The Virtual Palaeosciences (ViPs) project: resources for online learning in or out of a pandemic

ABSTRACT

The Virtual Palaeosciences (ViPs) project is a collaborative initiative bringing palaeoscientists together to locate, access and share online educational resources (OERs). It began as a response to the 2020 shift to online learning when the COVID-19 pandemic curtailed field and lab work. We outline the development and initial outcomes of the project and consider future directions post-pandemic. Our initial focus was to create a searchable list of OERs (now numbers 600+). The project has also promoted co-operation across institutions and created new collaborations. It became clear that even experienced and teaching-focused educators were anxious about how to incorporate virtual materials and develop alternatives to field and laboratory work and deliver their intended learning outcomes. ViPs aim to become a “hub” for palaeoscience teaching resources. While some face-to-face teaching has returned in Higher Education, the benefits of online elements have become clear to students and educators alike. Therefore, following the pandemic, an increasing shift towards a blended delivery with greater use of OERs in palaeoscience and other disciplines is likely. Longer term, the ViPs project also seeks to increase inclusive, accessible education in the palaeosciences through the digital enhancement of provision, by supporting both users and creators of virtual teaching materials.

KEYWORDS:

• Environmental change
• open educational resources
• collaborative networks
• fieldwork
• laboratory work

Acknowledgments

We thank the QRA for their funding in support of the development of the ViPs website. The graduate interns supported by the Universities of Hall and Salford are thanked for their work in helping to build the ViPs resource. We thank the reviewers of our manuscript for their insight and helpful comments.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).