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Frequently Asked Questions about Colonial Williamsburg Electronic Field Trips

Questions About the Electronic Field Trip (EFT) Websites

What’s on the EFT Web sites?
What are Web activities?
What is the e-mail link?
How can my students e-mail their questions?
What is the online vote?
What is the message board?
How does my class join the Online Message Board?
Do I need to create a new username and password for each of the Online Message Boards for EFTs to which my school has subscribed?
How do my students post their questions to the Online Message Board?
What are the “Rules of Engagement” for the Online Message Boards?
How do I change the settings on my Online Message Board account?
Why do I have to register again for the message board, even though I’m already signed in?
What is the teacher's guide?
Where can I find the teacher's guide?
What is the curriculum standards page?
What is the literacy resource, "In Their Own Words"?
What is the suggested bibliography?
What are the Internet links?
What is the video preview?
Can I get a script of the program?
I see podcasts on the EFT Web sites. What are they?
Can my students access the EFT Web sites from home?
I'm concerned about my students' safety on the Internet. How do you protect them online?
Will the EFT Web sites work inInternet Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Safari?
What software do I need on my computer to access the EFT Web sites?
How many computers may we use during the broadcast?


Do you have a problem that is not listed here? Ask us and we’ll be glad to help!
You can reach us by phone at 1-800-761-8331 or by e-mail at EFTSupport@cwf.org.


What’s on the EFT Web sites?
Lots of things! There are Web activities, an e-mail link, online voting, and message boards for students. For teachers, there is a teacher's guide with lesson plans, the National Standards for History for the program, a literacy/primary source component called "In Their Own Words," a suggested bibliography, a list of Internet links, and the video preview.

What are Web activities?
Web activities are multimedia and interactive explorations that extend student learning. Each activity is designed to enhance and extend a particular segment of each EFT. Some teachers use these activities as preparation for EFTs, while others use the activities to extend learning following the EFT experience. The Web activities are available for you and your students to use all year long. The materials will connect with curricular units throughout your school year, and you and your students may return to the sites and use them again and again. Give the Web site passwords to your students, and encourage them to use the resources at home and show their parents the fun and engaging activities they are using in your classroom!

What is the e-mail link?
The e-mail link maybe used by students to ask questions of characters from each EFT. The e-mail link is available during the week of the broadcast. It is a great way for students to interact with the program!

How can my students e-mail their questions?
Please note that the e-mail link is active only during the week of the broadcast.

  1. Enter your user ID and password to enter the EFT Web site.
  2. Click on "Student Activities."
  3. The e-mail link is located under "Talk to Colonial Williamsburg" at the bottom right side of the page.

What is the online vote?
The online vote is where students can voice their opinions about two issues from the program. The online vote is accessible for the entire school year. Colonial Williamsburg Foundation interpreters and historians discuss the online votes during the live broadcast.

What is the message board?
The message board is an opportunity for students to ask questions and talk to each other year-round! After posting a question, students may return to the site within 48 hours to read a response from Colonial Williamsburg Foundation historians. All questions and answers are available to all students. Exploring other students’ questions can be a great way to extend learning.

How does my class join the Online Message Board?

  1. PLEASE NOTE: Only one user name can be registered under each e-mail address. We recommend that the teacher use his or her e-mail address to create a single username and password for the entire class. Students should then sign their first names to their posts to the message board.
  2. Under the “Teacher Resources” or “Student Activities” section of the EFT Web site, select "Online Message Board."
  3. Click on “Register.
  4. Create a username and enter your e-mail address. Then choose a password. Click "Create new account."
  5. You may use this same log in for any of the EFTs for which your school has registered. When you enter each EFT message board, simply click the text prompt to join the group in the white text box at the top of the page.

Do I need to create a new username and password for each of the Online Message Boards for EFTs to which my school has subscribed?

No, you do not need to create a new username and password for one Online Message Board. You may use the same username and password to participate in the message boards for any other EFT to which your school has subscribed. Simply click on the text prompt in the white text box to join the group in each message board.

How do my students post their questions to the Online Message Board?

After creating a username and password for your class, students may use it to log in to the "Online Message Board," then: To post a new question:

  1. Click on the category that best fits the question or comment.
  2. Type the question into the text box. Students should sign the message using their first names.
  3. To view the post prior to submission, click "Preview comment" OR To post the message to the board, click "Submit comment."

To comment on an existing message go to the message, click "Reply" under the post, then "Submit comment" to post your new comment.

What are the “Rules of Engagement” for the Online Message Boards?

The “Rules of Engagement,” which may also be accessed via a link on the left side of each message board page, are:

  1. Be polite! Think of the blog like your classroom. If you wouldn’t say it in your classroom, don’t write it on the blog.
  2. Don’t give out personal information. Please don’t post your last name, phone number, e-mail, or address.
  3. Stay on topic. If you want to talk about something else, start a topic of your own and see who else is interested!
  4. Be patient. Historians will do their best to answer your questions within 48 hours—but sometimes we get really busy!
  5. Posts that break the rules will be taken down. We will remove or edit postings that are in violation of our standards. These include, but are not limited to, defamatory or libelous attacks, infringement of copyright, attempts to impersonate another person, any obscene or sexual content, commercial messages, or illegal behavior.

How do I change the settings on my Online Message Board account?

  1. On the left side of the message board page, select "My account" then "Edit."
  2. From this page you can change your password, create a signature that will appear on all of your posts, and choose to receive e-mail notification of activity on the board.

Why do I have to register again for the message board, even though I’m already signed in?
Federal law requires that an adult, such as a teacher, must register for online message boards before a student can post to them. To fully comply with this law, you must register to provide your students with full posting privileges. You only need to register once for the online message board. The registration works for all of the EFTs your school has purchased that school year.

What is the teacher's guide?
The teacher's guide includes historical background information, a time line, glossary, lesson plans, and facsimiles of ptimary source documents and images. Each program has its own teacher's guide, which is posted on the EFT Web site as an Adobe PDF file.

Where can I find the teacher's guide?

  1. Enter your user ID and password to enter the EFT Web site.
  2. Click on "Teacher Resources."
  3. The teacher's guide is under "Downloadable Resources" toward the bottom right of the screen.

What is the curriculum standards page?
The curriculum standards page lists the National Standards for History that apply to each program. These standards come from the National Center for History in the Schools at the University of California in Los Angeles. More specific state standards for each program can be found here.

What is the literacy resource, "In Their Own Words"?
"In Their Own Words" is a literacy component that is drawn from primary sources – people of the past speaking "in their own words."

What is the suggested bibliography?
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation educators have created a selected bibliography for each EFT program, giving teachers the opportunity to expand their knowledge of the topics. The same page also includes a list of suggested readings for students.

What are the Internet links?
The Internet links page is a list of links to Web pages that provide content related to each program. Take a few minutes to explore the links and plan how your students can best use them to extend their discovery of each EFT topic.

What is the video preview?
An online video preview of each program is available throughout the school year. The online video preview provides you and your students with the opportunity to see the pre-recorded portions of the program before the broadcast. If the television broadcast of a particular EFT does not match your class’s units of study at the time of broadcast, use the online video preview when you reach a unit in your schedule that is more appropriate.

Can I get a script of the program?
Yes. Scripts of each program are available on the website in PDF form. A link to the script can be found of the “Teacher Resources” page. Here are a few ideas for using the script:

  • As a literacy exercise, have students read the script before the program.
  • Identify and define difficult words to expand vocabulary.
  • On broadcast day, read part of the script over morning announcements.
  • Act out a scene in class or at a PTA program for the entire school!

Please note that our scripts are copyrighted and should only be used for educational purposes at YOUR school. If you would like to use the script for some other purpose, please contact us.

I see podcasts on the EFT Web sites. What are they?
Podcasts are audio files that can be played on a computer or portable music player, such as an iPod. Colonial Williamsburg’s podcasts take you "behind the scenes" to meet the historians, trades people, interpreters, musicians, and other museum staff. Podcasts that support our EFTs are posted on the EFT Web sites. For more information on our podcasts, click here.

Can my students access the EFT Web sites from home?
Yes. The EFT Web sites may be accessed from anywhere, as long as you have the user ID and password. We encourage you to share them with your students and have them explore the EFT sites as homework!

I'm concerned about my students' safety on the Internet. How do you protect them online?
Because the EFT Web sites are password protected, they have a higher level of security than other open sites online. All of the EFT Web sites are free of advertisements. We monitor the message boards to make sure that students are not giving away any personal information online. Posts that do so will be removed. To ensure that students’ e-mail addresses remain private, we encourage you to use your e-mail to register your class for the message board and to send e-mails during the week of the broadcast.

Will the EFT websites work on Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Safari?
Yes, the EFT Web sites work in all three browsers.

What software do I need on my computer to access the EFT Web sites?
You will need three pieces of software to access the EFT Web sites. All of the software is available as free downloads via the links listed below. Please check with your school’s IT specialist to make sure you have permission to download software to your computer.

  1. Acrobat Reader (PC and Mac users) – to open the teacher's guide and other PDF documents.
  2. Flash Player (PC and Mac users) – to play the Web activities.
  3. One of the following:
    • QuickTime (best for most Mac users) – to watch the video preview and Web stream.
    • Windows Media Player (best for most PC users) – to watch the video preview and Web stream.

How many computers may we use during the broadcast?
Unless your network administrator advises differently, we suggest that you watch streaming video on only one computer at a time. You may use as many computers as you wish to access e-mail, online voting, message boards, and Web activities. For more information, read the FAQ on streaming.