THE VIRTUAL FIELD EXPERIENCE CREATION TOOL: A TOOL SO USER-FRIENDLY EVEN A GEOLOGIST CAN USE IT

Virtual field experiences are becoming more popular—not only as a replacement for real field experiences in places where they are cost-prohibitive, but also as supplements to real-world experiences that allow for new perspectives and learning that could never be acquired in the field alone.

Some common major obstacles for Geoscience faculty who want to create effective virtual field experiences. First, faculty expertise in course design can be critical, but Geoscience faculty members have generally had little or no training in course design and pedagogy. Since faculty members must custom design each field experience, the quality of these experiences varies widely—from simple “show and tell” exercises to opportunities for truly significant learning. Second, there is little information about what types of visualizations best support specific learning objectives in the Geosciences. Third, considerable technical expertise is required to take full advantage of the multimedia capabilities of current technology (e.g., embedded Google Earth™ flyover movies to give topographical context to the field location, interactive testing and reporting tools, dynamic overlays of diagrams onto photographs, etc.)

The “Virtual Field Experience Creation Tool,” is being designed to address or circumvent these problems. This program and associated documentation will guide instructors to design and create virtual field experiences that 1) follow sound principles of course design and pedagogy, 2) utilize visuals that help students recognize fundamental patterns in the systems under study, and 3) take full advantage of current multimedia capabilities, in a single, easy-to-learn format.

This web-based tool will be available at no cost on our department server in the near future, and adequate server space has been allocated to house a growing bank of high quality virtual field experiences. In addition, we will be generating and validating experimental protocols for basic research about the educational effectiveness of different aspects of geologic illustrations. The principles distilled from the results of these studies will be incorporated into the program documentation.