Textcursions is a mobile app that enables students to explore museums, monuments and National Parks. Students complete challenges and answer questions by texting their responses or snapping photos of themselves interacting with the content. All answers are submitted to a student's individual account where he or she will edit and complete reports while working in the classroom.
Documented Understanding
On-site Learning
Academic Activities
Each Textcursion is thematic and linked to Common Core Standards. Students are guided through a destination in alignment with specific academic objectives and questions are scaffolded so that they increase in difficulty as a student progresses through the tasks of a Textcursion. Reflection assignments challenge students to analyze what they learned on their Textcursion and to formulate conclusions. These higher order thinking skills are also in alignment with Common Core Standards.
Students document their work by logging into their Textcursions profile on the internet at school. They edit the texts and captions to photos that they posted while on the trip and then are prompted to write a reflection paragraph that analyzes how their Textcursion relates to the objectives and essential questions of the unit they are studying. Once they have completed the reflection and edited all work they can submit it electronically to their teacher for grades and notify their parents via email so they can read more about an engaging field trip. Teachers manage their workflow and parents can be more engaged in what their children are learning. Finally, parents can order a photo book as a scrapbook of a trip to DC as well as a study guide for upcoming tests and quizzes.
