Field Trip 2.0

Recently I chaperoned our 6th grade DARE field trip to Citi Field in Flushing, NY. A great time was had by all as the Mets defeated the Pirates and about a thousand pounds of cotton candy was consumed. Our local police department helped sponsor the trip and even sent along seven police officers to help chaperone. It's quite remarkable when a school and police department work together in order to promote the success of students. But I digress. On the way home we sat in about three hours of traffic due to an incident on the GW Bridge. Typically it's about a ninty minute ride home. As we sat in traffic I utilized three tools to help with obtaining real time information and communicating with school stakeholders.....

Waze: Wondeful app that allows users to report traffic issues in real time. I was able to look ahead at our route and determine what issues lie ahead. Plus I reported traffic issues that helped people

Google Maps: Useful app that provided me with total trip time, arrival time, and directions. From the information provided we were able to text parents the new arrival time since we were running late.

Remind 101: Look back at our traffic conjested experience, we could have set up a Remind 101 group to update parents via text messaging.

Social Media: During the field trip I took a few pics of the stadium and students enjoying the day. They were then posted to our school's Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook feeds. Parents if the children in the trip were able to "like" or comment and were able to stay in the know.

As you can see, there are so many ways to stay connected during a field trip. Mobile devices, social media, and web applications enable schools to communicate with stakeholders in a few taps of the screen. Whether you are on a class trip to the zoo or at a marching band competition in another state, available web tools can give people the information they need in real time. Try it out one day and see how a field trip will never be the same.