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We describe a virtual education module that encompasses many of the basic requirements of an advanced field exercise, including designing data collection strategies, synthesizing field and laboratory data, and communicating the results. Modules like the one shared here can successfully address, or even improve on, some of the key learning objectives that are common to field-based capstone experiences, while also fostering a more accessible and inclusive learning environment for all students.

Field trips, despite their significance in students’ education, cannot be performed under the present COVID-19 pandemic. We evaluated virtual field trips, as an alternative of in situ field work and as a means of preparation for “live” field trips, considering students’ views. They are useful for geoscience students, and a good alternative during restriction periods; although they can't substitute real field trips, they can be a valuable additional tool when preparing for a live field trip.

At UNIS, located at 78° N in Longyearbyen in Arctic Norway, we use digital outcrop models (DOMs) actively in a new course (‘AG222: Integrated Geological Methods: from outcrop to geomodel’) to solve authentic geoscientific challenges. DOMs are shared through the open access Svalbox geoscientific portal, along with 360° imagery, subsurface data and published geoscientific data from Svalbard. Here we share experiences from the AG222 course and Svalbox, both before and during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Many countries can get hit by different hazards, such as earthquakes and floods. Generally, measures and policies are aimed at decreasing the potential damages of one particular hazard type despite their potential of having unwanted effects on other hazard types. We designed a serious game that helps professionals to improve their understanding of these potential negative effects of measures and policies that reduce the impacts of disasters across many different hazard types.

In order to communicate the field-rich, complex concepts of karst geomorphology and hydrogeology to people who may not be able to access in-person field experiences, two virtual learning resources were created. Both karst activities, introductory and advanced, are available online in the Science Education Resource Center (SERC) Online Field Experiences repository. They and other activities from that SERC repository were incorporated into Virtual Capstone Pathways for senior undergrad students.

In the spring of 2020, in response to the escalating global coronavirus pandemic, the European Geosciences Union (EGU) moved it's annual General Assembly online in a matter of weeks. This paper explores the feedback provided by participants who attended this experimental conference and identifies four key themes that emerged from analysis of the survey: connection, engagement, environment, and accessibility. The responses raise important questions about the format of future conferences.