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Table 1 Benefits and drawbacks to virtual field guides

From: A review of the benefits and drawbacks to virtual field guides in today’s Geoscience higher education environment

Benefits of virtual field guides

Drawbacks of virtual field guides

❖ Relatively cheap to create

❖ Can be difficult to create and requires a level of technological competence

❖ Easy to update, adapt and change

❖ Lacks virtual in the true sense of immersion in the digital environment

❖ No real limitations on size or scope

❖ Still hindered by lack of technology i.e. computing power/virtual reality

❖ Helps develop skills for students before going on real fieldwork

❖ Students can get lost and disorientated in the virtual world

❖ Provide inclusivity benefits to disabled and disadvantaged students

 

❖ Can replicate seasonal change of a landscape

 

❖ Allows a student to revisit over and over again unlike a one of real field trip

❖ Allows students to develop skills in a controlled environment