Virtual Geology: Teaching Earth Science Courses Online
Eileen A. Herrstrom (’77)
Department of Geology, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61820
As teaching methods have changed from blackboard and chalk to Power
Point to the Internet, everyone involved in the educational enterprise has likewise
been obliged to evolve. Individual courses and entire degree programs are
increasingly available online. In 2010, more than 6 million students in degreegranting postsecondary institutions enrolled in one online course, and in Illinois,
65 or more colleges and universities offer at least some online courses. At the
University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign, the College of Liberal Arts and
Sciences listed 10 online courses in Fall 2009 and more than 80 in Spring 2012,
which is typical of the growth rate experienced by US colleges in the 21st century.
Geology departments seem to be slow in joining the online world, perhaps
because ours is such a hands-on science. The UI Department of Geology offers
two courses completely online, one of which I have developed and taught. In this
presentation, I share some of my experiences and resources.
References
Allen, I.E., and J. Seaman, 2011, Going the Distance Online Education in the
United States: Babson Survey Research Group, 44 p.
Picciano, A.G., J. Seaman, and S. Day, 2011, Online Learning In Illinois High
Schools Has The Time Come?: Babson Survey Research Group, 36 p.
http://www.babson.edu/Academics/centers/blank-center/globalresearch/Pages/babson-survey-research-group.aspx
Teaching Geoscience Online Workshop, 2010, Materials designed to help
geoscience faculty improve their online teaching, or to provide guidance to those
who are considering venturing into the online classroom.
http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/online/index.html
Rudd, J. A., V. Z. Wang, C. Cervato and R. W. Ridky, 2009, Calibrated Peer
Review Assignments for the Earth Sciences: Journal of Geoscience Education,
vol. 57, no. 5, pp. 328-334
Werhner, M. J., 2010, A Comparison of the Performance of Online versus
Traditional On-Campus Earth Science Students on Identical Exams: Journal of
Geoscience Education, vol. 58, no. 5, pp. 310-312.
Isiorho, S. A., 2003, Teaching Geology Courses Online: Is Anyone Learning? in
Malpica, F., A.Tremante, and N. Sala (editors), Proceedings of the International
Conference on Education and Information Systems: Technologies and
Applications (EISTA '03), pp 433-438.
http://users.ipfw.edu/isiorho/TEACHING GEOLOGY COURSES
ONLINE.htm