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platform (Fig. 1). By embedding
Sketchfab-hosted models directly into A 23% female C
eRock, curated collections can be pre- male
sented in a focused, easy-to-follow format: 19% undefined Canada 2%
Users can view virtual outcrops without Germany 2%
the need for searching through large Spain 3%
Italy 2%
amounts of irrelevant material, with little 11% 12% Brazil 3%
associated data or context. 3D models can 10% Norway 3%
currently be browsed in eRock by location 7% 3% 5% UK 29%
(through a map interface), by theme (e.g., 4% 4% 2% Australia 4%
metamorphic or sedimentary), or by 18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65+ USA 15%
virtual field trip (e.g., the geology of the eRock user sessions by age and gender France 18%
NW Highlands, Scotland). Concise out-
crop descriptions are provided with key B
information, links to references, metadata,
and other relevant resources for each 3D 206 172 183 164
model (Fig. 1). All eRock models are open 159 131 122
access, free to download, and 3D viewable 105 86 80 89 Proportion of visitors to eRock
by country (top 10 shown)
through a standard web browser, with no 18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65+
need for specialist software packages. Average session length (seconds) by age and gender
Current demographic data for the site
show that the largest user group is the Figure 2. User demographic data for www.e-rock.co.uk.
35–44 age group, followed by 25–34-year-
olds. The 18–24 age group currently only
accounts for 11% of visitors (Fig. 2A) but and subsurface. The strength of eRock lies and geological theme. We want a diverse
spends the longest average time at the site in its integrated approach: Many models range of people to use this resource—
per visit (Fig. 2B), suggesting that they are provided as part of a suite of educa- a repository that showcases outcrops
visit multiple pages and virtual outcrops tional materials, including geological from around the world is more likely to
per session. Unfortunately, both women maps, cross sections, field photographs, attract visitors from a variety of coun-
and those from low- and middle-income and text. tries and backgrounds.
countries are underrepresented as a pro- At the time of this writing, preliminary 3. We are currently running a series of
portion of total visitors to the site (Fig. 2). studies by the authors suggest that under- trials that assess the relative merits of
As the aim of the project is to build eRock graduate students find a combination of virtual outcrops versus traditional teach-
into a collaborative educational tool for traditional fieldwork and digital visualiza- ing materials and field-based exercises.
users across the spectrum of educational tion useful: Students report an improve- If this approach genuinely improves
background and needs, our future efforts ment in both their perception of 3D land- students’ geological understanding, the
need to be directed at widening the range scapes and their visualization of complex next stage will be to incorporate the
and diversity of people who visit the site. geological structures compared to field- technology into structured curricula.
based studies alone. Further, students The success of this project depends on
VIRTUAL OUTCROPS appear to be strongly in favor of the use collaboration. Get in touch, and give us
FOR EDUCATION of virtual outcrops as part of the under- your input to help the project grow.
Field-based exercises have been shown graduate geoscience curriculum.
to enhance geological understanding. We REFERENCES CITED
suggest that digital realizations of outcrops LOOKING FORWARD: Cawood, A.J., Bond, C.E., Howell, J.A., Butler,
may improve visualization and under- FUTURE OBJECTIVES R.W., and Totake, Y., 2017, LiDAR, UAV or
standing in much the same way, but only if 1. eRock is in the early stages of develop- compass-clinometer? Accuracy, coverage and
the effects on structural models: Journal of
virtual outcrops are provided in context. ment, with roughly 40 virtual outcrops Structural Geology, v. 98, p. 67–82, https://
Unstructured collections of data devoid of available online. We encourage others to doi.org/10.1016/j.jsg.2017.04.004.
geological description or linked reference help the project grow by providing 3D Elkins, J.T., and Elkins, N.M., 2007, Teaching
material are unlikely to provide much ben- models, images, site descriptions, and geology in the field: Significant geoscience
concept gains in entirely field-based introduc-
efit. 3D visualizations must be provided metadata. Structured, contextualized tory geology courses: Journal of Geoscience
with appropriate material to contextualize content is critical to ensure eRock is a Education, v. 55, no. 2, p. 126–132, https://
the object—in this way, students can useful tool—we need help from the doi.org/10.5408/1089-9995-55.2.126.
understand the scale of the object they are wider community to achieve this. Manuscript received 3 Apr. 2018
looking at, its geological significance, and 2. It is important to represent a wide vari- Revised manuscript received 31 Oct. 2018
how it relates to the surrounding landscape ety of outcrops, both in terms of location Manuscript accepted 10 Nov. 2018

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