The value of field trips is undisputed across disciplines. Field-site visits whether in social or physical sciences provide grounding for place- and discovery-based learning. Yet field trips have limitations that can now be overcome by the promise of immersive technologies that can improve quality and accessibility. This promise is twofold: First, we can harness advancements made in sensing technologies to create immersive experiences of places across the earth efficiently; second, we can provide detailed empirical evaluations on immersive learning and quantify educational value. We report on a study that splits an introductory geosciences course into two groups with one group experiencing a traditional field trip, while a second group visits the same site virtually, immersing the students in the site using a head-mounted device. Results show the advantages of virtual field trips (VFTs) concerning enjoyment, learning experience, and actual lab scores. We embed the discussion of these results into a more general assessment of the advantages of VFTs and a taxonomy of VFTs as a basis for future studies.
This essay considers the significance of students’ emotional experiences during online engineering instruction by reviewing the evidence of factors that make for more efficient and effective online instructional practices during the pandemic period. The engineering courses, particularly those with labs and activities, were especially disrupted when they were re-designed for online context. The continuation of these instructional changes may cause substantially increased stress levels for students that ultimately may impact enrollment. Therefore, the success of engineering education for both the near and long-term future depends on providing students positive learning experiences which are associated with academic emotions during the establishment of this new normal of online technical engineering education.
Purpose
– This study aims to add to the body of literature by examining students’ satisfaction with e-textbooks. As higher education evolves, one instructional tool, the classic textbook, is undergoing various transformations. In today’s classrooms, many e-textbooks are in use and there are implications.
Design/methodology/approach
– A researcher-developed instrument measured 115 undergraduate students’ satisfaction levels for e-textbooks used in two courses, and a learning styles instrument was given to identify student learning preferences.
Findings
– Through factor analysis, a few dimensions emerged regarding factors related to satisfaction. The factors included features, usability and learning facilitation provided by the e-textbooks. In general, students had a moderately above-neutral, positive attitude toward the e-textbooks. Gender, grade point average, time spent weekly reading e-textbooks and a few learning style tendencies can significantly predict, to some extent, different dimensions of satisfaction.
Practical implications
– Usability design of e-textbooks plays a key role in student satisfaction toward digital materials. Moreover, instructors need to use meaningful instructional activities as they adopt the usage of e-textbooks.
Originality/value
– The findings can help shed light on ways to enable students to become more satisfied with digital textbooks and can help policymakers and instructors evaluate and effectively adopt the appropriate digital materials to meet individual needs.
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