Pandemics throughout history and geography – an interactive environment to educate the new generation of students

Abstract

The new coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) has induced a radical change in the way people are educated. Distance or online learning has become the norm and it is important to provide new resources to ensure that continuing education takes place during this difficult time. The main objective is, therefore, to provide a service that not only supports school teaching but that can also increasingly motivate students while learning. In recent years, an increasing emphasis has been placed on geo-education in middle and high school curricula, transforming the way certain subjects are now taught to provide students with a thorough understanding of the dynamics and interconnections in the world, which are based also on relevant geographic areas information. This paper proposes the integration of advanced geospatial technology into traditional interactive learning tools as a way to describe experiences that help students understand phenomena and improve their skills, focusing on pandemic diseases, as they have happened in the history of humankind. The system is the result of a usability engineering process aimed at providing users with an effective learning experience, by iteratively analyzing their expectations and needs concerning georeferenced content. The resulting learning environment was tested in the context of a middle school program. A usability study was conducted to analyze the impact in terms of perceived quality, engagement, and learning performance of students.