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The OceanField project is an integrated field-work and classroom-based course offered to first year Master students in Marine Geosciences (at the European Institute for Marine Studies IUEM - University of Brest), creating a synergy between (1) geology field class, (2) photogrammetric data acquisition and (3) data processing to produce digital terrain models, enabling the immersive experience to be extended in a digital working environment once back in class. In this way, the students experiment different approaches for observing and analysing the structure, geometry and nature of a past oceanic domain in the Alps, and gain an understanding of how it works (from its birth to its disappearance). At the same time, participating in the acquisition and processing of photogrammetric data, students acquire new technical skills. By not only being immersed in the virtual environment, but also contributing to its creation, students are involved in the various stages of the data lifecycle. As a result, they become more aware of multiscale data quality and of the opportunities offered by virtual environment accuracy.

Virtual Field Trips (VFTs) have a valuable role in supporting and enhancing real fieldwork and empowering students who are disadvantaged financially or physically. The development of good VFT and VFT tools is still in its infancy and full 'virtuality' is still many years away. This article traces the evolution of virtual field trips, outlining their advantages and disadvantages and provides a brief overview of the materials and approaches currently becoming available.

Geoscience courses, such as geology and geomorphology, require not only classroom lessons and laboratory exercises, but field trips as well. However, the COVID-19 restrictions did not allow the execution of most planned field trips, and an alternative needed to be developed. The use of virtual field trips is one such alternative. Through this research, we evaluate the usefulness of virtual field trips as tools for preparatory activities before an actual field trip takes place in the same area, and their contribution in providing a better understanding of geomorphological processes and landscape evolution. We performed a virtual navigation on the island of Naxos, Cyclades (Aegean Sea, Greece) for a series of virtual field trips, which took place during webinars in the framework of Erasmus+ CIVIS. The virtual field trip was also presented to the third-year students of the Faculty of Geology and Geoenvironment, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, in the framework of the obligatory course of Geomorphology. Upon completion, all participating students were asked to fill in a questionnaire in order to evaluate the contribution of virtual field trips to their education regarding geomorphology and state their opinion as to whether they can supplement and/or substitute actual field trips. According to the results, virtual field trips can aid, but not substitute, the actual field trip. Most students mentioned that they would attend another virtual field trip in the future, both as an alternative to classroom lessons and as a means of preparation for an actual field trip, but not in order replace the actual one. Virtual field trips can significantly support the realization of actual ones, by introducing the necessary tectonic, geological and geomorphological background of a particular study area and offering more time for practical activities or field methodologies during the actual field trip.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic and resultant cancelation of geoscience fieldwork, as well as outstanding accessibility issues inherent in conducting fieldwork, we developed a virtual geological fieldtrip (VFT) to the Huronian age deposits in the Whitefish Falls area, Ontario, Canada. This region is a geologically significant site in which many Ontario universities conduct undergraduate teaching due to the high-quality exposures. In this contribution, we describe and comment on the development of this openly available resource, the motivations in doing so, the challenges faced, its pedagogical impact and relevance, as well as provide suggestions to others in the development of such resources. Our multimedia VFT combines 360° imagery, georeferenced data on integrated maps, and multi-scale imagery (aerial/drone, outcrop, and thin section images). The VFT was built using the Esri Storymaps platform, and thus offers us the opportunity to review the effectiveness of building such resources using this medium, as well as our approach to doing so. We conclude that the Esri Storymaps platform provides a sound medium for the dissemination of multimedia VFTs, but that some aspects of in-person fieldwork remain hard to replicate. Most notably, this affects “hands on experience” and specific activities such as geological mapping. In addition, while VFTs alleviate some accessibility barriers to geoscience fieldwork, substantial barriers remain that should remain the focus of both pedagogical and geoscience work.

This study investigated how the VR experience (immersion and presence) and design features (narrative, guidance, and feedback) were related to participants’ engagement and perceptions of learning with a desktop Virtual Reality field trip (dVFT) in public outreach settings as used by environmental education centers. Data was collected from 139 participants at three different types of public outreach settings. The results found that immersion, presence, engagement, learning about local environment, VR design features, and affective learning were perceived favorably by the majority of the study’s participants. Design features, engagement, learning about the local environment, and affective learning were significantly lower for young participants (≤ 18 years old) compared to adults. Environmental education center festival participants had higher favorable mean responses for each subscale followed by Web location participants, followed by Homework Club participants. Results from the path analysis highlighted the importance of presence and the design features for engagement and perceived learning. Our findings support that learning about one’s local environment with a dVFT can have a positive impact on engagement and learning, particularly in public outreach learning environments.

This study describes and investigates the immersion principle in multimedia learning. A sample of 102 middle school students took a virtual field trip to Greenland via a head mounted display (HMD) or a 2D video as an introductory lesson within a 6-lesson inquiry-based climate change intervention. The HMD group scored significantly higher than the video group on presence (d = 1.43), enjoyment (d = 1.10), interest (d = .57), and retention in an immediate (d = .61) and delayed posttest (d = .70). A structural equation model indicated that enjoyment mediated the pathway from instructional media to immediate posttest, and interest mediated the pathway from instructional media to delayed posttest score, indicating that these factors may play different roles in the learning process with immersive media. This work contributes to the cognitive affective model of immersive learning, and suggests that immersive lessons can have positive longitudinal effects for learning.

With immersive experiences becoming a medium for mass communication, we need pedagogies as well as scientific, evidence-based design principles for immersive learning. To foster evidence-based designs of immersive learning, we detail an empirical evaluation of a geosciences field trip, common in undergraduate education across numerous disciplines. The study builds on a previously proposed research framework in which we detailed a basic taxonomy of virtual field trips distinguishing between basic, plus, and advanced immersive virtual field trip experiences. The experiment reported here expands the original evaluation of basic field trips into the realm of plus versions using pseudo-aerial 360∘ imagery to provide embodied experiences that are not possible during the actual field trip. We also refined our original experimental design placing a stronger focus on the qualitative feedback elicited from the students. Results show an overwhelmingly positive response of students to virtual field trips with significantly higher-valued learning experience and enjoyment. Furthermore, the introduction of pseudo-aerial imagery (together with higher image resolution) shows a significant improvement in the participants spatial situation model. As contextualizing and spatially grounding is essential for place-based learning experiences, plus versions of virtual field trips have the potential to add value to the learning outcome and immersive virtual field trip experience. We discuss these encouraging results as well as critical feedback from the participants, such as the absence of touch in virtual experiences, and lay out our vision for the future of immersive learning experiences across environmental sciences.

This scholarly article aims to furnish the reader with a comprehensive survey of the history, theoretical, and philosophical underpinnings of field trips; an exploration of the integration of extended realities (XR) and immersive technologies into classroom environments; and an in-depth examination of how these technologies can provide students with learning experiences that mirror traditional field trips. In addition, this article will document the experiences of working with students of varied programs and universities, including writing and education, to comprehend issues of inclusion, accessibility, and universal design within XR, the artifacts created by student–teacher candidates in their studies, and the process of incorporating the development of XR spaces as an integral component of learning and assessment within educational programs. The article concludes by discussing the challenges, opportunities, and implications of XR technologies in current educational environments and for the future of learning and how virtual field trips can create spaces of inclusion.

To adequately prepare students for engineering practices, it is imperative that institutions adopt innovative methods of teaching, learning, and assessment. One such approach is the use of real field trips (RFT) to construction sites, which can enhance students’ perceptions of related careers. Although virtual field trips (VFTs) have emerged as a viable alternative—or supplement—to traditional field trips, little is known about their potential to provide the same or similar career exploration advantages. Using responses from a self-reported questionnaire administered to university students who participated in an RFT, this study sought to examine the usefulness of site visits in developing essential skills required for civil engineers. It also examines student perceptions on the use of VFTs as part of their university experience and the extent to which it could replace RFTs. The results indicate that students consider VFT as an enjoyable way to learn, given the possibilities facilitated by the new technology. However, notwithstanding its success, the students commonly opined that VFT was not a substitute for a RFT. From a holistic perspective, the issue is not whether VFTs can replace traditional field trips or not; it is rather the focus on identifying an integrated approach that combines lectures, and virtual and real field trips in a manner that supports a social constructivism mode of learning. Ultimately, this combination will enable students to effectively construct multiple links between lectures given in a hall and the real world outside.

Virtual field trip is a way of providing users with some knowledge and exposure of a facility without requiring them to physically visit the location. Due to the high computational costs that are necessary to produce virtual environments (VEs), the potential for photorealism is sacrificed. Often these three-dimensional (3D) modeled applications use an unrealistic VE and, therefore, do not provide a full depiction of real-world environments. Panoramas can be used to showcase complex scenarios that are difficult to model and are computationally expensive to view in virtual reality (VR). Utilizing 360° panoramas can provide a low-cost and quick-to-capture alternative with photorealistic representations of the actual environment. The advantages of photorealism over 3D models for training and education are not clearly defined. This paper initially summarizes the development of a VR training application and initial pilot study. Quantitative and qualitative study then was conducted to compare the effectiveness of a 360° panorama VR training application and a 3D modeled one. Switching to a mobile VR headset saves money, increases mobility, decreases set-up and breakdown time, and has less spatial requirements. Testing results of the 3D modeled VE group had an average normalized gain of 0.03 and the 360° panorama group, 0.43. Although the 3D modeled group had slightly higher realism according to the presence questionnaire and had slightly higher averages in the comparative analysis questionnaire, the 360° panorama application has shown to be the most effective for training and the quickest to develop.