Learning with Drones: Flying Windows for Classroom Virtual Field Trips

Fieldwork is widely considered as a vital part of undergraduate science and sustainability education. Virtual field trips (VFT) provide the possibility for students to participate in field trips from remote locations through live conferencing. In this study, we will examine whether drone-based virtual field trips can maintain the advantages of VFT and also address some of their shortcomings in order to become a viable alternative to real field trips. For the purpose of the study, participants in a course for Education for Sustainability of a Primary Education Department were randomly assigned in two groups. 26 students in the first group made a predetermined visit to a city while a second group of 15 students followed their route through the city by watching a live broadcasted video from a drone in the university lab. Students supported that the two approaches are of equivalent value with each one having its own advantages and problems. Students indicated that drone-based VFT offered an enjoyable and intriguing learning way and provided some advantages over the actual field trips, like the more detailed view in higher altitudes and a better overview of the field under examination, both important elements of fieldwork. Nevertheless, drone-base VFT do not offer adequate details of the field in the human-eye level and do not convey the non-visual and aural feelings of being in the place.