GOING LIVE - ENABLING REAL TIME ACCESS TO FIELD SITES USING VIDEO STREAMING AND DISCORD

The GeoScientists Promoting Accessible Collaborative Experiences project (NSF Award 2023124) created a hybrid field course focused on improving the participation of students that have been traditionally marginalized and underserved in the geosciences, especially students with disabilities. The 2023 cohort involved 19 students, 14 of whom had declared a disability, and six of whom attended online. To foster an inclusive approach to the field course, we used video streaming and instant messaging to provide real-time access to the field. This presentation will focus on the use of these technologies during a half-day visit to SP Mountain in the San Francisco Volcanic Field.

We used an overlapping set of technologies to connect three groups of students investigating different aspects at the site. We set up a local area network with VoIP calls and video streaming to connect the group exploring the crater at the top of the cinder cone with the group exploring the lava flow at the base. We used a 4G mobile network connection with YouTube Live to broadcast from the crater to the online students. Discord was used to facilitate text chats across all three groups (including file and photo sharing).

Creating real-time connections across locations was intended to enable equitable opportunities for the students to engage with field work and create a community of learning. However, the online students had limited availability to participate in synchronous events, although they could access the recording, photos, and chat afterwards through Discord. From the students at the base, there was limited engagement with the group at the crater, despite being given a mission briefing including field questions from the online students that morning. Additional structure and guidance may therefore be needed to ensure the students achieve the learning outcomes at each site.

Working with different student cohorts across the two years of the GeoSPACE project, we found that using technology to access field sites can be an enabler. However, unless the pedagogical support matches the students’ requirements, it is not sufficient to ensure the participation of all students. Although the complexity of hybrid delivery is challenging, the potential to improve access and inclusion within the geosciences warrants further persistence.