School Trips — Where Shall We Go Today?

Vocabulary Multiple Choice

Not so long ago a school field trip was a walk through the nearest park or, if you (1) _______ very lucky, a day trip to the zoo. Nowadays, some schools in the UK visit such exotic places as the Canadian Arctic, the Great Barrier Reef, and Japan — and all in the space of a week. What’s going on? In a word, it’s called videoconferencing. These, you see, are virtual field trips, (2) _______ possible by technology.

Videoconferencing systems (3) _______ in the technology they use and the cost, but the basic idea is always the same: it’s like making a phone call but (4) _______ a camera and a screen instead of a telephone.

Videoconferencing allows children to ‘visit’ places almost anywhere in the world. These virtual field trips, however, involve more than simply (5) _______ live video pictures into the classroom. Children don’t just watch — they take part. In a live link up with NASA, for example, children (6) _______ to speak to a real astronaut. On another occasion the link was with a diver swimming around (7) _______ Great Barrier Reef. As she (8) _______ , she answered children’s questions about the fish and plant life they could see on the screen. One class (9) _______ a live chat with thePrime Minister. They (10) _______ around the TV monitor at school while the Prime Minister at that time was enjoying a cup of tea (11) _______ Downing Street.

Events like these are an (12)_______ way for children to learn about science and politics by speaking to people directly involved. The children also get to develop important communication skills by expressing themselves, speaking clearly and thinking about the sort of questions they want to ask.