Education plays a major role in all of the Freeman’s expeditions and there are a variety of ways that K-12 students and teachers can participate.
The Wilderness Classroom Organization
The Wilderness Classroom’s goal is to improve students’ core academic skills and appreciation for the environment by connecting classrooms with expeditions around the globe. Through the Wilderness Classroom students and teachers use lesson plans, photos, videos, online polls, and other interactive features of www.wildernessclassroom.org to participate in the Freeman’s adventures, as well as a wide range of other projects that connect scientists, explorers, and travelers with classrooms. For example, during the North American Odyssey over 85,000 students and 2,700 teachers from around the globe used the Wilderness Classroom to follow the Freeman’s 11,700 mile journey across North America by canoe, kayak, and dogsled and learn along with them. National Geographic named Dave and Amy Freeman “Adventurers of the Year” in 2014 for their educational efforts.
The Wilderness Classroom’s lesson plans and activities are aligned to Common Core Standards and designed with a 3th through 8th grade audience in mind, but educators working with students of all ages, from K-12 have successfully used Wilderness Classroom expeditions in their classrooms. All lesson plans and other education resources are made available to classrooms for free thanks to corporate sponsors, private donors, and grants.
We encourage teachers to register and start using the Wilderness Classroom today!
Skype in the Classroom
Through a partnership with Skype and the Wilderness Classroom the Freeman’s offer a variety of Skype lessons. During Skype Lessons, which typically last 20 to 30 minutes Dave and Amy use Skype’s video conferencing and screen sharing technology to interact with classrooms on a variety of topics ranging from the Amazon Rainforest to Dogsledding. This provides classrooms from around the world a unique opportunity to ask questions and interact with the explorers in a meaningful and impactful way. It is not uncommon for the adventurers to video conference with classrooms from several different countries in the same day.
Google’s Connect Classroom
Through a partnership between Google, EdReach, and the Wilderness Classroom the Freemans are developing a series of virtual field trips, which allow groups of classrooms to connect with the Freeman’s using Google Hangout. The Dave and Amy are also part of the Google Glass Explorers program. They are also using video taken through Google Glass to provide participating classrooms with a POV perspective while dogsledding and doing other activities to put the students on the back of a dogsled, and spark their interest in exploration and the outdoors. The virtual field trips are being promoted by a range of media sources including Google and National Geographic.
