Author(s):
David Richard Green* - University of Aberdeen
Abstract:
Virtual fieldtrips have become increasingly popular in educational institutions. With declining funds, larger student numbers, and the rising costs of travel, virtual fieldtrips provide a 'common-sense' alternative that can reduce or eliminate the costs of traditional fieldtrips, the problems associated with scheduling and weather, transportation liabilities, and the risk associated with being in the field. They also offer students a rich resource with which to explore a locality or places further away and an environment where they can work at their own pace. Disparate information can easily be accessed in one place, added to, and subsequently shared. Virtual fieldtrips can provide a valuable complementary online resource for a field study area, one which, with the aid of computer technology, offers students the possibility to visualize and interact with a destination, either prior to or following a visit to the study area. Organising a university field-trip to a vineyard as part of a modular course on the Geography of Viticulture can sometimes be very difficult, particularly if the region is a long way from the university. Google Earth provides the basis to create a local vineyard information system that can easily be added to and shared within a class, and can be used in a number of different ways to enhance more traditional teaching methods, particularly the fieldtrip experience. This paper outlines the development of a Google Earth-based virtual fieldtrip to a vineyard using GIS and remote sensing datasets and contextual information to add to the basic Google Earth information layers.
