From Picks to Pixels: An Exploration of Virtual Reality in Geoscience Education

In this work we present our system for teaching practical geology field skills through a combination of 360° video, photogrammetry, and virtual content. The system was evaluated with first- and second-year undergraduate geoscience students to determine if it was effective in teaching practical skills that could be transferred to the real world. Second-year students who had performed the task before saw a significant improvement in their abilities, however this improvement was absent in the first-year students, suggesting the tool may be more effective for revision rather than first-time learning. We discuss these findings and their implications for future virtual training tools, as well as the challenges in developing and deploying such systems in a university environment.