Using a Geotrail for Teaching Geography: An Example of the Virtual Educational Trail “The Story of Liberec Granite”

Abstract

Geotrails are valuable resources for the field teaching of geography and natural history, as they amusingly explain the phenomena associated with inanimate nature and geoheritage. However, not all geotrails are frequently used for field education, in fact, most of them are only used sporadically. In order to identify the key elements needed for a geotrail to be used frequently and successfully for field education, an evaluation of the virtual nature trail “The Story of Liberec Granite”, which is one of the most used trails for educational purposes in the Czech Republic, was carried out. The evaluation was conducted using a questionnaire survey and structured interviews with teachers and other educational staff who have used the geotrail at least three times in their teaching. The results of the evaluation showed that the proximity of the geotrail to the school building is very important, that all geotrail materials must be developed with the target group in mind, i.e., school-age children, and that they must be professionally designed to appeal to the pupils. The geotrail should be accompanied by materials that can be used in field education (such as worksheets), containing tasks for pupils so that they do not remain only the passive recipients of information but become active participants in discerning information. Teachers will also appreciate it if there are methodological materials accompanying the geotrail that explain how to design the fieldwork.