Chapter 8: Learning on Field Trips with Mobile Technology

Educational field trips are a part of the curriculum for many subject areas and with different age groups. The purpose of the field trip is generally to remove students from their normal, everyday, classroom setting and put them into an environment that enables them to have experiences which they otherwise might not. Some broad objectives of field trips include the acquisition of knowledge through observing, interpreting and modeling; the development of technical skills such as the use of specific equipment through recording, testing and analysis; the creation of new perspectives though experiencing, interpreting, reflection and evaluation; and the development of transferrable skills suited to the workplace (Clark, 1996).