BUILDING INTERACTIVE EXERCISES INTO ONLINE COURSES

Learning outcomes define success in terms of what students are able to do, and interactive exercises give online students opportunities to acquire many of the same skills—from calculating a radiometric age to interpreting a geologic cross-section—that their colleagues learn in the classroom. Such exercises can also complement other modes of instruction, inform online discussions, and provide both students and instructors with ways to measure student success. Although the spectrum of interactive exercises that can be included in online courses is very broad, many seem to fall into one of three basic types: animations and simulations, exercises that are directed towards student mastery of a concept, and those that are directed towards an assessment.

Animations and simulations are “naturals” in the virtual environment and illustrate processes such as plate motion or longshore transport in ways that static images cannot. Animations and simulations tend to be most effective, however, when they are paired with questions that ask students to make specific observations or track how a change in a key variable affects the outcome of a process. Exercises focused on concept mastery link opportunities for students to practice techniques they’ve studied—such as identifying a rock or mineral to estimating a river’s discharge—with feedback that enables them to learn from their mistakes. Finally, a third group of exercises not only challenges students to analyze data and report their findings but also poses questions that are designed to assess what they have learned. Even if such assessments are not used directly for evaluation they can provide important starting points for class discussions.

Incorporating interactive exercises into online courses can pose several difficulties. First, an ambiguous assignment or a computer problem can quickly lead to frustration. Providing clear instructions and encouraging students to get started well ahead of any deadline are crucial. Second, commercially published exercises can add to the cost of the course and pose a barrier to student participation. Even with these limitations, however, the opportunities that interactive exercises give online students to learn directly about a wide range of geologic concepts make them potentially valuable additions to many geoscience courses.