USING VIRTUAL VISUALIZATION TOOLS AND A CASE STUDY APPROACH TO IMPROVE LEARNING ABOUT SEDIMENTARY ROCKS AND MINERALS IN AN ONLINE INTRODUCTORY GEOLOGY LAB COURSE

Online geoscience courses represent incredible windows of opportunity for building scientific literacy in a populace that will confront increasingly complex issues related to climate change, natural disasters, and resource availability. For many college students, an online general education geoscience course is simultaneously their last formal exposure to science and their first exposure to geology. Thus, the learning environment must be a positive and productive one if we wish to give students the ability to turn information into knowledge for informed participation in societal decisions. Our approach to improving learning in online geoscience courses is to incorporate participatory exercises and technology. For example, we use virtual visualizations and a case study approach in an exercise that focuses on the evaluation of two sources of sand for use in hydraulic fracturing. The case study builds on content knowledge of sedimentary rocks and minerals and is relevant to environmental, energy, and economic issues. Students work in teams to play the role of consulting geologists in recommending which sand source should be used for proppant. One sand source is mined via dredging from unconsolidated point bar deposits. The other source is quarried from outcrops of consolidated shallow marine Ordovician sandstone. In assessing the suitability of each source, the students must consider the physical characteristics of the rock and sediment, as well as processing, environmental, and transportation costs. Tools for data collection, analysis, and synthesis are provided to the students through virtual globes (e.g. Google Earth), high-resolution digital panoramas (e.g. GigaPans), deep zoom 2D digital imagery, and 3D scans.