ED012-05
Virtual field trips: Concepts, potential, and vision
Virtual field trips: Concepts, potential, and vision
Tuesday, 8 December 2020: 19:19
Virtual
Abstract:
Remote and virtual learning experiences have been on the rise for several years and have found a prominent spot on everyone's mind considering social distance requirements in the recent pandemic. Over the last four years, with the rise of immersive technologies, we have developed a research framework for (immersive) virtual field trips (iVFTs) to systematically address conceptual questions and provide an evidence-based grounding of design choices. We have run over a dozen studies with more than 700 participants. In this contribution, we provide a meta-analysis of our studies, introducing our framework and contextualize results with recent developments. We identify critical research questions that should enter a research agenda for (immersive) virtual field trips to allow for guiding the research and education communities across disciplinary boundaries that are united to provide authentic and compelling learning experiences through a place-based focus.
iVFTs allow for realizing and designing learning experiences grounded in the most promising learning theories from constructivism and embodiment to place-based and inquiry-based learning. Importantly, iVFTs can go beyond physical reality and deliver learning experiences at scale, synchronously or asynchronously, accessible to many, shareable, economical, sustainable, and inclusive. Our research has shown that for short term experiences, iVFTs deliver comparable and engaging learning experiences and that including designs that go beyond physical reality further enhance students' experiences. iVFTs are an excellent tool for preparing for actual field trips. There are critical questions on the research agenda for iVFTs based on our research and the growing community effort. Among the most prominent ones are the role of immersive versus non-immersive virtual experiences, the use of highly-interactive 3D environments versus 360 images, the design of inquiry-based learning experiences, and social aspects such as collaboration and the role of embodied conversational agents. We will address these questions in a comprehensive overview and vision.
iVFTs allow for realizing and designing learning experiences grounded in the most promising learning theories from constructivism and embodiment to place-based and inquiry-based learning. Importantly, iVFTs can go beyond physical reality and deliver learning experiences at scale, synchronously or asynchronously, accessible to many, shareable, economical, sustainable, and inclusive. Our research has shown that for short term experiences, iVFTs deliver comparable and engaging learning experiences and that including designs that go beyond physical reality further enhance students' experiences. iVFTs are an excellent tool for preparing for actual field trips. There are critical questions on the research agenda for iVFTs based on our research and the growing community effort. Among the most prominent ones are the role of immersive versus non-immersive virtual experiences, the use of highly-interactive 3D environments versus 360 images, the design of inquiry-based learning experiences, and social aspects such as collaboration and the role of embodied conversational agents. We will address these questions in a comprehensive overview and vision.