Use of the Internet as a Platform for a Course on Global Change

Paper (J1.11) Prepared for the Fifth Symposium on Education, Annual Meeting of the American Meteorology Society, January 28 - February 2, 1996, Atlanta, Georgia

       USE OF THE INTERNET AS A PLATFORM FOR A COURSE ON   

                                     GLOBAL CHANGE 
 
           Eugene S. Takle* and Michael R. Taber
                  Iowa State University
                       Ames, Iowa

INTRODUCTION

We have experimented with the Internet as a platform for a course on Global Change. The course is taught with the conventional 3 hours of lecture per week but, in addition, has its own homepage (URL: http://www.iitap.iastate.edu/gcp/gcp.html). Here the student finds links to course information and grading, schedule of lectures, list of students enrolled with e-mail addresses, required reading, reference lists, student assignments, other related homepages, recent pertinent news releases, information on national and international global-change meetings, and a forum for exchanging ideas about teaching on the Internet. Some highlights of this technique are described in the following sections.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

The course starts with a survey of observations giving evidence that our environment is changing on global scales. Topics include trace gases in the troposphere, stratospheric ozone, global warming, deforestation, and desertification. Patterns of population growth and energy consumption are described, and implications of global change for plant physiology, landscape systems, and agriculture are discussed. Finally, the class addresses the economic, societal, and public policy implications of these changes. A key objective of the course is to demonstrate the interconnectedness of the earth system. A second objective is to instill in students the value of peer-reviewed literature on global-change issues. A third objective is to engage students in dialog among themselves and with outside experts on the economic, social, political, and ethical implications of these changes.

INFORMATION RETRIEVAL

Real-time access to a wide range of time sensitive material is perhaps the most powerful feature of the Internet. Harland Cleveland (1985) pointed out that information is a resource like oil or gold because by accumulating and effectively using it (i.e., extracting knowledge from it in the case of information), a person, group, or nation can gain a competitive advantage. Unlike oil or gold, however, information is a leaky resource that cannot be contained, and its value changes with time and as its availability changes. The Internet has made Cleveland's observation even more evident. The capability to quickly accumulate and process information and extract knowledge are at the core of developing a rapid and broad understanding, which is the goal of the educational process. Just as the computer has profoundly influenced our ability to use facts, so the Internet will profoundly affect how we create understanding. The course uses the Internet to link to a wide variety of sources of information. These include time-sensitive databases such as current global weather patterns, sea-surface, stratospheric ozone measurements, and greenness indices. Others include conference information (e.g., homepage for the UN Conference on Population and Development), authoritative modules assembled by government laboratories (El Nino modules of the Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory), and other information normally found in textbooks, but also available on the Web (e.g., geographic maps, ocean and atmospheric structure and circulation). The disposition of students to learn a concept increases if use is made of current data. We have tried where possible to use current data in pre- and post-lecture activities to demonstrate principles discussed in the lecture.

ELECTRONIC DIALOG

One capability that adds a unique dimension to Internet courses is an electronic dialog that enables students to add to (but not modify) databases accessible from the homepage. Students can enter assignments, questions, essays, literature searches, arguments, or other information into databases organized by the instructor. Access to these databases can be changed depending on the purpose of a particular database. The electronic dialog has the effects of (1) extending class discussion beyond the class period, (2) encouraging student interaction with the instructor outside of class, (3) allowing students to dialog with outside experts on a particular issue, (4) allowing the instructor to organize and monitor student interactive exercises, and (5) engaging the students in helping to find new information (on the Web or otherwise) suitable tor inclusion on the homepage. Examples of uses in the course are given below. Pre- and post-lecture exercises Some lectures have pre-lecture activities on the Internet that engage the students in making observations, thereby establishing an experiential base for the lecture material. These pre-lecture activities, both guidance for the activity and student responses, are closed at the time lecture begins as an incentive for students to prepare before class. A post-lecture activity leads the student to apply the concept from lecture to a new situation or connects the lecture to a future lecture topic. After the lecture, the pre-lecture materials may be available for viewing but not modifying. Student questions and observations Each lecture has an Internet page that allows students to pose questions or report something they have read relating to the topic. Responses may come from instructor, other students, or outside experts contacted specifically to address that issue. Student reports Students are required to read and summarize papers from the peer-reviewed literature. They also are required to write an essay on how global change relates to their particular discipline. Some but not all of these assignments are submitted over the Internet. Dialog on ethical issues Ethical issues relating to global change are posed by the instructor, and students are asked to respond to the stated issue or to respond by other students.

INTERACTIVE AUDIO/VIDEO

We also engaged in an audio/video dialog with a remote expert during the class period over the Internet by use of CU-SeeMe capability. An internationally known author discussed his recent book (excerpts of which had been read by students in advance) with students for about half an hour.

STUDENT REACTIONS

Students participating in the course Spring semester 1995 were given an extensive survey to assess their reaction to this type of instructional platform. (Not all functionalities previously listed were available at that time). Responses were generally favorable, especially to the electronic dialog on ethical issues and audio/video dialog with an international expert. Several impediments were cited, most notably the data transfer time over the Internet. Students also disliked reading more than about 1-2 pages of text off the computer screen, and preparing for exams was more difficult. Finally, 84% of students likely Ľvould connect to the homepage at least occasionally after graduation from the University, which offers a wide range of continuing education opportunities such as retaining connectivity with graduates Ľvho become K-12 teachers.

SUMMARY

We have experimented with the Internet as a means to improve the learning process for students and at the same time emphasize broader university goals such as global awareness, exposure to technology, and improvement in writing skills. Some advantages of an Internet-based course include making information more readily available, offering interactive student exercises, providing expanded accessibility, developing skills in public writing, giving students partial ownership of the course, and continuing contact with course alumni. The functionalities we have implemented extend the traditional paradigm of instructor/text as the core of the learning process to one that offers the student access to a much more extensive resource and functionality base and allows the student to regulate the rate of and connections for information flow to match his/her learning rate, style, and potential. Acknowledgements: Doug Fils of the International Institute of Theoretical and Applied Physics has provided invaluable assistance in establishing the advanced functions of the homepage, particularly the electronic dialog.

REFERENCES

Cleveland, Harland, 1985: The Knowledge Executive: Leadership in an Information Society. Truman Tally Books. 261 pp.

*Corresponding author address: E.S. Takle, 3010 Agronomy Hall, Iowa State Univ., Ames, IA 50011.