Virtual field trips allow learners to benefit from many of the aspects of place-based education without the challenges that are often associated with it. Tour It is a free, user-friendly virtual field trip tool that gives educators agency to make professional, locally relevant digital learning experiences with just a computer and a smartphone.They can use virtual field trips to make labs where learners can gather observations and data, field trips to immerse learners in the culture and community of a place, and even make an accessible digital version of an annual field trip for students who are unable to join or need additional time to process. This presentation will demo the immersive student experience through just a web browser, how Tour It works for a teacher, and concrete examples of how virtual field trips can be used to support a variety of learners.

Infiniscope,a NASA funded project, has developed an open-source, digital platform for lesson development and delivery. It enables educators to create their own digital lessons and deploy them to their classes with or without a learning management system (LMS). From single lessons to multi-module units or multi-unit courses, teachers can create a library of digital content that can be used at scale, increasing accessibility to resources. Teachers can manage access through open/close dates and link expiration settings. The use of adaptive pathways and customized feedback can help to identify knowledge gaps and re-teach essential content. The platform also provides data about student access, responses, and assessment scores. Best of all, it's free for educators to use. This session will provide a brief overview and demonstration of the Torus platform.

Introduction to Environmental Science is a required course for Environmental Science and Environmental Studies majors at Spelman College. It is also commonly taken by non-science majors because it fulfills their laboratory science requirement. While the laboratory is a chance for students to complete hands-on activities and calculations, the laboratory activities generally do not focus on allowing students to combine environmental science concepts and their personal interests and experiences. During the spring semester of 2023, authentic assessments were utilized in the lecture sections of Introduction to Environmental Science at Spelman and students chose how they completed the assignment within given guidelines. Authentic assessments are engaging and have relevance to real-world experiences for students (Conrad and Openo, 2008 and references therein). The goals of the authentic assessment assignments in lecture were to enhance learning and allow students to creatively approach environmental concepts in a manner that aligns closely with their interests and/or experiences. For example, students were assigned an artifact assignment to identify how the Three Scientific Principles of Sustainability (Solar Energy, Biodiversity, and Nutrient Cycling) apply to a real-world scenario or location. They were required to represent this scenario using an artifact, which may have been a photo essay, drawing, interview, etc. and, in addition, included a glossary of related terms and an explanation of how each term is applied in the artifact. Initial data suggest students scored higher on exam questions directly related to the authentic assessment assignments. In addition, students were given an adapted Autonomy and Competence in Artifact Development Scale survey developed by Aaron Godlaski (2022) based on the Basic Psychological Needs Satisfaction Scale (Deci & Ryan, 2000; Gagné, 2003) in order to assess their experience with the artifact assignment.

Encouraging critical thinking and the integration of information to solve real-life problems is key as it assists in building lifelong learning skills applicable in any space. Helping students build these skills early will give them an edge in life. However, most students taking introductory-level geological hazard courses view these hazards as separate with little to no correlation to their daily lives, especially when deciding where to set up businesses and purchase properties. The objective of this work is to have students design a mind map that allows them to integrate information about geologic hazards and use the mind maps to make real-life decisions. From geological hazard instructions, students are required to establish tables that contain the geologic processes, impacts, measurement tools, mitigation, and safety measures. From the tables, students choose four hazards in their area of origin and make a mindmap that they use in deciding where to obtain a property or business. Results from students' projects are remarkable as students think critically, ask questions about their environment, identify where the hazards superimpose and make inferences for their career and living choices. The project heightened students' curiosity by promoting inquiry-based learning and other executive functioning, like decision-making for real-life experiences.