Virtual Fieldwork in Humanities Education

This book is a sequel to the book 'Fieldwork in Humanities Education in Singapore' (Springer, 2021). It addresses some of the queries raised in response to the first book, on the utility of the ‘physical’ or ‘face-to-face’ fieldwork. Combining the opportunities unraveled by new technologies and diverse demands to actualize learning, this book showcases a variety of engagements in virtual fieldwork. These demonstrate current developments in the deployment of fieldwork in teaching and learning in Singapore, as well as discuss pertinent interacting issues in technology that arise. The chapters in this book informs evidence-based recommendations for – inter alia – the integration of virtual reality (VR) systems into place-based curricula.

The drive towards better and more advanced technology is a relentless trend. At the same time, the still evolving nature of frontier technologies and their adoption in the education sector entail a constant re-definition of their primary fields and resulting applications. This book contributes to the discussion and analysis of this ongoing process.

Teddy Sim is a researcher at the National Chung Cheng University (Taiwan). He previously lectured at the National Institute of Education in Nanyang Technological University (Singapore). He has published on specific involvements of the Portuguese in the East in the 18-19th century. He is the editor of Piracy and surreptitious activities in the Malay Archipelago and adjacent seas 1600-1840 (2014) and Maritime defence of China: Ming general Qi Jiguang and beyond (2017). He was keen about fieldtrips / virtual trips in his history courses and was the co-editor of Fieldwork in humanities education in Singapore (2021). Teddy has also been involved in school history textbooks such as Exploring history: The ancient history of India, Southeast Asia and China (Federal) and Living history: A history of China, India and Southeast Asia I-III (CPD Singapore Education Services).

Kenneth Y T Lim is a Senior Research Scientist at the National Institute of Education in Singapore. Most recently, his early work on the affordances for learning of the paradigm of spatial computing advanced by the Apple Vision Pro was recognized when he was featured on national broadcast television, and subsequently at the Geography Education Research Collective of the UK Commission on Geographical Education of the International Geographical Union, and at the annual symposium of the Digital Geographies research group of the Royal Geographical Society. In 2024, he was invited to UNESCO's flagship event Digital Learning Week in Paris in September, and to 'AI Policy and Education Futures' at the University of Sydney in July. In 2023, he and his team were identified by UNESCO to share their work on the affordances of Generative AI for meaningful teaching and learning, during UNESCO’s first annual flagship event Digital Learning Week; and also at an Experts’ Roundtable on Generative AI and Education in Asia-Pacific organized by UNESCO Multisectoral Regional Office in Bangkok (UNESCO Bangkok).

Hwee Hwang Sim is currently lecturing at the National Institute of Education in Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. She teaches Primary Social Studies Education to the degree and post-graduate student teachers. She also teaches at MA level. She has an interest in fieldwork education and has conducted several fieldwork modules in her course of work. She has also written articles on fieldwork for HSSE Online: Research and Practice in Humanities and Social Studies Education and Fieldwork in the Humanities Education in Singapore (Sim & Sim, 2021). Her research areas are in mentoring, teacher learning and education in primary social studies and geography.