Focus on Sedimentary
Environments
Roger J Suthren
Excerpts from Case Study Template
Author Details:
– Roger J Suthren
– Geology (BMS), Oxford Brookes University
– e-mail: rjsuthren@brookes.ac.uk
Acknowledgments:
– FILTER Team
– Mike Sanders (LTSN-GEES)
Links
– free-standing version of resource
– resource within FILTER database
– Case study document (Word file)
Biography
• Senior Lecturer in Geology at Oxford Brookes
University.
• My teaching includes sedimentology, volcanology,
geological fieldwork and environmental geology.
• My research: various aspects of sedimentology and
volcanology.
• I have a particular interest in the use of
computer-aided learning in the earth sciences, and
in teaching and learning issues related to science
education. Publications and projects are listed on
my web page:
www.brookes.ac.uk/geology/rjs/rjshome.html
My use of the Web - supporting a
‘traditional’ course, not replacing it
www.brookes.ac.uk/geology/8307/8307home.html
Example of previous work
Examples: on-line lectures
Thumbnails link
to online slides
& captions
Example of previous work
Resource Title
• Focus on Sedimentary Environments:
• The study of depositional processes and
environments at scales from the landscape
to the microscope.
Abstract
• The author's aim was to produce a series
of short, image-intensive, virtual field
trips, to 'zoom in' on a variety of modern
and ancient sedimentary environments.
• Students' understanding and observational
skills are tested through online tests and
feedback.
• The individual field trips are free-standing,
and intended to be linked from a variety of
online resources: example
My views on virtual field & laboratory work
• Web resources can never
replace real field or laboratory
experience
• Understanding outcrops in the
classroom: virtual field trips to
places which would be
impossible to visit; reasons
include:
– disability
– distant or dangerous locations
– ‘time travel’
• considerable potential for
enhancing traditional methods
Virtual fieldwork and virtual beer
• Some important
elements are missing!
• Not very thirstquenching
• But provides much
additional information
– where to find beer
– how it is made…
• Virtual fieldwork has
similar limitations
Teaching Context
• Subject Area: Earth Sciences; Geology;
Sedimentology; Sedimentary Environments
• Tutorial Type: Case studies; CAL exercises;
quizzes; virtual field trips
• Audience: Undergraduate 1st and 2nd year
Teaching Context...
• Prior Experience: Prerequisite courses and skills: at
least first year Introduction to Geology, Ancient
Environments or a similar course where hand specimen
description of sediments and sedimentary rocks has
been practised.
• Best suited to students who have studied some
sedimentary petrology (including microscope work),
and have some experience of studying sedimentary
rocks in the field.
• Time: 30 to 45 minutes for each of the 10 virtual
field trips
Learning Outcomes
• Describing and interpreting sedimentary features
in the 'field'.
• Applying schemes for the description of sediments
and sedimentary rocks.
• Recognizing the products of physical, chemical and
biological processes which act in sedimentary
environments.
• Appreciating the importance of organisms in
sedimentation, and identifying the main groups of
such organisms.
• Using "the present as the key to the past” (or v.v.)
- demonstration of modern and ancient examples
for comparison
Technical Context & Requirements
• Hardware:
– standard PC.
– Flatbed scanner (I used a Canon Canoscan
2400U)
– with transparency hood for scanning thin
sections in transmitted light)
– Field photos: Digital camera: Olympus C240L;
35mm film cameras
– Micrographs: Nikon Coolpix mounted on
petrological microscope; Nikon 35mm
camera/microscope
Technical Context & Requirements
• Image processing software:
– PaintshopPro 7.0
– U-Lead Photo Explorer 6.0 (batch image
renaming etc.)
– MGI PhotoVista to stitch overlapping images
into panoramas
– David Elsmore’s tool for viewing scrolling
panoramas on the Web without plugins
• example 1 example 2
• hot spots can be added to make clickable image maps
Technical Context & Requirements...
• Resources are written in standard html
using Macromedia Dreamweaver 4.0
• Interactivity, mainly in the form of quizzes
is introduced using:
– standard JavaScript behaviours available in
Dreamweaver: e.g pop-up answers
– and the Dreamweaver Coursebuilder extension:
quiz example
Background
• I chose the topic largely to support my 2nd year
module in Sedimentology, particularly those parts
dealing with carbonate environments, but with the
intention that the resources could be much more
widely used in Earth and Environmental Science
courses.
• My students do not have the opportunity to visit
modern carbonate environments (e.g. Florida,
Caribbean) as part of their course.
• I have been fortunate to be able to visit such
places, and have collected images and samples over
several years.
Background...
• The virtual field trips provide a medium for
passing on this experience to students.
• I want them to get a feeling (albeit second-hand)
for what the environments and the sediments look
like, so the resource relies heavily on images
rather than text.
• This project follows on from, and is inspired by, a
recent cross-disciplinary Virtual Fieldwork project
at Brookes: http://www.brookes.ac.uk/bms/vfw/
Development and creation
• I first spent some time developing a common template
for all of the field trips. I have also made this
template available for other users:
http://www.brookes.ac.uk/geology/FILTER/intro.html
• I then selected 6 or more images for each field trip,
showing the environment at different
'magnifications', from general views down to
microscopic levels.
• Each image was saved in 3 different sizes:
– thumbnail (100 pixels wide or high): examples
– 'standard' (600 pixels): example
– high resolution (up to ~ 1500 pixels): example
Development and creation...
• For each image:
– I wrote a brief description
– designed interactive exercises to encourage students to
extract information from the images
– the type of information available is different at the
different 'magnification' levels.
• The Search and Replace (across selected files or an
entire website) feature in Dreamweaver was
particularly valuable when asked to make
modifications (such as removal of headers) to all pages
by the FILTER team.
Image Selection
• Most of the images used
are my own film or digital
images from fieldwork and
holidays.
Shell scanned
on flatbed
scanner
Sand thin
section on
flatbed scanner
with slide hood
Image Selection
• Most of the images used are
my own film or digital images
from fieldwork and holidays.
• I acquired new images during
the project using a flat bed
scanner to scan rock and fossil
samples and thin sections, as
well as photographs
• photomicrography - digital and
film
Limestone thin
section: digital
photomicrograph
Image Selection
• Most of the images used are
my own film or digital images
from fieldwork and holidays.
• I acquired new images during
the project using a flat bed
scanner to scan rock and fossil
samples and thin sections, as
well as photographs
• photomicrography - digital and
film
• All third party images used are
public domain images from
bodies such as NASA and the
US Geological Survey
• no copyright issues
Image Selection...
• 600 pixel wide or high 'standard' images provide
sufficient detail and quality for most exercises
• I have also provided an optional high-resolution
version of each image (typically 150 to 400 kb).
Potentially slow downloads are outweighed by ability
to see a high degree of detail when necessary.
• Where images need further explanation, I have
sometimes provided this by creating a second,
annotated version of the image. This is often made
available to the user as a JavaScript rollover:
example 1 example 2
• Image manipulation is explained in image logs
Problems and solutions
• The main technical problem encountered was with
JavaScript Coursebuilder interactions.
• This extension to Dreamweaver is not entirely bug
free, and sometimes produces unexpected results.
These problems were relatively easily resolved once
they had been discovered.
• There are other packages available to produce online
quizzes, such as Hot Potatoes and Respondus, but each
has its own problems, and none is perfect.
Problems and solutions...
• Before writing a similar resource, I would spend
some time working with several such tools to find
which best suited my purposes
• version 6 of Hot Potatoes appears more adaptable
than previous versions, where it was difficult to
include quizzes as part of normal, editable html
pages
• From the same software stable, Quandary appears
to be a very powerful tool for providing
interaction and assessment in web pages. Example
(incomplete).
Quandary screenshot
Constructing a ‘decision point’ in a quiz on one of the Caswell Bay VFT images.
Quandary automatically creates the html for the image insertion.
Quandary screenshot
Interactive map view, showing links, of the thin-section identification quiz based on a Caswell Bay image
red lines link forwards to a selection of answers; blue lines refer backwards from incorrect answers
Problems, solutions, evaluation...
• I found adding metadata to the FILTER database
straightforward, and any bugs were quickly removed
by Howard Richardson.
• Howard's willingness to modify the database at very
short notice to make it more useable was particularly
welcome. He provided helpful and prompt technical
support throughout the project.
• No pedagogical problems have been identified so far,
but the resources have not yet been used extensively
with students
• The resource has been submitted for online review to
DLESE, a digital library. All reviews are welcome - go
to the resource and click the DLESE button!
How to duplicate
• My resource template is freely available at
http://www.brookes.ac.uk/geology/FILTER/intro.html
• could be used for any subject or case study where
studying images at different magnifications is
important:
– either a single image seen at different resolutions
– or, as in most of my examples, related images at different
scales.
• I spent ~ one week constructing the template
• Each of the 10 field trips took 2-3 days to construct.
• Finding, selecting and manipulating suitable images is
time consuming, and may take longer than actually
constructing the resources.
Recommendations
• Many different materials
may be scanned using a
standard flat bed
scanner
• a cheap and cheerful
microscope
• often an excellent
replacement for much
more expensive
macrophotography
equipment
http://www.brookes.ac.uk/geology/scanner/scanner.html
Anton Kearsley & Roger Suthren
Flat objects, e.g. polished rock surfaces
3-D objects
coral
refined copper
Loose sediments or soils
volcanic ash
Helping students to see what’s there
granite
Access to rare or fragile samples
insect in
amber
Overviews of microscope slides on a
scanner with transparency hood
limestone thin section
Recommendations...
• When scanning transparent
materials, the illumination may
be too bright.
• This can be corrected by using
a neutral density filter on top
of the sample.
• To simulate plane- and crosspolarized light, as in a
polarizing microscope, place a
thin sheet of Polaroid between
the sample and the scanner
glass and (for cross-polarized
light) another on top, with its
polarization direction at right
angles to that of the first.
Metadata
My standard procedure for describing
geological images :
– geographical location (from country level down to
location name, with co-ordinates if possible);
– geological age (using the standard nomenclature
for periods and ages: e.g. Carboniferous, Jurassic,
Pleistocene, modern…);
– concise description of what may be seen in the
image, with background information as appropriate
– terminology: widely used schemes naming fossils,
minerals, and rock types
– consistency partly achieved by use of Grab feature
in image template web form, to repeat metadata
from previous images
Metadata examples
• Image creation log for
view photo
• Image creation log for
scanned sample