Interactive Geovisualizations (iGEO): A New Approach to Teaching and Learning Physical Geography

Abstract

Students completing an introductory physical geography course used an interactive geovisualizations (iGEO) lab
exercise centered around lightning in northern Arizona to investigate atmospheric processes. This iGEO looks and
plays like a conventional videog ame where the student controls an avatar in a 3D environment. This iGEO was
inspired by moving the introductory physical geography courses online due to the ongoing university closures to
“on the ground classes” related the COVID 19 pandemic. The goal of a n iGEO rests in increasing motivation and
encouraging active, engaged learning for students, many of whom are taking the course for required college credit.
Most students expressed positive experiences with the new iGEO; the determining factors related to this experience
centered around enjoyment, usability, and simplicity of the game. There was also a difference in student experience
based on student academic majors. Students of non geographic or science backgrounds had a lower experience
rating than those who did have a geographic or science background. Overall, students preferred the iGEO lab over
traditional lab coursework. This research led to a refined iGEO lab for lightning in northern Arizona and it was made
available to all interested faculty via a public website, along with three other iGEO based labs.