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Virtual field trips11/14/2023 Using a switching-replications experimental design, we compared their content recall (assessment tests) and VFT experience (attitude, perceived usefulness, involvement, inquiry, video engagement, and virtual guide) across four-time points. We recruited third-grade pupils (aged 8–9) from two private elementary schools to experience VFTs using 360° videos (360V) and regular videos (REGV). The purpose of our study was to explore the potential of going in a VFT using 360-degree (360°) videos as an alternative to a physical field trip in primary education. Virtual reality as a common form of VFT is likely not an option for many schools due to cost and other barriers. Many schools are resorting to a virtual field trip (VFT), especially when education is disrupted due to public health concerns, natural disasters, or other unforeseen significant events. However, the same virtual field trip could also provide the basis for a more sophisticated exercise in geomorphological mapping and glacier reconstruction.Field trips are steadily declining due to limited funding, time constraints, safety concerns, and other logistical issues. For example, a virtual field trip to a glaciated landscape could be used for a simple landform identification activity, designed for those new to the topic. This approach is exemplified by most of the virtual field trips provided by Stanford Earth Sciences (where they are referred to as ‘virtual field sites’) and Geography at the University of Worcester.Ī key benefit of self-guided (‘bare bones’) virtual field trips is flexibility the same resource can be used for a range of purposes. Student learning activities (e.g., worksheets) also need to be designed for these self-guided virtual field trips. Instead, they need to be placed within a teaching unit that provides students with the necessary background knowledge and skills. The absence of embedded academic content means these ‘bare bones’ virtual field trips are not standalone academic resources. Over the last two decades, technological progress has enabled virtual field trips to transition from simple web pages to a range of more sophisticated approaches, including those based on virtual reality which seek to provide users with an immersive, simulated field experience (e.g., McDougall, 2019).Īlthough this variety provides educators with much-needed flexibility, a consequence is that the term ‘virtual field trip’ now means different things to different people.Īlternatively, virtual field trips can be self-guided. Perceptions of what constitutes a virtual field trip will therefore change over time in line with technological advances. Technology is central to the virtual field trip concept because it plays a pivotal role in determining what can and cannot be achieved in these virtual environments. At its core, a virtual field trip can be defined as a digital resource that allows a user to visualise and interrogate a remote location using imagery and other materials as appropriate (e.g., data, maps, journal articles) (Hurst, 1998 Woerner, 1999 Stainfield et al., 2000 Klemm and Tuthill, 2003).
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