empower students to explore their world.
Field Trip
With a few tweaks, nifty augmented reality app can be classroom-ready
Bottom line: Field Trip isn't as searchable as Google Earth, but it's a strong local resource.
