Digital Image Technology in Undergraduate Petrology Laboratories: A "Proof of Concept" Project in Siliciclastic Petrography

视觉内容的优势使岩石学成为多媒体教学模块的理想学科。我们从本科阶段的硅屑岩石学测试案例开始，探索数字图像技术在岩石学教学中的应用。一个“虚拟岩石学导师”正在设计中，让学生接触到与传统沉积岩石学实验室练习相当的图像和解释性内容。课程材料与现有的图像地图集（包括纸质和数字）有明显的不同，因为伴随着图像的互动式解释性内容密度很高；所提出的综合处理水平也与目前在万维网或CD上可获得的岩石学数据类型有很大的不同。在本项目中学习到的教程设计和构建的实际方面将应用于岩石学的所有领域，以及以图像形式利用数据的其他领域（例如，冶金学，组织学）。本科生和研究生都参与了教程的开发，使他们能够获得数字成像和多媒体创作方法的经验。本教程的初步申请和正式评估将在沉积岩本科课程的两个学期中进行（预计涉及120至160名学生）。这里提出的开发和评估任务被设想为一个更雄心勃勃的项目的第一步，该项目旨在创建本教程的完整版本，并最终建立一个基于德克萨斯大学奥斯汀分校大量、高度记录和维护良好的岩石学收藏品的岩石学图像数字图书馆。

Geology (42) The preeminence of visual content makes petrography an ideal subject for multimedia instructional modules. We are exploring the utility of digital image technology for teaching petrology, beginning with the test case of siliciclastic petrography at the undergraduate level. A 'virtual petrography tutor' is being designed to expose students to images and interpretive content comparable in amount to that included in traditional sedimentary petrography laboratory exercises. The curriculum materials differ markedly from existing image atlases (both paper copy and digital) in terms of the high density of interactive interpretive content that accompanies the images; the comprehensive level of treatment proposed is also a significant departure from the types of petrographic data currently available on the World Wide Web or on CD. Practical aspects of tutorial design and construction learned during this project will have application in all fields of petrology as well as in other fields which utilize data in the form of images (e.g., metallurgy, histology). Undergraduate and graduate students are participating in the development of the tutorial, allowing them to gain experience in methods of digital imaging and multi-media authoring. Initial application and formal assessment of the tutorial will take place during two semesters of an undergraduate course in sedimentary rocks (involving a projected 120 to 160 students). The development and assessment tasks proposed here are envisioned as the first step in a more ambitious project to create a full version of this tutorial for distribution and, ultimately, a digital library of petrographic images based on the large, highly documented, and well-maintained petrology collections at the University of Texas at Austin.