REAL-TIME STREAMING OF FIELD CAMP EXERCISES

The objective of the Clemson Hydrogeology Field Camp is to give students professional-level skills in hydrogeology using hands on exercises. The 2020 pandemic precluded this possibility. Faced with the challenge of teaching field-based skills without having students in the field, we developed an alternative approach using real-time streaming of field exercises.

To provide small group instruction where possible and appropriate, we divided the 26 students into six groups, each consisting of a graduate student and three to four undergraduates. Each exercise started off with a synchronous Zoom meeting of an hour or less where detailed instructions were given on how to complete the task. Each group was then required to guide and direct the TA, who was present at the field site, through completion of the field exercise. As much as possible the TA acted as a passive participant, completing the task as instructed by the students. Data was collected in real time in this manner.

We used high-quality video and audio streaming from the field so that students could ask questions in real time and get immediate feedback. Designing this technology set-up was challenging, but the results were encouraging. Students were asked to reflect on their expectations of the virtual field camp before the semester had started followed by their perceptions after they had completed the camp in a post-course survey (n = 11). When asked to rate their confidence in their ability to perform various aspects of hydrogeologic field work (Likert-type scale, 1 to 7), students indicated that they felt confident in their ability to, for example, conduct a pumping test (M=3.00, SD=1.61 before field camp, M=6.00, SD 1.79 after field camp) and classify a soil (M=3.45, SD=2.11 to M=6.45, SD=0.52). After participating in the course, 91% of respondents felt that they learned a lot about hydrogeology from field camp and 72% of respondents stated they felt this field camp prepared them for a career in hydrogeology to some degree.

Initial results indicate that real-time streaming of field camp exercises could potentially serve as an alternative for the more traditional in-person field camp. This method of learning field methods could, for example, be used to offer an accessible field camp that could be taken by students who are unable to physically participate in the field exercises.