Learning and Teaching Development Projects: 2001
Atmosphere, lithosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere: Cross-disciplinary virtual fieldwork
The project will develop virtual fieldwork (VFW) across the disciplines of geography, geology and environmental sciences, by active collaboration between staff in all these areas. We shall focus on field courses to remote areas or dangerous phenomena in which we have expertise, including two or more of: arctic environments, major storms, volcanoes, and tropical marine environments. The VFW will initially be developed to support and enhance existing courses at Oxford Brookes, particularly those modules which cross boundaries between disciplines. It will be revised by the end of project funding for use by staff and students in all degree courses in HE, through the LTSN-GEES web site. Through VFW, students will be exposed to environments and processes which they would not normally experience firsthand. Resources will be interactive, using web technology, CAA, and software tools developed by the national Virtual Field Course project (VFC), for which Geology at Brookes is an evaluation site. Where possible, good existing resources will be converted to electronic form. As is our current practice, students will be actively involved in producing, testing and evaluating course materials. The staff involved range from those who have used the web for teaching for several years, to those who are investigating C & IT in learning for the first time, and will be provided with guidance on using and adapting the software. The project is supported by our academic schools, with technical and pedagogic collaboration from appropriate support departments.
Contact Details
Project Leader Name: Dr Roger J. Suthren rjsuthren@brookes.ac.uk
Department / Institution: Geology (BMS), Oxford Brookes University
Address for Correspondence: Gipsy Lane Campus, Headington, OXFORD, OX3 0BP