INCREASING STUDENT ENGAGEMENT IN GEOMORPHOLOGY THROUGH THE USE OF THE WORLD WIDE WEB

It is generally well accepted that the World Wide Web is a useful tool for the dissemination and management of basic course information, particularly class syllabi, notes, assignments and resources. A web site was created for GE304, Geomorphology, (http://www.skidmore.edu/academics/geo/courses/ge304/) in part to accommodate the information listed above, but also to enhance the students learning. Because geomorphology deals with identifying landforms the use of a visual medium like the web was ideal. All slides used in lecture were scanned and made available on the web pages for review. In addition, slides not used in class were added to the web page and incorporated into exercises that quizzed the student as to their identification and/or origin. In these exercises students use radio buttons to select the answer, or click on an "answer" button to reveal the correct answer. This type of "engaged" learning using the web was well received by the students, and they became more comfortable with the subject material, as well as with the technology. Likewise, most of the homework assignments were done on-line. By requiring students to submit homework assignments on-line, I was able to "capture" their attention on the web-site for longer periods of time. The students responded by spending extra-time exploring some concepts in greater detail and then bringing that information to the class to share. Some students were inspired to create educational web pages for their independent study projects. Overall, I found that the use of more active, learning exercises worked well in this upper-level course consisting of twelve majors. Moreover, I realized the potential of such a web site for the two introductory level courses that I am involved in, Physical Geology and Introduction to Environmental Science, where enrollment ranges from 60-100 students. New web pages and web-based learning exercises are currently being developed for both of these courses.