More often than not, school field trips are fun opportunities for both students plus faculty to leave campus and burn off some steam. Like, really, who doesn’t love some hands-on learning? Whether visiting a museum, attending a lecture, or watching a performance, classroom excursions are an indelible part of education, even with schools’ COVID-19 contact tracing efforts. All too aware of this, UnitedGPS has developed an online Field Trip Admin feature on Crosswalk K-12 to support schools with these special occasions.
How to use the Field Trip Admin feature on Crosswalk K-12
As pictured below in the Crosswalk K-12 Dashboard under Admin on the right-hand side, users will find the button saying “Field Trip Admin,” a complete system for every aspect of field trip management. In other words, no more paperwork to submit to the superintendent or transit director for approval. Now everything is digital with each request going to the browser for future reference.
To draft field trip proposals, administrators need to first click on Trip Request, as pictured below. Once clicked, a form will appear where administrators can specify the number of students, departure location and end destination. You can get this done simply by inputting the addresses. This is also where users can jot down special notes and specify if the bus should stop for food somewhere.
Below you will find the New Field Trip Request form on Crosswalk K-12 that administrators use to plan classroom excursions. Information includes trip name, departure location and destination, trip type, meal stops, number of students plus number of buses, as well as the option to select a person to review the request. There are also multiple boxes to add relevant notes where needed.
Once an administrator makes a request, the designated reviewer will receive a notification that a proposal has been submitted in Crosswalk K-12. The submission will also say “pending” on the dashboard before anybody opens up the proposal for final approval. After a request receives the “reviewed” status, then you can assign the bus number and driver.
Thanks to Crosswalk K-12’s automated system for online field trip admin, approved field trips will immediately appear on the Event View back on the Dashboard (under Live Maps) based on the dates specified.
In turn, the whole workflow for field trip administration becomes more efficient not only for schools but also for parents. That’s to say, being able to view buses’ real-time location while out on the road. This way, no matter where students go on a field trip, this service brings peace of mind to many families.