Students should be familiar with the geologic time scale, volcanic and sedimentary rocks, microbial life, stromatolites, photosynthesis, and lakes.

This is designed to be a stand-alone activity to be used after students have some basic knowledge of the geologic time scale, volcanic and sedimentary rocks, microbial life, stromatolites, photosynthesis, and lakes.

Activity Length

This activity involves free exploration so its duration is set by the teacher. Exploration of the virtual field site with its embedded media which includes still images of the fossils, videos and an interactive gigapixel image, is estimated to take about 45 minutes - 1 hour.

In this self-guided VFT, learners explore field sites in Western Australia to look for evidence in the rocks of microbial communities that formed mounds in shallow lakes over 2.7 billion years ago. The free exploration format gives teachers the opportunity to design and customize activity goals to fit their curriculum.

Suggested outcomes could include:
Learning outcome #1: Identify structures in sedimentary rocks that were formed from the activity of microorganisms
Learning outcome #2: Explain how these layered structures (stromatolites) were formed over time and how microorganisms were changing the Earth atmosphere
Learning outcome #3: Describe what evidence present in the rocks that indicates the type of environment where the stromatolites formed

Learners interpret evidence in the rocks of Western Australia that indicates that early microbes were able to photosynthesize and form layered sedimentary structures in shallow lakes.

Making observations, identify patterns.

This activity is accessible at https://vft.asu.edu/ through the Center for Education Through eXploration (https://etx.asu.edu/) at Arizona State University. They build adaptive digital learning experiences for K-12 education that engage learners in virtual environments and bring Earth and space science to life.

Technology Needs

Real-time Internet access is required to view this VFT. We recommend the use of the browsers Google Chrome or Firefox for the best results. It is not optimized for viewing on mobile devices.

There are no embedded assessments associated with this self-guided VFT and it is up to the teacher to design an assessment tool to meet whatever learning outcomes they specify. Students can be asked to answer an essay question explaining some aspect of the VFT experience.