Lifting the travel ban with Lyfta

Lyfta
Content Team
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Lyfta News
It often seems hard to imagine what life was like before this global pandemic meant we had to adjust every element of education, work, communal and social activity. Although schools have been flexible, resilient and innovative in keeping as much normality in place as possible, reframing the ‘new normal’ has inevitably meant that some aspects of schools’ educational offering have been put on hold until the pandemic is a thing of the past - or until we find another way.
Happy in nature
Happy in nature
One important aspect of schools' offering for young people in their care is the element of broadening horizons, and instilling a sense of cultural capital through the texts, music, art and experiences that are included in the curriculum, like school trips. We know that even in normal times, some children won't get the opportunity to go far beyond their own postcode, and trips abroad are a luxury inaccessible for many.
Lyfta globe
Lyfta globe
Using Lyfta can be a useful and powerful way to ensure that students have experience of the world as part of their entitlement to cultural capital - especially at a time when trips, museum visits and getting out and about are so limited. This can be important also as a way to teach an understanding of the protected characteristics, and show how equality and diversity are promoted within our schools.
Our vision at Lyfta is to ensure that by the time a child completes their education, they will have visited every country in the world, and will have met at least one person in every place they go. Right now, you can take your students all the way to an Ethiopian village to visit Mesgana and Gebeyeu in their family home, or hop over to Malte's garden in Berlin to see how honey is made, or pop down to Cornwall to litter-pick with Rob on the beach, and so much more.

But what about this idea of virtual school trips, and how might this work in practice?

Lyfta's new quest tracker
Lyfta's new quest tracker
Our platform features a wide range of fascinating stories and places that students and teachers can explore together, with new storyworlds added each term.
Our lesson-builder tool means teachers can create a virtual school trip which students can enjoy wherever they are - whether you're delivering a lesson in the classroom, a whole-school assembly to children accessing it from their bubble groups in separate classrooms around the school, or as a blended learning experience that includes children at home who are having to self-isolate. The lesson builder can help you create a guided tour which can ensure that children move step-by-step through the trip you have planned for them, using the quest tracker.

Example virtual trip assembly plan with Lyfta

  1. Provide a starter question 'where in the world do you think this is?'
  2. Ask one student to navigate the story world or the teacher explores the story world using the main computer while the group watch the 360 degree images
  3. Watch the short film
  4. Do a learning activity in pairs or as a group discussion (for example a scavenger hunt)
  5. Set a homework / remote / follow up task of writing about their visit 'what did they find out?, 'who did they meet?' and 'what surprised them?' etc.
We're excited to help you lift the travel ban in your own way with Lyfta. Why not create some excitement pre-trip by asking students to plan what they would need to pack? Perhaps ask students to design a travel journal and a passport to keep track of where you have been, and what you have learned along the way? Perhaps you could extend the activity to include food, music, and more that are found in each place you visit. We would love to see examples of virtual school trips you have experienced using Lyfta!
Diversity Equity Inclusion
Global Learning
Sustainability & Global Citizenship
Cultural Capital
Character & Values
Social Emotional Learning