The Influence of Implementing the Geography Virtual Laboratory (Geovlab) on Interest and Increasing Academic Achievement Abilities

ABSTRACT


INTRODUCTION
Geography learning at SMA Plus Al-Fatimah Bojonegoro is carried out by providing worksheets.The teacher explains the concept then continues with practicing questions on the Worksheet.Meanwhile, practical work is difficult due to limited laboratory space.At Al-Fatimah Plus High School there is no laboratory space for the Social Sciences subject group.The limited laboratories for geography subjects mean that geography learning is not optimal.In studying geography, field practicum is a very important lesson.Geography as a science is closely related to field and laboratory studies as a concrete manifestation of theory in developing intelligence and knowledge (Shaherani et all., 2022).The advantage of practicum is that it can make students practice by trial and error, and repeat activities/actions until they are completely skilled (Putra et all, 2021).Practical activities are a real provision to equip geography graduates in the world of work.A virtual

Corresponding Author: Sukma Perdana Prasetya *Cite this Article: Sukma Perdana Prasetya, Sri Murtini, Leli Anggareni, Armawati Hidayati (2023). The Influence of Implementing the Geography Virtual Laboratory (Geovlab) on Interest and Increasing Academic Achievement Abilities. International Journal of Social
Science and Education Research Studies, 3 (10), 2011-2016 laboratory can be a solution for field or room practicums for geography learning.Along with the development of the world of information technology today, experts are trying to develop various computer-based learning media (Tatli, 2013).There are electronic books (ebooks), animated videos, interactive videos, PowerPoint slides, various flash programs and even virtual laboratories.All types of media really help teachers in conveying information to students during the teaching and learning process, and good application of media will increase student learning success.Nana & Rivai (2010), provides a number of reasons why the use of learning media can improve students' academic achievement.Some of the benefits are that the use of learning media can attract students' attention so that it can foster learning motivation.It is hoped that through the use of learning media the learning materials will be easier and clearer for students to understand.To overcome the problems found, one effort that can be done is to use interactive learning media.One form of learning media is virtual laboratory media.Toth and Morrow (2012), believes that a virtual laboratory is a form of laboratory with observation or experimental activities using software run by a computer, all the equipment needed by a laboratory is contained in the software; A virtual laboratory is an experiment that uses learning simulations (software) and Virtual laboratories can help students better visualize geographic concepts through the use of interactive maps, satellite imagery, and three-dimensional models.This can help them understand complex geographic phenomena more easily.Virtual geographic laboratories allow access to various types of geographic data, maps, satellite imagery, and geospatial analysis tools without having to physically be in a specific location.This gives students the flexibility to explore and understand geography concepts anytime and anywhere.

Simulasi animasi
In virtual laboratories, students can carry out experiments and simulations safely without any real risk.For example, they can examine the impact of climate change on changes in Earth's surface temperature or observe the movement of tectonic plates through simulation models.Virtual laboratories can also give students the opportunity to study independently, allowing them to explore topics that interest them in more depth.
Based on the conditions explained above, the aim of this research is directed at analyzing the effect of implementing Geovlab on student interest in learning and increasing student academic achievement in geography subjects for class X at SMA Plus Al-Fatimah Bojonegoro.

II. GEOVLAB PRODUCT SPECIFICATIONS
The explanation of Geovlab product specifications is to describe some of the software used in this programming which is a combination of image processing software, animation software, simulation software and display management software.For image processing, Adobe Photoshop, Macromedia Flash Professional 8 are used.So that the program can be created as expected, the use of several of these devices is an option that must be used.This is because no single software can accommodate all programming needs carried out.The procedural stages of Geovlab programming activities are shown in the following figure.

A. Results Student interest in using Geovlab
A student response questionnaire is needed to find out how interested students are in learning using Geovlab.There were five questions asked by researchers.Student interest questionnaires are given after the learning is carried out.The results of the recapitulation of interest are presented in Table 1 below.This allows them to study independently and repeat difficult material as many times as they need.Thus, they have a better chance of understanding geography concepts better.According to Table 1, it is known that 48 people or 80% of students said that using Geovlab made it easier to complete the questions and assignments given by the teacher.The remaining 12 students or 20% said that learning in this way did not make it easier to complete the questions and assignments given by the teacher.This is in line with the theory put forward by Nur (2008) which states that students will tend to be able to complete tasks where the situation during the test is the same as the task situation being exemplified.When the teacher presents material through Geovlab and students receive a written test, there is a difference between the material presentation situation and the situation during the test.Therefore, it is natural that only 56.14% of students said that the media made it easier to complete the assignments given by the teacher and 43.89% said Geovlab did not help in completing the assignments given by the teacher.Virtual geography laboratories often include features such as audio and visual explanations, interactive exercises, and immediate feedback.This allows students to learn at their own pace and get better individual support (Wijayanto, 2018).Through virtual laboratory learning, students can repeat difficult material, test their understanding through exercises, and receive immediate feedback to correct their mistakes (Muhajarah & Sulthon, 2020).They can practice freely on the questions and assignments in Geovlab.Thus, they have a better chance of improving their academic performance.According to Table 1, it is known that 50 people or 83% of students said that using Geovlab made students more motivated to study chemistry.The remaining 10 students or 17% said that learning in this way did not make them more motivated to study geography.There are more students who feel motivated by the virtual laboratory than those who are not motivated.This is in accordance with the opinion of Sadiman (2012) who said that learning media will create enthusiasm for students' learning.Findings The results of Tüysüz's (2010) research show that when compared with traditional teaching, virtual laboratories have a positive impact on increasing student motivation, attitudes and learning achievement.According to Table 1, it is known that 24 people or 40% of students said that using Geovlab was good if used for other subjects.The remaining 36 students or 60% said that learning in this way was not good if used for other subjects.Other subjects may not necessarily be able to use Geovlab.For example, sports and arts subjects will be better if they use direct practical learning.Geovlab can only be applied to geography subjects.

B. Research Results of Academic Achievement Tests
The academic achievement test assessment is obtained after students complete the pre-test -post-test questions.Before carrying out the t test, the sample normality requirements are tested.The results from table 2 obtained a sig value.The Shapiro Wilk normality test shows that the sig.amounting to 0.073 (pretest), 0.086 (posttest).From the results of the Shapiro Wilk normality test, it shows a sig.>0.05 so it can be concluded that the research data used is normally distributed, so the statistics used are the t test.The paired sample t test is used to determine whether there is a difference in the average of two paired samples.The two samples in question are the same sample but have two data.In this research, each class has two data originating from pretest and posttest scores.The paired sample t-test is part of parametric statistics, therefore, the rules parametric statistics are that research data must be normally distributed.The results of the paired sample t-test in this study are presented in the following table :

Fig. 1
Fig. 1 Geovlab content development The test questions have first been validated by material experts.Interest analysis uses the percentage method, while analysis of student academic achievement tests uses parametric statistics.The parametric statistics used is the paired sample t test.
information about students' opinions regarding learning using virtual laboratory media.The questionnaire used in this research is a closed questionnaire in the form of a check list.Students just need to put a check mark (√) in the column provided.Questionnaires are used after learning is carried out; 2) This learning outcomes test question sheet contains questions that students must work on regarding geography material.

Table 1 . Students towards learning
Nur (2008)id not make it easier to learn the lesson.The students' opinions in this case are in line with the dual code theory.Where the dual code theory states that information presented in visual as well as verbal form will be easily included in students' long-term memory structures,Nur (2008).The information displayed by Geovlab learning media is in visual form in the form of geospheric phenomena.With a virtual geography laboratory, students can access geography material and practicum anytime and anywhere.
According to Table 1, it is known that 52 people or 87% of students said that using Geovlab made it easier to understand lessons independently.The remaining 8 students or 13% said that learning in

Table 3 . Paired Sample T-Test Results
Students easily express their reactions when carrying out simulations quickly so that they can increase interest and learning achievement(Karamustafaoglu et all.,  2005).Virtual geography laboratories are often equipped with animations, simulations, and interactive games that allow students to learn in a more interesting and fun way.This can increase students' interest and motivation in studying geography, which in turn can improve their academic achievement.In conclusion, the use of virtual geography laboratories can have a significant positive influence on increasing student academic achievement.Better accessibility, interactive learning, better practical experiences, better individual support, and better collaboration are some of the positive impacts that can occur.V. CONCLUSIONGeovlab geography learning has received a positive response from students with very high interest, this is because learning with Geovlab is something new, learning independently, increasing learning motivation, and helping with questions and assignments.Students' academic achievement after learning by applying Geovlab in geography subjects in class X high school shows that there is a difference in average scores before and after learning.Geovlab allows students to learn geography interactively.They can explore geographic maps, simulations, and models that help them understand geographic concepts better than traditional textbook-only learningVI.ACKNOWLEDGMENTSThe author conveys his thanks to the Ministry Education, Culture, Research, and Technology and community service research institutions at Universitas Negeri Surabaya through the DRPTM research grant program so that this research activity can be carried out.