Building Digital Literacy Bridges: Connecting Cultures and Promoting Global Citizenship in Elementary Classrooms through School-Based Virtual Field Trips

Students deepen their content knowledge and collaborative skills as they interact with others across the globe. In order to deepen early childhood students’ awareness and understanding of the world, teachers worked with their classes to develop and share school-based virtual field trips. The researcher sought to (a) identify the steps to create a school-based virtual field trip, and (b) understand how virtual field trips can promote global and/or content understandings. Qualitative results reveal that the steps taken to create a trip varied by grade. Students were motivated to teach other students about their school and were able to learn about different cultures. A variety of literacy skills were also utilized in the virtual field trips.