Abstract
Abstract. This study highlights a geology of Yosemite Valley virtual field trip (VFT) and the companion exercises produced as a four-part educational activity to substitute physical field experiences. The VFT is created as an Earth project in Google Earth Web, a versatile format that allows access through a web browser or Google Earth application with the sharing of an internet address. Many dynamic resources can be used for VFT stops through use of the Google Earth Engine (global satellite imagery draped on topography, 360∘ street-level imagery, and user-submitted 360∘ photospheres). Images, figures, videos, and narration can be embedded into VFT stops. Hyperlinks allow for a wide range of external resources to be incorporated; optional background resources help reduce the knowledge gap between the general public and advanced undergraduate students, ensuring that VFTs can be broadly accessible. Like many in-person field trips, there is a script with learning goals for each stop, but also an opportunity to learn through exploration, as the viewer can dynamically change their vantage at each stop (i.e., guided-discovery learning). This interactive VFT format supports students' spatial skills and encourages attention to be focused on a stop's critical spatial information. The progression from VFT and mapping exercises to geologically reasoned decision-making results in high-quality student work; students find it engaging, enjoyable, and educational.
Highlights
The shifting landscape of the global COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020 brought unprecedented uncertainty and disruption to educators worldwide, field educators (e.g., Arthurs, 2021; Phillips et al, 2021; Walker, 2021)
In post-course surveys students cited the Yosemite activity and visit as one of their favorite aspects of the course, and the students’ assessment results indicate the mapping products produced were some of the highest quality in the course. Out of this background familiarity and the possibility to create a long-lived teaching resource, we developed a four-part geology of Yosemite Valley educational activity, advertised through the main National Association of Geoscience Teachers (NAGT) working group, and made this activity publicly available in May 2020 through the Science Education Resources Center (SERC) website hosted by Carleton College (Fig. 1)
Through our geology of Yosemite Valley activity, we provide an example of how a virtual field trip (VFT) can be designed to be approachable to a broad general public audience and, at the same time, serve as background information for an advanced undergraduate student mapping project
Summary
The shifting landscape of the global COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020 brought unprecedented uncertainty and disruption to educators worldwide, field educators (e.g., Arthurs, 2021; Phillips et al, 2021; Walker, 2021). In post-course surveys students cited the Yosemite activity and visit as one of their favorite aspects of the course, and the students’ assessment results (scores) indicate the mapping products produced were some of the highest quality in the course Out of this background familiarity and the possibility to create a long-lived teaching resource (i.e., with potential for broad international interest and usable with a site visit once in-person field instruction resumed), we developed a four-part geology of Yosemite Valley educational activity (https://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/online_field/ activities/237092.html; last access: 11 October 2021), advertised through the main NAGT working group, and made this activity publicly available in May 2020 through the Science Education Resources Center (SERC) website hosted by Carleton College (Fig. 1). This paper is intended to provide an overview of the learning philosophies and technologies employed, with the hope that it promotes the creation of highquality virtual field trips (VFTs) appropriate for the general public and highlights how VFTs can lead to advancedlevel mapping and geologically reasoned decision-making exercises suitable for third-year or fourth-year undergraduate courses
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