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Figure 2. Students at the exposed seaside cliffs near Kilkee (left) using the camera and Skitch application on the iPads (middle) to record and annotate the
sedimentary structures and deformation features (right) to share with their peers who did not access this location.

and deformation features in rocks exposed mobility disabilities mapped outcrops along Accessibility: Exposures of glacial till were
along seaside cliffs near the town of Kilkee the gravel road, while mobile students mapped only accessible by climbing down large, wet
(Fig. 2). Most of the features, such as ripple outcrops in more distant and less accessible boulders along the shore. Rainy and windy
marks, cross-beds, and soft-sediment defor- locations. Students communicated in real weather made outdoor audio communications
mation structures (Martinsen et al., 2008) time via two-way radios and iPads using the difficult.
were viewable by all participants from a AirBeam app. Photos were shared in near real
paved path along the top of the cliffs. Some time with the PhotoSync app. Videos were TECHNOLOGY TO ENHANCE FIELD
smaller-scale features, such as sand volca- recorded asynchronously with GoPro cam- ACCESS AND INCLUSION
noes and fault surfaces, required descending eras and shared between team members upon
steps to an eroded cliff platform and thus reconvening in common locations. Synchronous and Asynchronous
were not accessible to everyone. Students Technology used: Two-way radios, GoPro Communication
used iPad cameras and the Evernote and cameras, iPad cameras, FieldMove, AirBeam, We used both synchronous (real-time
Skitch apps to record, sketch, and describe and PhotoSync apps, with real-time commu- sharing of audio or video) and asynchronous
features; remote communications were facil- nications facilitated by a LAN. (delayed sharing) methods of communica-
itated with two-way radios. A full group dis- Accessibility: Outcrops along the gravel tion while in the field. Synchronous commu-
cussion of the exercise occurred indoors later road were accessible to all students; remote nications were facilitated by a cell network at
in the evening. outcrops were not accessible to students SP Crater to broadcast a video stream from
Technology used: iPad cameras, Ever- with mobility disabilities due to intervening the summit to students at the base of the hill.
note and Skitch apps. uneven bogs. Rainy and cold weather nega- We used the Livestream web broadcasting
Accessibility: Paved paths did not extend tively impacted all participants. app, but the 1–2-minute delay between trans-
onto cliff exposures, which were only acces- mitting and receiving the video stream made
sible by stairs. Foot paths were narrow and 3. Renvyle Point, County Galway synchronous interactions between team
steep in locations, inaccessible to wheelchair The coastal bluff at Renvyle Point con- members challenging. Students found the
users. High winds made group communica- sists of an ~15 m vertical exposure of gla- discrepancy between the faster audio com-
tions difficult. cial till that lies unconformably on a wave munications and the slower video transmis-
cut platform of Dalradian Schist. The bluffs sions awkward. Students ascending the hill
2. Lough Derryclare, Connemara are not visible from the parking area and also used two-way radios for audio commu-
This three-day exercise focused on bedrock can only be reached after descending an nications with team members at the base,
mapping in a boggy field area along the south- uneven field of beach cobbles and boulders which had no time lag as long as line-of-sight
ern shore of Lough Derryclare in Connemara. (see Supplemental Fig. SD2 [see footnote was maintained. Two-way radios typically
Geological features included folded schists 1]). The half-day exercise focused on exam- have a strong signal across distances of
and quartzites of the Connemara Dalradian ining and interpreting deformation and flu- 2–3 km and were frequently used by student
sequence (Leake and Tanner, 1994). Outcrops idized flow features within the glacial till teams when WiFi was not functional. In
along a gravel road were accessible to all stu- in order to determine the movement of the locations where a LAN was available, the
dents; other outcrops required traversing glacier. Due to the challenging terrain of AirBeam app was used for synchronous
boggy fields and were not accessible to stu- the field area and the rainy weather, stu- video streaming, and PhotoSync was used
dents with mobility disabilities. Cell signals in dents with mobility disabilities remained in for photo sharing.
the area were weak and ineffective, so a local the vehicles and collaborated with their In field settings where cell signals or a
area network (LAN) was set up to facilitate peers using two-way radios and iPads via LAN were not available, data sharing
real-time communications between team a LAN. among participants across field sites was
members (see Network Connectivity section). Technology used: Two-way radios, GoPro accomplished with asynchronous methods,
Students recorded field data (lithologic cameras, iPad cameras, AirBeam and Photo- although real-time communication could
descriptions and orientation measurements) Sync apps; real-time communications and still be accomplished with two-way radios.
with the FieldMove app in order to create a data exchange with iPads were facilitated by Participants asynchronously recorded video
collaborative geologic map. Students with a LAN. with GoPro or iPad cameras and collected

6 GSA Today | September 2020