> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.chimeedu.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Plan Field Trips and Collaborative Journeys with Experiences

> Use ChimeEdu Experiences to structure field trips with travel mapping, student journal entries, resource sharing, and protected collaboration.

Experiences give real-world learning events a structured, digital home. Whether you're running a single-day museum visit or a multi-week overseas journey, students document their observations and reflect through journal entries — all in a teacher-controlled environment that keeps submissions, map check-ins, and resources in one place.

## What an Experience Includes

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Travel Map" icon="map">
    Plot your route on an interactive map. Students check in at locations, and you can track the group's progress in real time.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Student Journal Entries" icon="book-open">
    Students write rich entries at each stop, with support for text, images, and structured prompts you set in advance.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Per-Location Prompts" icon="message-question">
    Attach specific questions or instructions to individual map locations so students know exactly what to document at each stop.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Google Drive Resources" icon="google-drive">
    Link itineraries, worksheets, and resource files directly from your institution's Google Drive — no uploading duplicates.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Protected Sharing" icon="shield-check">
    Control who sees student work. Share selectively with parents or co-teachers, or keep entries private until you've reviewed them.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Rich Media Posts" icon="image">
    Students attach photos and media to their entries, creating a living record of the experience you can review and celebrate.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Creating an Experience

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open New Experience">
    From your teacher dashboard, click **New Experience** to open the Experience builder.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Set up the travel map">
    Plot the locations your group will visit on the interactive map. Add a name and description to each pin so students understand the significance of each stop.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Add per-location prompts">
    For each map location, write the prompts or questions you want students to respond to. Setting these before the trip means students arrive at each stop knowing exactly what to observe and record.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Attach Google Drive resources (optional)">
    Link itineraries, permission slips, worksheets, or background reading from your institution's Google Drive. Students access everything from within the Experience.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Configure visibility and sharing controls">
    Decide who can see the map and student entries — class only, co-teachers, parents, or a wider audience. You can adjust these settings at any point.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Publish to your classroom">
    Set the Experience to **Published**. It appears immediately in every enrolled student's activity feed alongside your other classroom content.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Tip>
  Set your structured prompts before the trip so students arrive at each location knowing what to document. This produces richer journal entries and makes post-trip discussion far more focused.
</Tip>

## During the Experience

As the trip unfolds, students use ChimeEdu to check in at each mapped location, respond to your prompts, and attach photos or media to their entries. You can monitor incoming journal submissions in real time from your teacher dashboard — no need to wait until you're back in the classroom to see how students are engaging.

Use the **approve or hold** controls to review posts before they become visible to the wider group. Any entry you hold remains private until you release it, so you stay in control of what the class sees.

## Journal Entries

Each student can submit up to **20 journal entries** across the whole Experience. Entries support rich text, structured prompt responses, and photo or media attachments. Because entries are linked to specific map locations, you can review them location by location to assess how well students engaged with each stop — and spot gaps in understanding before you build your follow-up lesson.

## Protected Sharing

<Warning>
  Sharing settings affect what parents and external viewers can see. Review your visibility configuration before publishing, especially for Experiences involving minors.
</Warning>

You decide exactly who can see student work at every stage:

* **Class only** — entries are visible only to you and enrolled students.
* **Co-teachers** — extend access to other teachers in your school.
* **Parents / guardians** — share the journey with families in a read-only view.
* **Held posts** — any entry you hold is invisible to everyone except you until you approve it.

## After the Experience

The Experience log doesn't have to end when the trip does. Use it as a starting point for:

* A **follow-up Assessment** built around what students observed and documented.
* A **class discussion** anchored to specific journal entries or map check-ins.
* A **Study Guide** that synthesises the learning from the trip into structured reference material for future revision.

## Visibility Controls

You can update an Experience's visibility settings at any time — before, during, or after the trip. The map, student entries, and attached resources all respond to the same visibility rules, so a single change cascades through the whole Experience. Student enrolment, permissions, and submissions are all managed through the linked classroom, keeping everything in one place.

<Note>
  Experiences are linked to your ChimeEdu classroom. Student enrollment, permissions, and submissions are all managed in one place — there are no scattered forms or external platforms to reconcile.
</Note>


## Related topics

- [Participate in Experiences and Field Trip Activities](/students/experiences.md)
- [How to Enrol Students into Your ChimeEdu Classroom](/teachers/classrooms/enrol-students.md)
- [ChimeEdu Student FAQs — Quizzes, Accounts & Progress](/help/faq-students.md)
- [Joining Your Teacher's ChimeEdu Classroom: A Guide](/students/join-classroom.md)
- [ChimeEdu Classrooms: Your Hub for Teaching Content](/teachers/classrooms/overview.md)