Development of Interactive Visualization Modules for Use in Geoscience Education

柯克比9809817可视化模块将被开发用于地球科学入门课程，作为课堂演示、实验室练习或个人教程。每个模块将由几个三维可视化和电子文本组成，它们可以很容易地组合或分离，以满足各种教育用途。学生和教师将能够交互地操作三维(通常是四维)的视觉组件。模块将在MacIntosh或IBM兼容的个人计算机上运行，可以通过互联网下载或以CD-ROM的形式分发。通过将模块转换为HTML格式，它们将在公共软件上运行，并不受未来互联网操作系统变化的影响。将在第一个夏天开发三个初始模块，并在学年期间进行传播和广泛测试。模块将分发给明尼苏达大学地球科学入门课程的2000多名学生和其他机构的教师。单元将在第二次开始时根据学生和教师的评估进行修改。此外，明尼苏达大学地质和地球物理系将在第二个夏天与当地小学和中学教师一起举办一系列研讨会，为大学预科课程开发模块版本。与大英百科全书拟议的合作项目将使这些模块立即提供给全国一半以上的大学和学院，这些大学和学院目前是大英百科全书的在线订阅者。将通过明尼苏达大学的服务器保持对模块的免费访问，该大学将保留对模块、文本和可视化的所有专有权。这些初始模块是一个试点计划。明尼苏达大学一直是在地球科学研究中使用计算机可视化技术的先驱机构。它现在将利用这一专业知识开发用于地球科学教育的材料。这一试点计划旨在证明输出、支持和传播模块的技术可行性，更重要的是确定如何通过广泛的课堂测试来最大限度地利用这些模块。将寻求额外的资金，以超越这一试点计划，进入更大的一系列模块，纳入更多的教师，扩大该计划在机构之间的界限，并让更多的本科生研究助理参与地球科学可视化。将举办一系列讲习班，以促进在地球科学教育(初级到研究生)中使用可视化技术，并促进各机构之间的可视化工作。

KIRKBY 9809817 Visualization modules will be developed for use in introductory Earth Science courses, as lecture demonstrations, laboratory exercises, or individual tutorials. Each module will consist of several three-dimensional visualizations and electronic text that can easily be combined or separated to fill a variety of educational uses. Students and instructors will be able to interactively manipulate the visual components in three, and often four, dimensions. Modules will run on either MacIntosh or IBM-compatible personal computers, and can be downloaded over the Internet or distributed as CD-ROMs. By translating the modules into HTML format, they will run on public software and be immune to future changes in Internet operating systems. Three initial modules will be developed the first summer that will be disseminated and extensively tested during the academic year. Modules will be distributed to over 2000 students in introductory geoscience courses at the University of Minnesota and to instructors at other institutions. Modules will be revised on the basis of student and instructor evaluations during the second start. In addition, the Department of Geology and Geophysics at the University of Minnesota will host a series of workshops the second summer with local elementary and secondary education teachers to develop module versions for pre-college levels. A proposed cooperative venture with Encyclopedia Britannica will make the modules immediately available to over half the nation's universities and colleges that are current subscribers to Encyclopedia Britannica On-line. Free access to the modules will be maintained through servers at the University of Minnesota, which will retain all proprietary rights to the modules, text and visualizations. These initial modules are a pilot program. The University of Minnesota has been a pioneering institute in using computer visualizations in geoscience research. It now will use this expertise to develop materials fo r geoscience education. This pilot program is designed to prove the technical feasibility of exporting, supporting, and disseminating the modules, and more importantly to determine how to maximize their potential use by extensive classroom testing. Additional funding will be pursued to move beyond this pilot program into a larger series of modules, to incorporate more faculty, expand the program across institutional lines, and involve more undergraduate research assistants in geoscience visualization. A series of workshops will be initiated to promote visualization use in geoscience education (elementary through graduate) and to facilitate visualization efforts between institutions.