A Platform and Its Applied Modes for Geography Fieldwork in Higher Education Based on Location Services

Abstract

Fieldwork is an important aspect of geography learning in higher educational institutions. Under the support of mobile technologies, the process and method of fieldwork in geography education have significantly been changed. However, the in-depth combination of Location-Based Services (LBSs) and geography fieldwork is still in the initial exploration stage. This paper designed and implemented a professional geography fieldwork platform based on Lushan, a famous geography fieldwork education station in Jiangxi, China. The platform includes the student-side mobile application, teacher-side mobile application, and a web back-end management system. Three specific technologically-enhanced applied modes were put forward based on the platform, which contains teacher-centered, semi-supervised, and student-independent modes. Students’ views on the three applied modes and usage in the fieldwork platform were collected through a questionnaire. The result shows that the LBS fieldwork platform has significant support for geography fieldwork. It meets the needs of students and reduces the burden for teachers. The teacher-centered is the most popular mode for students. Due to the unguaranteed fieldwork safety, inconvenient dynamic adjustment, and the habit of relying on the teacher’s explanation, the student-independent mode based on the LBS platform has apparent limitations. Nevertheless, students can recognize its potential in improving their practical, cooperative, and autonomous abilities. They are willing to try independent fieldwork supported by the platform in several days.

1. Introduction

Fieldwork is one of the most potent learning invitations in the geography higher education curriculum. It helps learners integrate theoretical and practical concepts, forming an experiential bridge between classroom learning and the real-world [1,2]. The simplest and most traditional form of observational fieldwork is the “Cook’s Tour” or “look-see” field visit, and students are not deeply engaged in the fieldwork process [3]. Learning outcomes are fundamentally influenced by the structure of the field trip, setting novelty, prior knowledge and interest of the students, the social context of the visit, teacher agendas, student experiences during the field trip, and the presence or absence and quality of preparation and follow-up [4]. The rise of mobile technologies, particularly smartphones and tablets in the last decade, changed teaching and learning in geography fieldwork, which replaced the traditional "pen-and-paper" methodologies [5]. The technologically-enhanced fieldwork has received widespread attention from researchers, one of the seven modes identified from the 129 fieldwork papers published by the JGHE (Journal of Geography in Higher Education) over forty years [6]. Exploiting the development of GIS, GPS, GeoAR, Google Earth, Geotagging, and the potential of pod/vodcasts and Social Networking site has become a significant aspect of the fieldwork literature [7,8,9,10]. Practitioners [11,12] and students [13,14] perspectives on their use of technology to enhance fieldwork teaching and learning have been reported. Mobile devices can enhance undergraduate research projects and students’ research capabilities [15], and a list of mobile applications for geography fieldwork was recommended in previous studies [16].

In China, fieldwork is an essential part of geography higher education and received significant attention. However, due to many students, the teacher–student ratio is generally 1:20 to 1:40, and the experienced professional teachers are very lacking, which is harmful to the interaction between students and teachers. The crowds also affect the quality of learning. The teacher usually leads many students to explain the fieldwork content while walking to the observation points, shown in Figure 1. The commonly used teacher-centered mode cannot meet the training requirements of the practical ability of innovative talents in contemporary geography, higher education [4]. With the wide use of smartphones, location-based services (LBSs) provide new means and ideas for geography fieldwork teaching. It can reduce the number of professional teachers and improve students’ ability to independent and inquiry learning. LBSs offer applications tailored to the user and delivered dynamically based on current location and execution context. They can provide users’ surroundings information services anywhere and anytime [17,18,19], which plays an increasingly important role in various industries of social life. During the fieldwork, the route planning, the geography knowledge survey, the data sample collection, and observation analysis are closely related to the spatial location information. The location service runs through the entire process of the geography fieldwork, which can significantly improve the fieldwork’s efficiency.

Under the support of modern technologies, the process and method of fieldwork in geography education have significantly been changed [20]. Many scholars have studied geography fieldwork education, supported by mobile phones. The research in geography fieldwork using mobile technologies can be divided into three aspects. The first is applying a variety of mobile apps in geography fieldwork education and students’ feedback. France described over 130 mobile apps with suggestions on their usage to enhance fieldwork learning [15,21] and discussed the relationship between using mobile apps for learning and the development of personal attributes [16]. Student perceptions of mobile learning are investigated [12,13,14], and the results show that transferable knowledge via mobile devices is helpful for students participating in fieldwork. The second is the project and course design in the fieldwork based on mobile learning. The combination of mobile technologies and fieldwork content focuses on practitioners’ attention [11,22]. Cochrane et al. [23] presented a summary of the pedagogical affordances of smartphones in tertiary education, and they provided an example mobile-learning implementation plan. Medzini et al. [24] designed a course to train geography teachers to use the pedagogical capabilities of mobile technologies to promote learning. Lee [25] developed an inquiry-based fieldwork project for students using mobile technologies. The third is the mobile application design for geography fieldwork. In previous studies, NIEmGeo [26], GeoFARA [27], mDIPSEIL [28], MobiTOP [29], PFA [30], and other professional platforms were developed for fieldwork, which supports the tasks of reading, recording, saving, and storing information.

The usage of mobile application in geography fieldwork has been discussed a lot, but fieldwork tasks drive previous platforms, and the composition, implementation, and application effect are described. However, the in-depth combination of LBS technology and the fieldwork process is still in the initial exploration stage. Little literature introduced how to apply the platform to improve students’ independent learning ability. In general, LBS-enhanced fieldwork should be studied more extensively in geography education. To address the problem that a high teacher–student ratio affects the quality of fieldwork learning in China, this paper combine LBS technology with geography fieldwork education, and develops a professional geography fieldwork platform, to reduce teachers’ workload and improve students’ independent capabilities. We analyze the traditional offline geography fieldwork process, and Lushan is considered a fieldwork area in Jiangxi, China. Then, we put the platform into Lushan geography fieldwork, and three specific technologically-enhanced applied modes were put forward based on the platform application. Finally, the students’ views on the platform and the three applied modes were collected through questionnaire surveys. The result has shown that the designed and implemented LBS fieldwork platform meets student requirements and has significant support for the current geography fieldwork.

The remainder of this paper is organized as follows. Section 2 introduces the fieldwork area and the implemented fieldwork software platform. Section 3 presents three applied modes based on the fieldwork platform and describes their use in detail. In Section 4, the opinions of participating students on the platform and three modes are analyzed. Section 5 discusses the result. Section 6 is conclusions.

2. Fieldwork Platform

2.1. Fieldwork Area

In this paper, Lushan is taken as the fieldwork area to build the geography fieldwork platform. Lushan is located in the north of Jiangxi Province in China, bordering the Yangtze River in the north and surrounding Poyang Lake in the east and southeast. It forms a unique combination of mountains, rivers, and lakes, with rich natural geography and human geography. The stratum is relatively complete, the lithology is complex, the landform fracture is developed, and the geomorphology, vegetation, soil types are diverse. As early as the 1950s, Nanjing University took Lushan as a geography fieldwork base. At present, Lushan has become a fieldwork area for almost all geography colleges in China. Lushan is also an internationally renowned tourist attraction and was listed as a World Cultural Heritage in 1996. The infrastructure construction is relatively good, and the wireless communication network in each area is relatively stable.

2.2. Fieldwork Process and Content

Geography fieldwork can be divided into three stages: before the fieldwork, during the fieldwork, and after the fieldwork. Before the fieldwork, the teacher designs the itinerary and route, introduces students to the fieldwork area, goals, tasks, and points for attention, and specifies the work results submitted after the fieldwork. During the fieldwork, the teacher leads students to observe and explain geographic phenomena at various sites and complete the fieldwork tasks. Topographic maps, remote sensing images, compasses, GPS terminals, barometric altitude instruments, and other equipment are used in this stage. Fieldwork tasks such as rock stratum occurrence measurement, plant community samples investigation, soil profile observation, specimen collection need to be completed, and the data should be recorded. After the fieldwork, the teacher would test students’ learning; students organize and submit collected data and write fieldwork reports.

Lushan is an important place for comprehensive geography fieldwork, and its content mainly includes Geology, Geomorphic, Soil, Hydrology, Climate, and Plants. The detail is shown in

Table 1. Fieldwork teaching content in Lushan.

Type	Content
Geology teaching	Recognize and identify minerals and fossils in rocks Understand the process and form of geological movement Measure rock formation and structural elements Analyze formation lithology, and geological mapping
Geomorphic teaching	Recognize the classification of typical geomorphology and its causes Understand the geomorphic development process Measure geomorphologic shape and composition element Master the relationship between geomorphology and topography
Soil teaching	Observe soil profile and identify the type Measure soil physical elements, Master forming processes and distribution patterns Analysis of the relationship between soil development and environment
Hydrology teaching	Understand drainage distribution Recognize and observe the migration of divide and river capture, Hydrographic survey, include flow rate and direction, water quality
Climate teaching	Observe air, ground temperature, visibility, pressure, wind speed Microclimate, mountain climate, urban climate survey Climate type identification, weather map reading
Plants teaching	Recognize and identify plants, understand the diversity of plants Master the characteristics of common families Plant community survey and analysis, Plant specimen collection

. Different colleges and different majors have a focus on fieldwork. Geography fieldwork in Lushan aims to consolidate the theoretical knowledge that students have learned and train students in the survey data collection, geographic phenomena observation, and analysis in the field environment.

2.3. Platform Design and Composition

Given the high teacher–student ratio and traditional "teacher-centered" mode used commonly in China, the geography fieldwork platform-based location services in Lushan are designed and implemented to assist in the fieldwork. This platform aims to make up for the lack of experienced professional teachers and reduce teachers’ workload by putting functions such as fieldwork goals, routes, and tasks on a smartphone. The platform tries to allow students to query their position and fieldwork content, design routes, select observation points, complete tasks, collect data in the field environment, enhance their autonomy, and improve fieldwork quality. The implemented fieldwork platform has three terminals, including two mobile applications and a web back-end to manage the system, and the overall architecture is shown in Figure 2. Two mobile applications are served separately with students and teachers during the fieldwork. The web back-end management system connects two mobile applications and realizes the management of fieldwork information. However, the entire fieldwork platform’s successful operation requires the support of smooth mobile wireless communication networks.

Student-side mobile application is an essential carrier for students’ geography fieldwork under location services, shown in Figure 3. The application provides an introduction to the fieldwork area’s basic situation, the geographical knowledge of the purposes, the requirements, the precautions, the estimated route of the fieldwork, and the instructions for using the standard fieldwork tools. The application can display the student’s location and the stratum and soil zone on the digital map. Students also can receive and submit the assignment and the data collection task. Teacher-side mobile applications pay attention to managing the fieldwork process and monitor student status. It provides teachers with route design, notice release, students’ location monitor, task completion review, and question response. The web back-end management system provides a data interface for mobile applications and is commonly used before and after the fieldwork. The teacher can maintain various necessary fieldwork data, review the tasks, and summarize reports submitted by students through the system. The student can edit their collected data, generate and submit the final report.

The function of the platform covers the entire process of geography fieldwork. Due to its portability during the fieldwork, the mobile application of the platform is used most frequently in the fieldwork, and the application of LBS technology at this stage is also more prosperous. The main functional modules and their application in the fieldwork are shown in

Table 2. Main functional modules in the mobile application of the fieldwork platform.

Functional Module	Description
Fieldwork content	Fieldwork area introduction Fieldwork requirements and precautions Fieldwork methods and related geographical terms introduction
Fieldwork Map	Diversified fieldwork electronic maps, including a basic map, thematic geological map, landform distribution map, vegetation distribution map, soil distribution map, and hydrological map
Observation Points	Introduction video or explanation audio of the observation point Introduction of geographical phenomena with pictures and texts View panoramic images, 3D modeling renderings
Toolbox	Take a picture to recognize flowers Online measurement and electronic compass Fieldwork notes recording
Location analysis	Location query, analyze current position with its soil type, landform type, geological type, basin scope, Conduct profile analysis to view regional elevation changes
Surrounding	Inquiry about surrounding mountains, observation points, toilets, and other facilities
Online Q&A	Students send questions through text, pictures, and voice, and the teacher answers the questions Common questions from students are listed
Fieldwork team	Students create, join groups, send messages View the position of group members Teachers view the position of students and publish notifications
Fieldwork route	Teachers and students choose observation points to design the route, publish and inquire about the routes Route navigation can be carried out in unfamiliar areas
Fieldwork task	Choose and publish the tasks, such as soil profile observation, vegetation specimen collection, and vegetation community survey Students complete the tasks by upload relevant data and photos Teachers can view the completion of the tasks

.

2.4. LBSs in the Platform

LBSs provide vital support to the platform and connects students, teachers, and fieldwork areas. Through the mobile application installed on the smartphone, LBS’s role in the platform is mainly reflected in the following four aspects:

(1)

Location query and record. Students can find out where they are and what stratum, basin, landform, and soil zone they are located in the fieldwork area based on all kinds of electronic maps. The nearby observation points and the location for fieldwork tasks can also be found in detail. When uploading the result of the task during the fieldwork, the observation point and the annotated map are recorded.

(2)

Location-related information release. Teachers and students can design and release fieldwork routes on the electronic map in the mobile application. Post a meeting point with the location at the end of the fieldwork is very useful for students. Once the teacher discovers a new geographical phenomenon, the location can be published on the platform at any time so that students can come and observe it.

(3)

Location-based information analysis. Profile analysis can be performed based on the current position so that students can recognize the terrain structure more intuitively. By analyzing students’ trajectories, teachers can grasp the length of stay of students in each observation point and judge the effect of fieldwork.

(4)

Location sharing and interaction. Through the location transmission in the web back-end manage system, students can see the location of the teacher and the group members in the mobile application, which is convenient for finding the teacher and asking questions. Meanwhile, teachers can monitor students’ dynamic location and communicate with students remotely. The LBS platform can provide the possibility for remote guidance and safety supervision for students, shown in Figure 4.

3. Modes

The use of a location-based fieldwork platform in the whole fieldwork process can be divided into three modes: Teacher-Centered, Semi-Supervised, and Student-Independent. Among the three modes, the role and status of the platform are different, and the interaction between teachers and students is also different. From Teacher-Centered to Semi-Supervised to Student-Independent mode, LBSs are more deeply applied in the fieldwork, teachers’ participation has gradually weakened, and students’ self-exploration is gradually strengthened.

3.1. Teacher-Centered Mode

The Teacher-Centered mode supported by modern information technology is the most consistent mode of traditional geography fieldwork, which moved the classroom to the field and relied heavily on the teacher’s explanation. The entire fieldwork process is initiated and led by the teacher. Several teachers with rich experience in different professional fields such as geology, geomorphology, hydrology, vegetation, and soil participate in the whole process. Teachers lead students to the observation points along the fieldwork route, explain the development process, characteristics of geography phenomena, and urge students to complete the fieldwork tasks. As the recipients of information, students mainly listen to the teacher’s explanation of geographical knowledge and communicate with the teacher face to face during the process. In this mode, for teachers, the platform mainly plays the role of information release. The observation points are selected, and the route is designed by teachers based on the platform before the fieldwork. Then the daily route, fieldwork goals, requirements, and tasks are published. For students, the platform mainly plays the role of information inquiry and data collection during the fieldwork. A detailed introduction of observation points can be found out, and various electronic fieldwork maps can be browsed. The platform provides an observation data recording function with a better auxiliary effect on completing fieldwork tasks. Students can search the current position with its soil type, landform type, and geological type and record observation data at an observation point. There is less interaction between teachers and students based on the platform in this mode.

However, the mode is different from the traditional "teacher-centered" one as LBSs have been applied. The function that route design and release, the information query, and data record have been implemented in the mobile application, which provides convenient services for geography fieldwork in the wild. Meanwhile, the teacher can explain the planned observation points and dynamically introduce and ask questions about temporary geographic phenomena discovered on the roadside, thereby breaking the limitations of the mobile platform. Students can fully communicate with the teacher face-to-face to exchange geography knowledge, enhancing teachers and students’ relationships.

3.2. Semi-Supervised Mode

Semi-Supervised is the teaching mode between "Teacher-Centered" and "Student-Independent". In this mode, professional teachers do not need to follow the student team in the wild environment. They only need a small number of leading teachers. The fieldwork goal and requirement, route, observation points, explanation contents, and tasks have been arranged and released by teachers in advance. According to the teacher’s plan, Students go to the observation points one by one under the leading teacher’s leadership. They listen to explanations about geographic phenomena, query routes, and observation points and complete the mobile application task. When encountering problems, they can interact with remote intern trainers in real-time through mobile applications.

In this mode, the platform is regarded as a carrier for imparting geography knowledge of fieldwork, and it establishes the online communication channel between remote teachers and field students. Based on the fieldwork platform, teachers should not only select observation points, design daily routes, publish fieldwork goals, requirements, and tasks, but also need to answer the student’s question, release related notice, and check their task and data collection completion during the fieldwork. Students need to understand the goals, contents, and requirements of daily fieldwork in advance. They can listen to the explanation audio about geographic phenomena at each observation point, browse electronic fieldwork maps, use the online toolbox, record observation data to complete fieldwork tasks, and send questions by texts, pictures, and short videos remotely. When they arrive at some important observation points or common problems arise, students can listen to the teacher’s live broadcast directly. Online teacher–student interaction and geographic knowledge transfer gradually play an important role in this fieldwork mode, and the stability of the wireless network is necessary. This mode aims to improve students’ self-learning ability and reduce the number of professional teachers. The fieldwork platform replaced part of the teacher’s work. However, this mode requires the fieldwork platform has enough introduction information, the teacher’s explanation audio of the observation points, and description of related geographic phenomena. Only rich content prepared in advance can ensure the quality of geography fieldwork without a teacher’s real-time explanation in the student team.

3.3. Student-Independent Mode

Student-Independent is a teaching mode of complete self-learning for students, and no teachers follow the student team in the wild environment, reflecting the student’s dominant position. According to the fieldwork requirements, research topics proposed by the teacher, students are divided into groups. They can design their fieldwork in personal interests and professional background, generate fieldwork routes, and complete their geography fieldwork process under the guidance of the mobile application-based location services. Teachers can remotely view each student’s progress and answer student’s questions when needed. Of course, it is indispensable for teachers and students to summarize the effect after the fieldwork.

In this mode, students are the primary users of the fieldwork platform, and the entire fieldwork process is completed based on the platform. First of all, students form a group, choose the fieldwork topics published by teachers, select related observation points and tasks, and develop fieldwork routes by themselves. Secondly, they start their geography fieldwork and go to planned observation points under the guidance of the platform. Thirdly, based on the electronic fieldwork map, online toolbox, explanation audio, and related content in the platform, students complete the task by collecting and uploading associated data and reporting new geographic phenomena discovered. During the fieldwork, each group member’s location would be shared, one can view the locations of other mates in the same group, and they can remind deviation from the route and set up the meeting point. As a remote instructor, the teacher’s duty in this mode is relatively simple. On the one hand, they put forward the fieldwork requirements and related topics on the platform before the fieldwork. On the other hand, they need to answer the student’s questions remotely, monitor the student’s trajectories, raise some related questions to students, and view their task completion.

The Student-Independent mode emphasizes the development of students’ initiative and independent exploration ability. Under this mode, the student’s dominant status is fully highlighted, and the role of the fieldwork platform and location services is fully utilized. Students complete the entire fieldwork process independently, and the teacher only gives some remote assistance when students need it. Meanwhile, students form in groups and choose the fieldwork topic according to their interests and professional background, increasing their enthusiasm in the fieldwork process. Of course, safety during the fieldwork is also a concern in this mode, which needs to carry out relevant training for students before the fieldwork.

In general, multiple modes combined according to different fieldwork environments may achieve a better effect in theory. In the multi-mode combined use, the teacher’s field guidance role is fully exerted, cultivating the relationship between teachers and students, and ensures the safety of the fieldwork process. In addition, it also can reduce the workload of teachers and exercises students’ autonomous ability.

4. Questionnaires and Result Analysis

4.1. Method of Survey

The development of the proposed fieldwork platform based on Lushan was completed in 2017. In addition, the platform has been applied in the annual geography fieldwork of Nanjing Normal University (http://en.njnu.edu.cn/ (accessed on 27 February 2021)), Nanjing, China. About ten days of geography fieldwork in Lushan would be arranged for 150 to 200 students every August. More than ten teachers in different professional fields would follow the fieldwork student’s team each time. In the past four years, the current number of students using the fieldwork platform has exceeded 600. In the latest 10-day Lushan Geography fieldwork, the teacher-centered mode was arranged for six days, the semi-supervised mode was arranged for three days, and the student-independent mode was arranged for one day.

In order to verify and analyze the applicability of the platform’s functional design and its applied modes, we designed an electronic questionnaire form for fieldwork students to collect feedback on the fieldwork platform usage in September 2020. The specific questions are as follows:

(1)

The overview of using the platform. It contains:

Q1: Do you think that an LBS-based platform is needed to provide additional support for geography fieldwork?

Q2: How often do you use the platform in the current geography fieldwork?

Q3: What is the satisfaction of using the platform? Did it solve your problems during the fieldwork?

(2)

The usage of standard functional modules. It contains:

Q1: Do you think each functional module in the platform is needed in the current geography fieldwork?

Q2: How often did you use each module in the current geography fieldwork?

(3)

The approval in three applied modes. It contains:

Q1: How do you feel about the three applied modes in the fieldwork platform?

Q2: Which one of the three applied modes do you like? And Why?

Q3: How would you allocate the three applied modes to the 10-day fieldwork? And Why?

One hundred fifty-nine students have participated and filled out their views. Among, 68 students are male, and 91 are female. As second-year students in college, their age is 21–23. These students mainly come from three majors: Geographic information science, Physical geography and resource environment, Human geography, and urban planning. Before the fieldwork, the classroom learning of physical geography and human geography have completed. In addition, detailed training of the platform usage was conducted, including what are the main functions of the platform, how to use it, and what tasks need to be completed based on the platform. We analyzed the feedback data collected from fieldwork students, and the results are shown in Section 4.2, Section 4.3, Section 4.4.

4.2. Overview of Using the Platform

Of the 159 questionnaire responses, 91.82% stated that the LBS platform is needed for the geography fieldwork, only 8.18% of the students think it does not need to be used. The usage time of the platform is shown in Figure 5. The proportion of students who frequently use the fieldwork platform has reached 80.27%, which is closely related to the teacher request students to upload observation data in the fieldwork. It is the most frequently use scenario of the fieldwork platform that students use to record observation data and view the introduction and related materials of the observation point. When we asked students the satisfaction of using the platform, 29.56% of students were satisfied with the platform’s service and clarified that the platform could solve most of their issues well. 57.86% of students indicated the platform’s information should be combined with the teacher’s explanation, which can better be valued. However, 12.58% of the students thought that the platform could not solve their questions.

4.3. The Usage of Common Functional Modules

The functional modules carried on the platform are different in the role of geography fieldwork. Students were then asked whether each available module in the fieldwork platform is needed from the demand side. The responses are shown in Figure 6. The proportion of strong need in Fieldwork route, fieldwork map, fieldwork task, location analysis, fieldwork content, and toolbox is 81.63%, 75.71%, 74.15%, 74.15%, 62.59%, and 65.31%, respectively. These modules are considered to be the most needed functional modules in the platform, which are near related to location services. Some students think surrounding, observation points, and online Q&A are considered not required for the fieldwork platform, and the proportion of not need in the above modules is 10.2%, 10.2%, and 8.16%, respectively.

The students were asked to report the usage of common function modules in the fieldwork platform. The results are shown in Figure 7, fieldwork task, fieldwork route, fieldwork content, fieldwork map, location analysis, and toolbox are the relatively frequently used functional modules, and their proportion of often used is 85.03%, 75.51%, 71.43%, 68.71%, 59.53%, and 59.18%, respectively. However, the ratio of not used in online Q&A, observation point, fieldwork team, and surroundings is relatively high, 51.02%, 41.5%, 40.82%, and 39.46%. Teacher–student remote interaction in online Q&A and fieldwork teams is not recognized for students in the fieldwork. The observation point module contains detailed descriptions of geographic phenomena, panoramic images, video and audio explanations of all observation points. The data collection and organization of this functional module have taken much effort, but its frequency of use is relatively low, which is worthy of discussion.

4.4. The Approval in Three Applied Modes

Students’ views on each applied mode of the fieldwork platform were asked, and 97.48% of students approved of the teacher-centered mode supported by the proposed fieldwork platform. The support rate of the semi-supervised mode in the fieldwork platform is 57.68%, and only 20.12% of students approved the student-independent mode. The opposition from autonomous learning based on the fieldwork platform is strong. When asked which of the three applied modes based on the fieldwork platform is preferred. The responses are shown in Figure 8a, 59.75% of students like the teacher-centered mode, 37.74% of students think the semi-supervised mode is the best one, and only 2.52% of students choose the student-independent mode. The participation of leading teachers can ensure students’ safety, combined with students having a certain degree of independent learning space. Some students have recognized semi-supervised mode, and they think it is worth exploring.

When students are asked to allocate the three applied modes to the 10-day fieldwork, the students’ allocation is shown in Figure 8b. The ratio of the average allocated days in teacher-centered, semi-supervised, and student-independent is 5:3:2. Through the responses of these students, it can be reflected that the current teacher-centered is still the mode generally recognized by students. Simultaneously, students are willing to carry out independent fieldwork based on the platform.

5. Discussion

5.1. Students’ Views on Fieldwork Platform

We found that the fieldwork platform designed and implemented in this article has significant support for Lushan’s current geography fieldwork through the above questionnaire analysis. The fieldwork platform meets the needs of students, reduces the burden for teachers. Students cannot hear the teacher’s explanation and watch the teacher’s operation caused by the crowded team in high teacher–student ratios can be solved by the fieldwork platform, which also provides customized observation data record and location information query tools in the field. In general, a professional LBS-based geography fieldwork platform is necessary for students.

Although most students have affirmed the role of the fieldwork platform, 8.18% of students think the designed fieldwork platform is not needed, for it needs wireless network support, which incurs individual costs. Then existing related mobile application also has data recording, location query, and remote communication function, and a professional platform is not necessary to develop. Several students are the supporters of traditional teacher-centered, who think that traditional fieldwork teaching mode is enough, and the application of the platform is a burden. As conservatives, they are unwilling to accept the application of new technologies in traditional fieldwork. In addition, the reason for opposition is that the large power consumption, low wireless network signals, and positioning accuracy in some areas affect the platform’s use. Students seemed more positive in their attitude if they perceived the device to be useful in helping them complete their tasks during fieldwork. Especially in the wild environment, the operability of mobile applications directly determines whether the fieldwork task can be completed, which is consistent with other studies [29,31]. Although there are some localization errors in the results of GPS, Beidou, and other positioning systems, the less affect the use of the fieldwork platform. Therefore, according to the opinions of the opponents, it is considered that the data should be stored in the platform in advance as much as possible, and reduce the interference of low wireless network and positioning accuracy on the practice platform is the optimized direction for the platform.

5.2. Modules Usage on Fieldwork Platform

The used rate in students’ feedback proves that the various functions modules in the platform have been effectively applied in the fieldwork. Fieldwork tasks, fieldwork routes, fieldwork content, fieldwork maps, location analysis, and toolbox are the relatively frequently used functional modules. The reason is apparent. These functional modules are closely related to the requirements and procedures of the fieldwork. Fieldwork task is closely tied to the fieldwork process, the data collection assigned by the teacher in every observation point, and the completion of the task determine the fieldwork performance of students directly. The fieldwork route contains where to go today and the next observation point, which has received greater attention from students. The fieldwork content provides basic and important material in the fieldwork area. The fieldwork map changes the inconvenience of open paper maps in traditional fieldwork, which is shown in Figure 9. It contains various professional electronic maps, which are useful for students to query location information at any time. The tools in location analysis and toolbox can provide better field observation assistance and support students.

The usage frequency of online Q&A, observation point, and fieldwork team and surrounding in the platform is relatively low during the fieldwork. Online Q&A and fieldwork teams are the channels for teacher–student interaction and students’ communication. Students do not like to communicate with teachers online generally, and they think the response to questions is not timely and convenient. Students are less proactive in asking questions during the fieldwork process, which shows that their independent inquiry ability is relatively lacking. Considering that the fieldwork task module is most frequently used, we believe that students’ goal is to complete the task and get a higher score. Therefore, these functional modules that are not closely related to fieldwork requirements are used less frequently. We understand that the observation point module stored enough information on the geographical phenomenon description, but students’ frequency is not high. The teacher’s explanation is more thorough and vivid, and students are more willing to listen. In addition, it is meaningless to listen to the audio description or watch a video introduction at an observation point, and it should be placed in the training period before the fieldwork.

5.3. Independent Learning based on Fieldwork Platform

Before the widespread application of smartphones, the goal of geography fieldwork was to deepen the understanding of classroom teaching content through the teachers’ explanation of geographical phenomena in the field so that students could master the relevant methods of fieldwork survey. However, with the development of GPS, RS, and GIS technology, location information is easy to obtain through mobile phones, and the goal of geography fieldwork has changed to a certain extent. Most colleges require the use of new technologies to improve the teaching effect of fieldwork, cultivate students’ independent learning and enhance their learning autonomy. In particular, as students majoring in geographic information science, they should be able to master the collection, storage, and analysis of spatial data in the fieldwork. Therefore, students are required to use the mobile application to carry out the observation and analysis of geographic phenomena, record and upload the data. According to the original intention of the fieldwork platform design, the semi-supervised mode and the student-independent mode can give students space to self-learning and exercise their ability of independent exploration. Students agreed that the semi-supervised and student-independent modes could provide full play to their subjective initiative, improve their ability to learn independently, and reduce the burden on teachers.

However, through the student’s responses, the student-independent mode based on the LBS platform is not accepted by most students, and the reasons mainly include three aspects. The first is fieldwork safety. Although field safety training has been conducted before the fieldwork, students may get lost and injured when they are in an unfamiliar field environment. The second is that students’ learning efficiency in the fieldwork is relatively low when there is no teacher to participate in the team. The fieldwork may become a sightseeing tour. In China, with a large population, these students have undergone a 12-year basic education from primary to middle school. Limited by the lack of teachers in the past, they have accustomed to the education mode based on the teacher’s explanation and supervision, and most students are relatively low in consciousness. Although they recognize the value of independent-learning, it is difficult to adapt it without the participation of teachers. The third is that dynamic adjustment is not convenient. Due to weather and other factors, the actual fieldwork route and content may need to be adjusted. Moreover, students do not have professional skills, and no rich experience teacher can guide and adjust the student team in real-time. In the proposed teacher-centered mode, they can ask questions and communicate directly with the teacher, and the teacher can answer their doubts in time. Teachers who lead the team have a better understanding of the students’ situation and can adjust routes at any time. The teacher’s explanation is more precise and more vivid, which can help students focus. Every place can become an observation point under the teacher’s leadership, allowing students to receive knowledge.

However, in 10-day geography fieldwork, students allocated 2.95 days to the semi-supervised mode and 1.81 days to the student-independent mode. The result shows that although students do not like the independent learning mode in the fieldwork, they can recognize its value in improving their practical, cooperative, and autonomous abilities. They are willing to try independent fieldwork supported by the platform. Therefore, detailed safety training, regional map recognition, and other related aspects should be done well before independent fieldwork. The reasonable allocation of days for the three applied modes is also an essential aspect of the geography fieldwork based on the platform.

6. Conclusions

With modern information technology development, new technologies will gradually be applied to geography fieldwork education. In China, there are some widespread problems that the high teacher–student ratio affects the quality of learning. Professional teachers with rich experience in geography fieldwork education are lacking, and the commonly used traditional teacher-centered mode cannot meet the training requirements of the practical ability of innovative talents. To reduce teachers’ workload and improve students’ independent capabilities, we combined LBS technology with geography fieldwork education, designed and implemented a professional geography fieldwork platform. Lushan is a fieldwork area, a famous geography fieldwork education station in Jiangxi, China. The platform included the student-side mobile application, teacher-side mobile application, and a web back-end management system, and its functional services cover the whole process of fieldwork. Then, three specific technologically-enhanced usage modes were put forward based on the platform application, which contains teacher-centered, semi-supervised, and student-independent modes. Finally, the students’ views on the platform and the three applied modes were collected through questionnaire surveys. The conclusions in this paper are as follow:

(1)

The designed and implemented LBS fieldwork platform meets the need of student requirements and has significant support for the current geography fieldwork in Lushan, which can make up for the lack of professional teachers and provide convenience for students. However, poor wireless network signals and positioning accuracy in some areas affect the use of the platform.

(2)

The functional modules carried on the LBS fieldwork platform are different in geography fieldwork. These modules that are closely related to the teacher’s requirements are more frequently used. The goal of students who participated in the fieldwork is to complete the task and get a higher score, so the functions related to data collection and electronic maps are more popular among students.

(3)

The teacher-centered mode of the LBS fieldwork platform is still the mode generally recognized by students. Due to the unguaranteed fieldwork safety, inconvenient dynamic adjustment, and the habit of relying on the teacher’s explanation, the student-independent mode has obvious limitations currently. However, students can realize its potential in improving their practical abilities, and they are willing to try independent fieldwork supported by the platform in several days.

Compared with previous research, this paper proposes a professional geography fieldwork platform based on location services and its functional composition, refined the traditional technologically-enhanced mode, innovated the geography fieldwork teaching concept, and promotes the cultivation of students’ self-learning ability and the application of modern information technology in geography fieldwork education, which has brought positive demonstration role of the geography fieldwork teaching reform to the professional geography colleges in China. In future research, how to improve the educational quality of geography fieldwork based on new technologies and improve students’ self-learning ability is the focus. The platform designed and developed in this paper is an important foundation. On the one hand, strengthening the application of LBS and other technologies in the fieldwork process and develop more useful functional services and online-offline implementation teaching and learning method. On the other hand, we will analyze the factors that affect students’ independent learning based on the LBS fieldwork platform and improve students’ learning effects. In addition, the platform behavior data generated by students would be adopted to establish a more scientific evaluation system for geography fieldwork education effects.