"How would you get troops on a beach when there's a big coral reef in the way?" "If you were Eisenhower or Churchill and had the information they had what decisions would you make?" These are the type of questions students are confronted with when they take a digital field trip to the The National WWII Museum. The museum is known for problem-based, distance learning which sparks minds as it brings content to life and into the classroom from a state-of-the-art, onsite studio.
The Museum is a dynamic educational resource. USA Today gave the Museum its top rank as one of the “Best Places to Learn U.S. Military History." Exhibitions and programs allow students from all backgrounds to explore the values and beliefs—the universal concepts—that Americans and their Allies embraced during World War II.
Schools can take advantage of four distance learning programs as follows:
Webinars
Students have the opportunity to interact with authors, historians, and Museum experts to explore a broad array of topics that bring WWII history to life. No special technology needed, thousands of students can connect to the Museum at once simply via their classroom computer to view live, interactive programs that immerse students in history.
Webinars are free.
Electronic Field Trips
Electronic Field Trips are streamed directly into your classroom—no special technology required. Focusing on the national impact of World War II, take your students on a cross-country tour of historic sites while examining fascinating artifacts and exhibits at The National WWII Museum. Hosted by student reporters, Electronic Field Trips will help your students understand how the war affected young people just like them. Check out past and future Electronic Field Trips.
Electronic field trips are free.
Skype in the Classroom
Classrooms across the world can interact with Museum experts and educators for short, dynamic virtual connections with Skype in the Classroom. This can serve as an introduction to an array of WWII topics and locations through the Museum. These programs are meant to be quick, not take your whole entire class period, and enhance the curriculum you're already teaching in the classroom.
Skype in the Classroom is free.
Virtual Field Trips
Interactive, fast-paced Virtual Field Trips are videoconferenced LIVE into classrooms. A museum educator guides students as they analyze maps, photographs, artifacts, posters, speeches, and songs as they explore the chronologies, strategies, motivations, and outcomes behind these fascinating chapters of WWII history. Sessions last one class period and include pre-and post-program curriculum materials.
Virtual Field Trips are $100 per session.
cross posted at The Innovative Educator
Lisa Nielsen (@InnovativeEdu) has worked as a public-school educator and administrator since 1997. She is a prolific writer best known for her award-winning blog, The Innovative Educator. Nielsen is the author of several booksand her writing has been featured in media outlets such as The New York Times,The Wall Street Journal, Tech&Learning, and T.H.E. Journal.
