To teach students about nature and inspire them with wonder for the natural world, there's really nothing better than a field trip. Yet if the learning challenges of the past two years have revealed anything, it's that education must be flexible to meet students where they are. These virtual field trips are a perfect example, offering educators in ecology, biology, life sciences, and other topics the opportunity to "take" their students to see Wisconsin's wildlife. Each of these 15 virtual field trips lasts approximately 5-20 minutes and features stunning visuals and explanations from expert naturalists, conservationists, and tour guides. For example, teachers can take students on a tour of Hoo's Woods Raptor Center to see how injured owls and hawks are rehabilitated. Or, as the cold winter months set in, educators can introduce a little sunshine with a springtime search for frogs and turtles with conservation biologist Andrew Badje. There are also field trips that any visitor would enjoy, such as a walk through blooming wildflowers in Schmidt Maple Woods. The field trips are embedded in the page linked above, and include links to resources for further information and to support conservation efforts. The Nature Resources Foundation of Wisconsin is a non-profit organization whose mission is to "connect generations to the wonders of Wisconsin's lands, waters, and wildlife through conservation, education, engagement, and giving."

These interactive learning objects focus on concepts that cover a broad-based electromechanical program. The majority of these objects have been created for electronics, but during the next three years (until 2008), at least 300 more objects will be built that will focus on other topic areas such as hydraulics, pneumatics, mechanical design, and process control (see complete list on the left side of this page). Instructors from Fox Valley Technical College and other colleges in the Wisconsin Technical College System are creating these objects. FVTC has partnered with four other colleges throughout the United States that will be contributing to this repository. The effectiveness of learning objects was demonstrated in an evaluation conducted at FVTC during the 2004-2005 academic year. A brief summary of the evaluation can be read by clicking on the Assessment button on this Home Page. These objects can also be found on the Wisc-Online digital library at www.wisconline.org. Learning objects are available to be used at no cost by teachers and students worldwide via the Internet.