INTEGRATING IPAD TECHNOLOGY INTO THE GEOSCIENCE UNDERGRADUATE CURRICULUM

Mobile technology offers many opportunities for geoscience education, such as access to large information datasets, improved visualization, and a greater level of interaction. In an effort to experiment with the use of mobile technology in the teaching of geoscience, we purchased seven iPad units (6 for student use, 1 for instructor). All 4 Earth and Space Science program faculty at Olivet Nazarene University participated in this effort by using the units in at least one activity over the course of the fall and spring semesters. For introductory geoscience labs, we developed new activities designed as guided discovery projects for small groups of students (2-4) around tables. Each activity used a different application, including Google Earth, EarthViewer, and QuakeFeed. These activities, each lasting approximately 20 minutes, were reviewed by Teaching Assistants and updated after student feedback. Each one centers on a single concept, including plate tectonics, geologic time, and earthquakes. A minimal amount of instruction was given on app use, with further direction written on the assignment sheets. Student feedback was quite positive, and they showed interest and engagement with the work. In addition, astronomy students used the Stellarium app to aid night sky observation periods. Geochemistry students were shown a demonstration of a pattern-based drawing app (iOrnament) to visualize 2-D space groups. The iPad units were also used on two upper level field trips for geology majors in Sedimentology and Structural Geology courses. Students were tasked with using a photo annotation app, Skitch, to take photos of geologic features and annotate them. Final products were evaluated on the quality of the features selected, the quality of the photograph, and the quality of the annotations. Students also used a topographic maps application (Topo Maps+) to view topographic maps in the field, which allowed access to many more topo maps at various scales than could be carried in paper format. This facilitates student thinking at multiple scales of observation, making it easier to connect map features with field observations. After our year-long trial, we believe that the opportunities for mobile technology in geoscience education are exceptional and hold great promise for student engagement and higher order thinking skills.