Design, implementation, and insights from a volcanology Virtual Field Trip to Iceland

Abstract

Virtual field trips (VFTs) are an effective form of geoscience teaching to support or provide alternatives to in-person field trips. We report on the design and implementation of the Iceland VFT aimed at teaching physical volcanology in a third-year undergraduate course. An evaluation exercise administered following the VFT allowed students to reflect on their learning and provided insights into the student experience. Students found the VFT an interesting and motivating learning experience due to the three-dimensional visualisations, entertaining videos, and being exposed to ‘real life’ volcanic environments. Students made suggestions on how to improve the VFT, including minimising technical difficulties and completing the VFT at home to allow more time for classroom discussions. These suggestions were implemented in the second iteration of the VFT and informed the development of two massive open online courses and switch to a flipped classroom.

Sustainable practices in education

“…Numerous research studies have explored the use of VLs and related pedagogical strategies in wide range of disciplines and educational programs (Calvert & Hume, 2022;Nagdee et al, 2022;Ray & Srivastava, 2020;Shorey & Ng, 2021;Xue & Crompton, 2022). These include a variety of disciplines including health science and medical education (Silberman et al, 2013;Teles et al, 2020;Wright et al, 2018;Zackoff et al, 2023), engineering (Mohamed et al, 2021), science (Engel et al, 2023;Watson et al, 2022;Zahid Iqbal & Campbell, 2023) psychology and consultancy (Neden, 2020), and art (Yu et al, 2023).…”

“…Studies also have shown that the use of virtual learning environments resulted in a reduction of face-to-face class time, which in turn increased the opportunity for independent learning (Bak et al, 2023). Incorporating VLs into subjects such as geology and tourism (Schott & Marshall 2018;Watson et al, 2022), which typically require field trips, can also help reduce transportation and logistical expenses (Jones, 2018). Furthermore, with virtual labs, universities can accommodate a larger number of students simultaneously and offer a broader range of experiments and simulations.…”

“…UC has been using VLs as part of teaching practical activities since at least 2018 (Watson et al, 2022). In 2020 the ALSDO (Alternative Lab and Studio Development Options) was created to further develop and increase to use of remote/distance labs (including VLs) at our university.…”

“…In 2020 the ALSDO (Alternative Lab and Studio Development Options) was created to further develop and increase to use of remote/distance labs (including VLs) at our university. The work done by the ALDSO group identified VLs as an effective way to teach practical activities, especially those that involve repetitive tasks for the teaching staff, location-based learning and learning involving large datasets such as maps and high-resolution images (Engel et al, 2023;Watson et al, 2022). VLs were also identified as a way to achieve the university sustainability goals.…”

“…The labs also helped the university meet several SDGs. In the case of a geology course on volcanoes, the virtual practical exercises have been used to create a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) (Watson et al, 2022). This meets, amongst other, the SDG targets 4.4.…”