Abstract
Abstract. Field trips are an essential part for geoscience students, as the field is intrinsic for understanding what they are taught in the classroom. Yet, distance learning has never been more necessary than today. Despite their significance in the students' education, field trips cannot be performed under the present conditions with the COVID-19 pandemic. Educators are called to find, use and evolve various tools in order to offer students quality education, with an effort to eliminate the drawbacks of the lack of physical contact and “live” field work. Virtual field trips are one such tool through which one can virtually see any place on the globe by means of a computer, tablet, or even mobile phone, without physically visiting it. In this paper, we present the results of a virtual field trip developed for students following the Geomorphology course of the Faculty of Geology and Geoenvironment, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens; it can, however, be used from other universities with similar courses not only in Greece but also in other countries as well. The purpose of this study is the evaluation of virtual field trips, both as an alternative to and/or substitute for in situ field work and as a means of preparation for live field trips, by taking into consideration the students' views through an anonymous questionnaire. Our findings suggest that virtual field trips are useful for geoscience students, and they provide a good alternative during restriction periods, and although they can under no circumstances substitute real field trips, they can be a valuable additional tool when preparing for a live field trip.
Highlights
Field trips are an essential part of a geologist’s education
The main purpose of this work is to evaluate virtual field trips and to evaluate the extent that they can be used as an alternative to real field work, i.e. to what extent they can aid students to comprehend the fundamentals of a course or discipline, especially in situations where visiting an area is not feasible
The anonymous questionnaire was filled out by 51 students from the Faculty of Geology and Geoenvironment (NKUA), who follow the course of Geomorphology (Fig. 7)
Summary
Field trips are an essential part of a geologist’s education. They are very helpful in understanding the geological processes that have taken place in a study area (e.g. Hurst, 1997). Field trips are an essential part of a geologist’s education They are very helpful in understanding the geological processes that have taken place in a study area Videos, and satellite images, as well as from different aspects, both in two and three dimensions In this way, any place on the globe can be visited, its size is theoretically unlimited, and it can safely be stored on any device. Virtual field trips are accessible from almost any place, meaning that people from different countries can attend them simultaneously (Stainfield et al, 2000), and they are more necessary than ever before, given the COVID-19 pandemic conditions
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