Log on education: science in the palms of their hands
Communications of the ACM
Earth science instruction with digital data
Computers & Geosciences - The Year 2000 challenges
The educational effectiveness of computer-based instruction
Computers & Geosciences - The Year 2000 challenges
3D Graphics and VRML 2.0
MicroComputers for 21st Century Educators
MicroComputers for 21st Century Educators
An educational interactive numerical model of the Chesapeake Bay
Computers & Geosciences
E-Science in the classroom - Towards viability
Computers & Education
Develop e-Learning Platform for Reinforcement Learning on Temperature Sensor
KES '07 Knowledge-Based Intelligent Information and Engineering Systems and the XVII Italian Workshop on Neural Networks on Proceedings of the 11th International Conference
Concept of Competency Examination System in Virtual Laboratory Environment
WISE '09 Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Web Information Systems Engineering
The view of scientific inquiry conveyed by simulation-based virtual laboratories
Computers & Education
Computers in Human Behavior
The Tree of Knowledge Project: Organic Designs as Virtual Learning Spaces
International Journal of Virtual and Personal Learning Environments
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Laboratory exercises, field observations and field trips are a fundamental part 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. Our objectives were to develop an environmental virtual field laboratory to study environmental properties and processes that stimulate the higher-order cognitive skills of students. We considered the following criteria for our virtual field laboratory: (i) global access, i.e., web-based implementation; (ii) simulation of a variety of learning mechanisms; (iii) interactivity to engage students; (iv) compartmentalization and hierarchical organizational structure; (v) abstraction of 2D and 3D geographic objects (e.g. soils, terrain) and dynamic ecosystem processes (e.g. water flow) using geostatistics and scientific visualization techniques. Cognitive science was considered during the design of our computer-aided instructional tools to enhance the effectiveness for learning. Our virtual field laboratory mimicked the students' learning processes that operate during real field trips and/or field observations; and provided students with a simulation environment to study environmental processes in space and time that cannot be provided on a real field trip. We implemented the following learning mechanisms: (i) exploration-based learning; (ii) analogy-based learning; (iii) science inquiry learning; (iv) abstraction-based learning. To engage students in our environmental virtual field laboratory, we implemented multiple interactivity functions including the exploration of 3D models and adaptive selective simulations. We used Virtual Reality Modeling Language, Java, Java Script, and External Authoring Interface to develop the environmental virtual field laboratory for a 42-ha flatwood site in Florida for which extensive datasets existed. Our digital learning environment offers potential to enhance existing on-campus courses and/or distance education courses.