Virtual Tour

A virtual tour is an interesting way for educators to teach students about places that are either impossible to visit because of distance or lack of access.  These virtual "field trips" are nice because schools can give numerous trips every year to all of their students for little or no cost while real field trips can be very expensive.  The simulations also give students great access to things they may never see.  The obvious drawback to this otherwise bright idea is that looking at pictures, watching videos, and reading information about a place or thing is still not the same as experiencing it in the flesh.

As a teacher, I think I would have students use virtual tours as a form of research and also as a free time activity.  The creators of these virtual tours typically have first hand experience with the subject so they get students closer to the information than say an encyclopedia entry written by someone who has never actually experienced something firsthand.