GEORGIA GEOSCIENCE ONLINE – NINE YEARS OF TEACHING GEOLOGY LECTURE AND LAB ONLINE

Georgia Perimeter College (GPC), a multi-campus two-year institution, was among the first to offer online geology courses. The author began using course notes on the web with geology classes in 1994, and taught a course using compressed video over telephone lines, as part of the Georgia Statewide Academic and Medical System (GSAMS) system from 1996-1998. In fall 1998, the author began teaching Physical and Historical Geology lectures and labs online using WebCT.

Online labs in Physical and Historical Geology are taught using sets of specimens on reserve in the libraries of four GPC campuses. Specimen sets are assembled in-house to resemble on-campus labs as much as possible. Online students are encouraged to meet and work in groups on labs.

The Historical Geology Online Laboratory Manual is used with both online and on-campus labs. The original version of the lab manual was developed in 1982, and went online in 1998.

In 2000, the author developed Earth & Space Science for Middle School teachers, for the Georgia Professional Standards Commission. The course was revised in 2005 following a change in the Georgia K–12 curriculum, and a shift to the Georgia Performance Standards, with funding provided by a Math and Science Partnership grant from the GA State Department of Education, in partnership with Whitfield County, GA. Subsequent modifications to the course were funded by the Partnership for Reform in Science and Mathematics, supported by the National Science Foundation. In this course, the students purchase unlabeled mineral and rock sets for identification, and later for use in the middle school classroom.

In 2001-2002, the author (along with an instructional designer and a web designer/graphic artist) developed a combined lecture and lab eCore^TM course covering a basic introduction to physical geology, for the University System of Georgia (USG). The course is offered through six USG institutions. The students purchase unlabeled mineral and rock sets, and topographic and geologic maps for lab exercises.

The author has also developed online materials for three editions of a historical geology textbook between 1999 and 2006. The current edition has PowerPoint slides, chapter tutorials, web-links, and quizzes.