TOO MUCH OR TOO LITTLE? BALANCING INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNOLOGY WITH MULTIPLE-INTELLIGENCE PEDAGOGY VIA VIRTUAL GEOLOGY FIELD TRIPS OF NATIONAL PARKS

Advances in instructional technology have far surpassed gains in our understanding of how best to teach geological content at the first-year college level. A mere use of higher-resolution media, for example, does not necessarily translate to a more effective teaching/learning dynamic either in the classroom or in the dormitory. Any meaningful integration of available technology into a geology curriculum needs to be tempered with assessment-backed models of which specific teaching/learning models work and which fall short.

In today’s technology-saturated world, educators often feel overwhelmed by the onslaught of newer technologies that have permeated the ‘old technology’ of the textbook. Such a distancing of educators from rapidly changing instructional technology has created a gap between the potential of prudent instructional technology and instructors’ ability for using such technology in their classrooms. The result of this discord is amply evident in the increasingly fragmented ways in which students are led through content in introductory-level geology courses.

This presentation highlights an alternative approach to teaching/learning of geological content via use of modern instructional technology tools, but, within the context of a time-tested, old rubric – that of a virtual field trip focused on the geology of our national parks. A discerning use of the spectrum of instructional technology tools allows for a resurgence of the old-fashioned field-trip for stimulating interest in geology of our national parks. This paper will offer insights into both the state-of-the-art instructional technology tools and proven models for teaching/learning geological content via a demonstration of a set of Virtual Reality Field Trips for use in introductory-level, physical geology and environmental geology classes.

These Virtual Reality Field Trips have been created with a focus on geological concepts best observed and learned in specific national parks. A total of fifteen Virtual Field Trips have been created using elements of instructional technology that come together seamlessly and communicate content in a sensory-saturated manner, and, for the diversity of intelligence-types typically present in a classroom. Results of initial assessment of the effectiveness of this technology will be shared along with suggestions for use.