EFFECTIVE USE OF COMPUTERS IN TEACHING STRUCTURAL GEOLOGY

Computers play an important role in supporting teaching in the geosciences and are especially instrumental in many endeavors within structural geology. Accordingly, at the recent On the Cutting Edge workshop, Teaching Structural Geology in the 21st Century, a working group was formed to identify and collect exemplary computer resources and to add this information to the Teaching Structural Geology Resource Collections available at http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/structure04/resources.html.

Computers are (and will be) used to teach structural geology both in the field and classroom. General computation, basic structural analysis tools (e.g. stereonet plotting programs), self-paced tutorials, image analysis, field/lab data collection/analysis, and illustration are just a few of the many applications of computers to structural geology. The working group, although interested in all such resources, plans to concentrate our effort in three areas: visualization tools and activities, virtual reality, and GIS/digital mapping. In addition to collection, the working group will test and review assembled resources, encourage development of new resources, and design class activities to illustrate how these resources can be used. All identified materials will be assigned to a standardized list of structural topics in order to help potential users locate pertinent resources.

We will assess our progress to date; display a compilation of resources collected; identify areas where new materials are needed; and explain how colleagues can support the process of data collection and development. Everyone can help the collection effort by checking the list of collected materials and contributing new information at: http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/structure04/groups/compgroup.html.