Digital Frog International ~ Digital Field Trips {Review}

Our family loves to take field trips, but it really isn’t possible for us to hop in the car and visit the Wetlands, the Rainforest, or the Desert.  With Digital Frog International’s Digital Field Trips we were able to learn about and explore all three locations, while snuggling on the couch ~ no bug spray required!

Who is Digital Frog International?

Digital Frog International is the creator of award-winning natural science educational software ~ which they have been creating since 1995.

From Digital Frog International’s website:

We’re passionate creators of nature science software.  We’re teachers of dissection and anatomy and ecosystems.  We’re savers of frogs and inspirers of learners.  We’re believers that you can’t care about a world you don’t understand.

The Digital Field Trips:

The Digital Field Trip Series includes three digital field trips, using QuickTime Virtual Reality to explore:

The Wetlands

What does it cover?

• Wetlands Field Trip – uses virtual reality technology to allow the student to explore the Cloud Lake bog in Algonquin Park, Ontario, Canada.
• Study of a Bog - includes the bog food web game, plant and animal adaptations, formation and succession, and a study of photosynthesis.
• Wetland Types - covers the similarities and differences of the different types of wetlands.
• Wetland Mechanisms -  covers topics such as nutrient cycles, erosion, groundwater, productivity and flooding.
• Our Endangered Wetlands – talks about conservation, habitat and pollution.

The Rainforest

What does it cover?

• Rainforest Field Trip - explore the twenty eight posts alongside Blue Creek.
• Rainforest Study – learn about animal and plant characteristics and dependency webs.
• Rainforest Types – learn about a different types of rainforests, which are scattered around the world.
• Mechanisms  - learn about what keeps the rainforest thriving.
• Our Endangered Rainforest – learn about the biodiversity of both plants and animals within the rainforest and why the rainforest is vital to the world

The Desert

What does it cover?

• Desert Field Trip – visit five North American desert locations; the Sonoran Desert, the Painted Desert, Big Bend National Park, the Black Rock Desert, and Death Valley.
• Desert Types -  learn what makes a desert a desert and about al of the world’s major desert regions.
• Desert Mechanisms -  Discover the process that formed and shaped the deserts. 
• Desert Study  - learn ways desert plants and animals adapt and survive in arid regions.  You can also create your own desert ecosystem in the Build-a-Desert game.
• Human Impact -  learn how human impact and desertification shape and distort deserts.

Each field trip also includes:

• An interactive map
• Definitions of every word and pronunciations of scientific words
• Ability to bookmark favorite screens
• Online updates
• workbook materials

My Thoughts:

WOW ~ this DVD includes a lot of information!  We could have spent hours exploring and learning about the different locations.  We didn’t even get to the workbook materials that are available.  Emily and I both enjoyed the DVD.  We spent most of our time exploring the rainforest.  Emily’s favorite activity was discovering bugs and animals that were camouflaged in the rainforest. 

Pros:

• Being able to explore the wetlands, rainforest and desert anytime I want.
• 360-degree panoramas ~ Emily was able to look at the clouds in the sky as well as the ground.
• The amount of information provided.
• The DVD is educational and fun!
• The use of games throughout the DVD ~ once again, added fun.
• Ease of use ~ I popped in the DVD and we started exploring.
• Though they are designed for the 4th grader and up, each field trip contains resources for students K-3rd.  My son who is 3, enjoyed exploring the different areas with us.

Cons:

• The cost ~ $125.0o for all three field trips.   That is a lot of money to spend on field trips, which I consider to be enrichment activities.

For More Information:

Visit Digital Frog International. Demo versions of all of Digital Frog International's products are available for download for free here or you can order a demo-ware CD-ROM for $5.00.

Individual field trips can be purchased for $60.00 each. 
Purchase the Digital Field Trip Series DVD (home license), which contains ALL THREE field trips (the wetlands, rainforest and desert) for $125.00. 

To find out what my fellow crewmates thought about Digital Frog International’s Digital Field Trip Series click on the banner above.

This product was given to me for review purposes, and I do not have to return the product to the vendor. I was not paid for this post. All opinions expressed in this post are mine.

~Cindy