DISTANCE-LEARNING AT DENALI NATIONAL PARK AND PRESERVE: A GEOCORPS EXPERIENCE

Distance learning via the Internet has become a component of many national park education programs (http://www.nps.gov/learn/distance.cfm). Since funding for field trips is often not available, and many students don’t have opportunities to visit national parks, distance learning provides a chance to have the next best thing to a firsthand experience, a nearly close encounter with an educator/naturalist who lives and works in a national park. Through the Geological Society of America, GeoCorps Program and the National Park Service, I spent the summer of 2013 at Denali National Park and Preserve helping develop a distance-learning program on the subject of Denali’s (Mt. McKinley’s) geology. This presentation will include a look at the materials that were created and their development, including a PowerPoint program that is delivered via Skype and supporting teacher, student, and ranger resources. An update on how the program has been used over the past 6 months will also be included.