What is a Virtual Field Trip or Tour (VFT)?
Virtual field trips (VFTs) are immersive digital experiences that let students explore
locations, events, or concepts through 360-degree visuals, audio narration, and interactive
media. These platforms remove physical barriers to learning and can include both real
and fictional environments. By positioning students as explorers, VFTs foster engagement,
spark curiosity, and make abstract ideas more memorable through active discovery and
reflection. |
Immersive Expereinces of Real-World Settings
Virtual field trips to locations around the globe offer several advantages for both students and educators. They provide an immersive and interactive learning environment that and easier to understand. By eliminating the need for physical travel, virtual field trips increase accessibility and equity, allowing all students to participate regardless of location or resources. When combined with technologies like VR and 360-degree videos, they boost student engagement and motivation. Research also shows that virtual field trips can have a significant positive impact on academic performance and support a variety of learning styles, making them a versatile tool in modern education. |
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Immersive Experiences in Fictional Environments
Fictional environments also offer unique cognitive, emotional, and pedagogical values. Unlike real‑world field trips, imaginary environments remove prior knowledge, cultural bias, and uneven background familiarity, creating an equitable learning context in which all students engage from a common starting point. By engaging in a neutral environment, students can develop hypotheses and think based on evidence instead of depending on memorized information or pre-existing beliefs. Additionally, designed worlds allow precise alignment between environmental features and instructional goals, enabling faculty to embed targeted concepts that can be difficult or impossible to isolate in real settings.
Generated environments enable safe exploration of complex or high-risk scenarios,
encouraging inquiry and intellectual risk-taking without real-world consequences.
By making abstract concepts interactive and accessible, learners can visualize theories
that are difficult to grasp in traditional settings. Immersive simulations allow learners
to actively engage with scenarios, integrate knowledge across disciplines, observe
outcomes, and reflect on their choices - fostering critical thinking and problem-solving
skills. |
If you are interested in creating a VFT expereinceyou can visit our Virtual Library
full of libarys of ready to use panoramas.
The embodied nature of VFTs, where students make choices and see immediate consequences,
anchors abstract ideas in memory and encourages real-world connections. Ultimately,
VFTs transform passive learning into active exploration, promoting lasting conceptual
change, inclusive pedagogy, and expanded access to high-impact experiential learning
at scale. |
