Cheska Lorena

Simulation Lesson Notes

Science Virtual Trip/Experts

Virtual Field Trip

For the virtual field trip, I chose an interactive guided tour in a Finnish forest (UPM

Forest Life Virtual Field Trip). I thought this particular e-trip was a great supplement in

teaching students about ecosystems, food chains, and food webs. UPM Forest Life is

an excellent interactive site that allows students to explore a forest ecosystem. It has

great narratives, engaging photography, short videos, and interactive sounds of real

wildlife organisms that are embedded in the forest. With UPM Forest life, students learn

about different wildlife species, habitats, biodiversity, and ecosystems.

Virtual Experts

As part of the second lesson, students are asked to generate questions about food

chains, food webs, ecosystems, and forest habitats as they played different online

games and explored UPM Forest Life. Students worked together to pick the top 2

questions, draft a question and submit the final revision to a panel of online biologists

(Ask A Biologist Q&A Forum). While there are many Ask-A-Biologist sites on the

Internet, I chose this particular forum because it consists of a network of many biologists

worldwide specializing in professional research, science communications, and

occupations in biological sciences. Each individual biologist has a short biography,

which students can read and use to determine whom to contact for their specific

questions. Many brains are better than one, I believe, and this educational organization

is up-to-date and provides a professional science setting for the students.