SELF-GUIDED CLASS FIELD TRIPS USING THE FLYOVER COUNTRY MOBILE APP COULD HELP STUDENTS WITH RESTRICTIVE SCHEDULES SEE ROCKS ANYWAY

Field experiences are an integral and attractive part of an education in the geosciences, and are considered formative by many students. However, at many institutions, class sizes, transportation, and other barriers make field trips difficult to include in geoscience classes, particularly in lower-division coursework. At the same time, we find students increasingly unable to participate in whole-class field trips, due to work schedules, family care duties, and other responsibilities. Nontraditional students, and those from underrepresented and less economically advantaged backgrounds, are more likely to have personal and financial barriers to joining field trips organized on weekends or outside class hours. A well-designed technology bridge could provide students with expert guidance at local field sites that they visit on their own time. This innovation could help geoscience educators connect with a more diverse group of students and overcome some of these logistical barriers. The NSF-funded Flyover Country mobile app is an excellent base to build upon and to use to test the benefits and opportunities in a rigorous way. An easy web interface allows instructors to enter locations, text, and images for field trip stops for use in the app by their students, other instructors, and the general public. Addition of augmented reality (AR) to Flyover Country - like a Sky Map app, but for the Earth surface - provides additional support for students as they visit field sites, by verifying that they are looking at the right features, providing geologic context to their observations, and pointing out important aspects of the site or outcrop in real time. One recognized downside of student self-guidance is liability, including the implications of directing students to travel to locations they may be unfamiliar with, potential travel alone in relatively remote locations, and the absence of a trained guide to assess weather, tides, slope stability, etc.