Using Virtual Field Sites to Extend the Reach of Field Programs for Teachers

Virtual reality provides rich possibilities for preparing teachers to go into the field, taking something of their field experience back into their classroom, and extending the influence of field-based professional development programs to those not able to participate in them. As part of a field-oriented workshop for middle school Earth science teachers (TOTLE = Teachers on the Leading Edge), we are designing and building a series of virtual field environments based on sites that participants visit during summer workshops. In addition to using these environments to prepare teachers for their fieldwork, workshop participants will use the virtual field sites to engage their own students in simulated fieldwork. To increase the effectiveness of these environments, the teachers work with the designer and program staff to refine the sites and develop the K-12 student activities that use them. Since one of the goals of these environments is to introduce K-12 students to field geology, the sites are designed as virtual spaces where users can move around, gather data from using in-line tool sets, and meet experts who describe their research at the site via in-line video clips. Once completed and evaluated, these virtual field environments will be made publicly available via CD and on the Internet.