INTERACTIVE VISUAL/GRAPHIC EXERCISES AND PUZZLES AS TOOLS FOR GEOSCIENCE EDUCATION--USE OF THE GRFPIX SYSTEM

Both practicing and understanding Earth Science requires manipulation of objects, 2-D media, and/or multidimensional systems. One of the aspects of Earth Science that sets it apart from most other scientific endeavors is its reliance on spatial observations and visualization. Developing explanations through constructive use of visual and graphical data sets is now possible both in and out of the classroom with recent advances in software technology. Designing constructive exercises using graphical and visual materials as manipulatives has advanced into the realm of the possible with the Grfpix System. Grfpix is a Flash application that allows users to manipulate graphical objects and arrange or piece them together over the Internet. You can move and rotate the objects to produce new datasets from which interpretations can be constructed. The possibilities for interactive exercises are now only limited by the creative thoughts of geoscience educators. Formerly, exercises like this involved cutting and pasting paper objects, which are tedious and difficult for those that are manipulatively challenged. Exercises developed in Grfpix can be entirely automated. Exercises can be checked automatically over the Internet, using a predetermined grading rubric defined during exercise design. This unique feature saves an immense amount of time, especially in large classes, and also is student friendly by providing immediate feedback. All materials are submitted securely online, and results can also be posted almost immediately upon completion. To help ensure that work is individualized, Grfpix users are assigned usernames and passwords, which are required both before starting and for submitting work. Furthermore, once work is either submitted or a Grfpix session ends, the exercise cannot be sent to someone else. Development of the Grfpix System based on Flash programming has been rather challenging. Flash was designed as a vector animation tool with programming capabilities for the web. Use of Flash programming made the Grfpix System possible, because visual manipulation over the Internet requires too much memory for normal computers. We tried writing similar programs in Visual Basic and C++ before using Flash but without significant success.