DESIGNING AN ONLINE SCIENCE LAB AROUND SELF-PACED MP3 PLAYER-BASED FIELD TRIPS

The IUPUI Department of Earth Sciences created the online laboratory “Indiana Geology Field Experience” to meet growing demand for online-only courses. The online lab supplements an online lecture “Indiana Geology.” To innovate the experience, students complete three field trips (at state parks) on their own time listening to MP3 audio files included with the course materials. The audio files are supplemented by a worksheet and a set of detailed directions. The audio files are keyed to certain locations within a state park; students use the directions (which include maps/photos) to find each location. Once a student listens to an audio segment, they follow up by responding to a worksheet question. The best analogue to this learning activity is an art museum visitor who purchases an audio tour keyed to exhibits within the museum.

The field trips are observation intensive, with students assessed based on their ability to record and analyze geomorphology, earth materials, land use, and human impacts. Students use their personal digital cameras to record some observations. Parks were chosen based on their proximity (within 1.5hrs of campus) and characteristics that maximized student potential to self-discover and interpret the geology. As an urban, commuter school with many non-traditional students, vehicle access was not an issue for completing the trips.

Within Indiana, we chose parks around the themes of sedimentary rock interpretation; fluvial, glacial, and karst geomorphology, and geomorphology of uplands, lowlands, and escarpments. The field trips also explored human modifications to the environment. To prepare for the trips, students completed workbook activities at home using online mapping tools, purchased rock samples, and significant online support and guidance from an instructor through a course management system. We created a custom laboratory book using internally produced curriculum and individual laboratories from a publisher. The customization permitted us to choose activities relevant to the local field components.

To allow collaborative learning, students could arrange to visit parks with other students, and students used wikis, online chats, and weblogs to work in teams on assignments. The syllabus is structured so students complete two workbook activities and one field trip per month.