By Jayson Edgerle
Reporter

Students and faculty at CSU Bakersfield were given a virtual tour of Angel Island State Park on April 19.

Park Ranger John Clagett held a conference call from his station at the park, located 400 miles away in San Francisco Bay.

Clagett showed students and faculty a brief glimpse of the park and the old living quarters in the Immigration Station that was built there, while giving a huge sample of historical facts about the island.

The rangers call these virtual tours Parks Online Resources for Teachers and Students. PORTS are used almost exclusively as teaching tools in K-12 classrooms, and are geared towards natural history, biology, and other subjects that pertain to state parks.

Clagett explained how this tool has evolved and how it allows students to view the park from the classroom.

“It first started out as a bunch of equipment on a cart, but now all we need is a tablet, tripod and a Wi-Fi connection,” said Clagett. “Because Angel Island is so secluded, by the time they arrive, the kids don’t have enough time to see everything. This technology allows students to visit the parks without leaving the classroom.”

Chris Livingston, a senior librarian, explained his reasons for hosting the event.

“There were actually two purposes to this,” Livingston said. “One was to introduce this ports program to the campus community and to gain exposure to our faculty, to maybe consider the possibilities for this in the classroom. But the other purpose was to tie into the current immigration exhibit that’s up in the Historical Research Center on the second floor of the Walter Stiern Library.”

Joshua Patton, a sophomore history major, came to the event after Livingston suggested it to him.

“It’s an interesting way of basically talking with somebody in a group yet having a one-on-one conversation with him,” Patton said. “When you actually go there, you can’t talk to him one-on-one. It’s a better experience because you can really get into depth.”

Since this technology isn’t just limited to State Parks, it can be used for different classes by different subjects.

Amy Pachla, a communications major, shared her opinion on this technology being used in other classes, for different subjects.

“I think it’s great idea. I think it’ll let people see and know about things that wouldn’t be able to see otherwise. And it’s borderless, anyone in the world could be part of it. Anything like that I’m in favor of.”

There are only 11 state parks with PORTS in California.

Photo by Cecilia Torres/The Runner

In a brief introduction Archives Librarian Christopher Livingston talks about Ranger John’s job
at Angel Island, Thursday, April 19, 2018.