Virtual field trips in education of earth and environmental sciences

Laboratory exercises, field observations and field trips are fundamental parts of many earth science and environmental science courses. Field observations and field trips can be constrained because of distance, time, expense, scale, safety, or complexity of real-world environments. During the last decades actual field trips have been losing power and attention because of the limitations mentioned above and virtual field trips have been started to think as an alternative to the actual field trips. The aim of this study is to research the historical background and development of the virtual field trips in education of earth and environmental sciences. It is also discussed the potential and limitations of the virtual reality to provide and support student-centered, meaningful and deeper learning environment. (c) 2011 Published by Elsevier Ltd.