GEOSPATIAL ORGANIZATION OF GEOSCIENCE VIDEOS USING GOOGLE EARTH GEOED VIDEO LIBRARY (GEGVL)

Geoscience educational videos (GeoEd videos) are powerful learning tools used by teachers and students. However, there are some challenges for using GeoEd videos in the classroom and for self-learning. Instructors mention that finding and reviewing videos on YouTube require significant amounts of time and effort, reflecting two problems. GeoEd videos are not spatially organized, causing problems for teachers and instructors looking for material about certain places such as around their university or around the world. In addition, not all GeoEd videos are scientifically robust and trustworthy. To help remedy these problems, we are identifying good place-based GeoEd videos and locating these on Google Earth. This place-based, geoscientist-reviewed GeoEd video library is called ‘Google Earth GeoEd Video Library’ or GEGVL. GEGVL aims to highlight scientifically robust, place-based videos, making it easier for instructors and students to find these. We also use the place-based videos as anchors to link non-place-based videos (such as “Three Great Ways to Melt the Mantle”) on GEGVL. The GEGVL contains an index of high-quality, place-based geoscience videos that are geospatially organized in Google Earth as a first-level visual index. Currently GEGVL organizes videos via 10 geoscience disciplines (Plate Tectonics, Minerals, Structural Geology, Metamorphism, Magmatism, Hydrology, Environmental Geology, Sedimentology, Historical Geology, and Paleomagnetism) and 3 events-based categories (Human Activity, Natural Hazards and Regional Geology). We review all videos to ensure that included videos are both scientifically robust. The result is that GEGVL provides a fast and efficient way for geoscience instructors to find high-quality GeoEd videos. We surveyed 55 undergraduates and 32 K-12 teachers to get their feedback; 85% of them are very positive. The latest version of GEGVL can be downloaded at https://utdgss2016.wixsite.com/utdgss/gegvl

We invite contributions to GEGVL from all geoscientists and look for partners to alert us to videos that should be added, contribute in reviewing videos, and to help assess GEGVL in the classroom.