VR Excursions: Exploring Earth's Environment, Version 1.0

Rating:
Summary: VR Excursions Landfill Research Review.
Review: VRX is interactive environmental education software that helps undergraduate students learn by performing realistic field research without leaving the classroom. The theme of the program is to "Learn Science by Doing Science", and each of the three virtual worlds that the student explores allows the student to perform several research projects. The program includes a CD-ROM and 200-page workbook. The three virtual reality worlds include a landfill, a nuclear waste repository and coal power. The pedagogical premise is that the students learn by questioning. Each research topic prompts the student to think about posing a question and then trying to answer it by following the scientific method.

The introduction in the workbook is excellent, it provides four sections as a resource for the students. They include: Doing Science, Learning Science; What's the Question?; Who's Responsible for Teaching and Learning; and Choose a Pathway to Learning. Each provides valuable information to the undergraduate student on how to conduct research and learn from it, how to work with your professor and taking charge of your own learning.

The introduction to each individual research section provides a link between the students' daily lives and the topic being researched, which connects the student to the research and makes the work mean something to the student on a personal level.

The easy to use CD-ROM features a computer-generated landfill with groundwater, leachate and gas monitoring wells, analytical instruments for collection of samples and real time analytical parameters. The workbook provides the lesson activities along with tables for data compilation by the student, background information, and additional prior knowledge information to be used in each research project.

The opening frame shows a virtual office with an extensive library of reference materials on the bookshelf to the left and a Simulation Selector to the right. It also features login feature that requires the student to login to begin the simulations.

The library includes easy to understand text on use of the instruments, landfill construction, solid waste laws, landfill gas, landfill leachate, geology and geographic maps which provide information needed to successfully complete the program. The simulation selector provides the student access to the three virtual worlds.

The landfill VRX main screen includes a plane view map with locations of the roads and various monitoring wells, a navigable windshield view of the landfill that allows the student to "drive" the landfill roads to reach the monitoring wells. This screen also provides a running total of fieldwork costs based on the amount of time the program is in use by the student or team.

After arriving at a monitoring well the student clicks on one of several analytical instruments to obtain realistic data from the wells. The data is then used in conjunction with the workbook to construct a groundwater elevation map, determine ground water flow direction, contaminate load and contaminate migration and potential risk of contamination to drinking water wells.

The program encompasses 5 of the 7 Earth System Education Understandings and makes strong use of number 4, that the earth is composed of the interacting subsystems of water, rock, ice, air and life.

As both a student and an instructor, I found the program interesting, scientifically accurate and up to date with current rules and regulations pertaining to landfills. Students learn better by seeing the subject matter and by performing the subject matter as the program terms it "learning by doing". This program provides the students with the opportunity to learn by doing either in groups or as individuals, in a time frame that allows the instructor to perform high quality science in a short period of time and at a very low cost.

Rating:
Summary: VR Excursions Landfill Research Review.
Review: VRX is interactive environmental education software that helps undergraduate students learn by performing realistic field research without leaving the classroom. The theme of the program is to "Learn Science by Doing Science", and each of the three virtual worlds that the student explores allows the student to perform several research projects. The program includes a CD-ROM and 200-page workbook. The three virtual reality worlds include a landfill, a nuclear waste repository and coal power. The pedagogical premise is that the students learn by questioning. Each research topic prompts the student to think about posing a question and then trying to answer it by following the scientific method.

The introduction in the workbook is excellent, it provides four sections as a resource for the students. They include: Doing Science, Learning Science; What's the Question?; Who's Responsible for Teaching and Learning; and Choose a Pathway to Learning. Each provides valuable information to the undergraduate student on how to conduct research and learn from it, how to work with your professor and taking charge of your own learning.

The introduction to each individual research section provides a link between the students' daily lives and the topic being researched, which connects the student to the research and makes the work mean something to the student on a personal level.

The easy to use CD-ROM features a computer-generated landfill with groundwater, leachate and gas monitoring wells, analytical instruments for collection of samples and real time analytical parameters. The workbook provides the lesson activities along with tables for data compilation by the student, background information, and additional prior knowledge information to be used in each research project.

The opening frame shows a virtual office with an extensive library of reference materials on the bookshelf to the left and a Simulation Selector to the right. It also features login feature that requires the student to login to begin the simulations.

The library includes easy to understand text on use of the instruments, landfill construction, solid waste laws, landfill gas, landfill leachate, geology and geographic maps which provide information needed to successfully complete the program. The simulation selector provides the student access to the three virtual worlds.

The landfill VRX main screen includes a plane view map with locations of the roads and various monitoring wells, a navigable windshield view of the landfill that allows the student to "drive" the landfill roads to reach the monitoring wells. This screen also provides a running total of fieldwork costs based on the amount of time the program is in use by the student or team.

After arriving at a monitoring well the student clicks on one of several analytical instruments to obtain realistic data from the wells. The data is then used in conjunction with the workbook to construct a groundwater elevation map, determine ground water flow direction, contaminate load and contaminate migration and potential risk of contamination to drinking water wells.

The program encompasses 5 of the 7 Earth System Education Understandings and makes strong use of number 4, that the earth is composed of the interacting subsystems of water, rock, ice, air and life.

As both a student and an instructor, I found the program interesting, scientifically accurate and up to date with current rules and regulations pertaining to landfills. Students learn better by seeing the subject matter and by performing the subject matter as the program terms it "learning by doing". This program provides the students with the opportunity to learn by doing either in groups or as individuals, in a time frame that allows the instructor to perform high quality science in a short period of time and at a very low cost.