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Geoscience Education Division Newsletter, February 2008
From your Newsletter Editor
Greetings everyone! I'll keep my comments very brief, as there is LOTS of news in this
edition, including pieces from the GED chair and past chair. I would, however, like to
express my gratitude for the Distinguished Service Award that I received at the GSA Annual
Meeting in Denver (see news item below). It was so flattering, especially to receive
recognition for something that I just plain enjoy doing: acting as your newsletter editor.
Thank you! I would also like to add that Barb Echohawk at GSA headquarters has a LOT to do
with the final versions of these newsletters, so many thanks to her as well!
As always, if you have items you would like included in the next newsletter, please e-mail
them to me at mhafen@cas.usf.edu.
Mark Hafen
Department of Geography
University of South Florida
Table of Contents
Warm February Greetings from the 2008 GED Chair …
… and Notes from the 2008 GED Past Chair
GED Seeks Nominations for 2009 Division Second Vice-Chair
Internships Available in Scientific Drilling
Two Opportunities in Science Education
History of Science Syllabus Sampler Submissions Sought
History of Geology Division Student Awards
GED Gets Kudos from GSA Council (we so rock…)
The Spirit of Geology: The ESPRIT Online Community
Do You Know an Outstanding Earth Science Teacher?
EarthScope Needs You!
Be a GSA Fellow: You'll be in Good Company!
Start Planning for GSA 2008!
Field Geology: Far Afield
Help GSA Reward Young Scientists
Cochise Virtual Geology Museum Keeps Growing
Warm February Greetings from the 2008 GED Chair …
Dear GED Members:
It was a pleasure interacting with many of the members in Denver last October at the GSA
GED business meeting, the GED/NAGT Geosciences Education luncheon, and in several GSA
technical sessions. I would like to take this opportunity to introduce you to the 2008 GED
management board, highlight division accomplishments of 2007, and to alert you to several
GED opportunities and initiatives for this year.
The current management board and other important contacts:
Chair: Kristen St. John,
stjohnke@jmu.edu
First Vice-Chair: Elizabeth Nagy-Shadman,
eanagy-shadman@pasadena.edu
Second Vice-Chair: Eric Pyle,
pyleej@jmu.edu
Secretary-Treasurer: William (Bill) Slattery,
william.slattery@wright.edu
Past Chair: Heather Petcovic,
heather.petcovic@wmich.edu
Newsletter Editor: Mark Hafen,
mhafen@cas.usf.edu
Website Manager: Hugh Rance,
hughrance@rcn.com
GSA Council Liaison: Nancy McMillan,
nmcmilla@nmsu.edu
Rep. to GSA Geoscience Ed. Committee: Virginia (Ginny) Peterson,
petersvi@gvsu.edu
Highlights from 2007:
- We are currently the 5th largest division of GSA, with 1090 members.
- Division finances are in excellent condition, with a balance of
$30,277.
- An impressive 267 abstracts in geoscience education were submitted to
the 2007 GSA Annual Meeting, the 2nd largest number by discipline. In addition, GED
sponsored 14 education-related sessions, 1 K-12 field trip, and 1 workshop at the Annual
Meeting.
- The Biggs Award was approved by GSA Council as the GSA GED named
Division Award beginning in 2008. Congratulations to Joe Elkins, Bowling Green State
University, 2007 recipient of the Biggs Award.
- Student Travel Awards were initiated by the Board this year to support attendance at the GSA Annual Meeting for Division student members who were presenting work in the field of geoscience education. Six awards of $250 each were made on the basis of merit and financial need to:
o Andrea Pearce, "Developing a Watershed Field Course to Inspire Interdisciplinary Learning"
o Dorien McGee, "Contribution of Spreadsheets Across the Curriculum Modules to Undergraduate Geology Courses at the University of South Florida - History and New Directions"
o Jeffrey Barney, "Assessing the Efficacy of Student Response Technology in an Ocean Science Course"
o Juli Moore, "A Preliminary Geocognitive Study Used to Analyze Spatial Visual Learning Between Geology Majors and Non-Majors"
o Leigha King, "Gender Differences and Results of the Geoscience Concept Inventory on Field Based Programs"
o Mark Howe, "Teaching Physical Geology to the Visually Disabled: A Revised Lab Manual and Teaching Guide"
- A Distinguished Service Award was initiated this year in order to recognize a member who has given outstanding service to the Division. The first recipient of this award is Mark Hafen, GED newsletter editor (see below).
GED Opportunities and Initiatives for 2008:
- Time Sensitive - Deadline February 1, 2008: Starting this year, the
Biggs Award for Excellence in Earth Science Teaching will be the Geoscience Education
Division's named award. Division-named awards are among the most prominent awards given by
GSA. The Biggs Award recognizes innovative and effective teaching in college-level earth
science. Earth-science instructors and faculty members from any academic institution
engaged in undergraduate education who have been teaching full time for 10 years or fewer
are eligible. (Part-time teaching is not counted in the 10-years-or-fewer requirement.)
Both peer- and self-nominations are accepted for this award. The US$750 award is made
possible as a result of support from the Donald and Carolyn Biggs Fund, the GSA Geoscience
Education Division, and GSA's Science, Education, and Outreach Programs. An additional
travel reimbursement of up to US$500 is available to the recipient to enable him or her to
attend the award presentation at the GSA annual meeting. To access the nomination form,
please go to http://www.geosociety.org/awards/biggs.htm. All nomination material should be
sent to Eric J. Pyle pyleej@jmu.edu, James Madison University, Department of Geology &
Environmental Science, MSC 6903, Harrisonburg, VA 22807 by February 1, 2008.
- GSA is very interested in greater integration of the Divisions into Section Meeting programming. I have agreed to be the point person for GED on this initiative. In that capacity, I am very interested in member suggests on:
(1) activity formats that might be especially strong ways for GED to contribute to Section Meetings (e.g., Division sponsorship, case studies, combined field trip/technical sessions, short courses or workshops, expert lectures, student mentoring or other student activities, etc.)
(2) geoscience education topics of regional interest, and
(3) possible avenues for outreach to local communities, educational institutions, civic/governmental leaders, and the media.
Success on this initiative will result from strong member input and dialog, so I encourage you to contact me stjohnke@jmu.edu (540-568-6675) with your ideas and suggestions. I would greatly appreciate it.
- Division Website Make-Over: If you haven't visited the GED website, it is time to take a look. Go to: http://gsaged.org/. Hugh Rance, website manager, has been making some changes in content and appearance of our division website with the goal of improving communication and serving the members better. Let us know what you think. Please send your comments and suggestions to Hugh hughrance@rcn.com and Kristen stjohnke@jmu.edu.
On behalf of the current management board, we are looking forward to serving the GED membership in the coming year. I encourage you to contact us with any questions, concerns, or ideas.
Kind Regards,
Kristen St. John
Chair, Geoscience Education Division
[TOC]
…and Notes from the 2008 GED Past Chair
 Dear GED Members: Congratulations to our very own GED newsletter editor, Mark Hafen. Mark is the first
recipient of the Geoscience Education Division Distinguished Service Award, which was
presented at the GED Business Meeting held during the GSA Annual Meeting. The GED
management board created this award in 2007 to honor a member who has given outstanding
service to the Division. As our longstanding newsletter editor, we felt that Mark was most
deserving of this award. Please offer Mark a big "thank you" for his efforts! Mark Hafen |
We hope you had a chance to see the new Geoscience Education Division poster on display at the GSA Annual Meeting. Earlier this summer, we put out a call for photo contributions featuring geoscience education in many venues, and GED members responded by submitted over 100 photos for consideration. Of these, the management board selected a dozen photos to appear on the new poster. We would like to thank the following GED members, whose photos appear on the 2007 poster:
Steve Bennett, Paulette Bond, Mark Hafen, Rich Hengst, Daphne Lapointe, Mark Leckie, Tibi Marin, Barb Tewksbury, Suzanne Traub-Metlay, and Rob Turner
In addition to the contributions of these members, we would also like to thank the following GED members for contributing photos for consideration:
Don Barrie, Bob Butler, Bill Elliott, Gail Gibson, Mark Howe, Jim Kipp, Steve Mattox, Steve May, Kata McCarville, Thomas McGuire, Nancy Mcmillan, Marli Bryant Miller, Ray Nance, Shelley Olds , Antoneta Seghedi, Todd Radenbaugh, and Laura Serpa
Thanks again to everyone who participated!
Julie Libarkin and I hosted an informal meeting of the Geoscience Education Research
Interest Group during the GSA Annual Meeting in October. The interest group meeting was
sponsored by the Geoscience Education Division and was financially supported by the Center
for Research on College Science Teaching and Learning at Michigan State University and the
Mallinson Institute for Science Education at Western Michigan University.
About 60 participants, including faculty, graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and
researchers, attended the meeting in order to meet, mingle, network, and share ideas about
ongoing geoscience education research. We also had several international colleagues in
attendance, including researchers from Canada and the UK.
One immediate outcome of the meeting was the establishment of a Geoscience Education
Research list-serve. If you were unable to attend the meeting at GSA but would like to
join the list-serve, simply send an email to
listserv@list.msu.edu . The body of the email
should contain the SUBSCRIBE command: SUBSCRIBE GEOED-RESEARCH firstname lastname
Anyone interested in geocognition or geoscience education research should join; we look
forward to learning from many new conversations!
Heather Petcovic
Past Chair, Geoscience Education Division
[TOC]
GED Seeks Nominations for 2009 Division Second Vice-Chair
The Geoscience Education Division of the Geological Society of America is seeking
candidates for the position of second vice-chair to join the executive board (2008 Chair
– Kristen St. John; 2009 Chair, Elizabeth Nagy-Shadman; 2009 First Vice-Chair, Eric
Pyle; Secretary-Treasurer, Bill Slattery). The job of second vice-chair entails executive
board planning work and supervising the Biggs Award and other Division award processes.
The second vice-chair moves up each succeeding year to first vice-chair, chair, and past
chair, so the position is a four-year commitment. Attendance at the GSA Annual Meeting is
strongly recommended during all four years of service. It's a great way to get to know
your colleagues in the geoscience education world and to learn more about how GSA works.
If you are interested in running for this position, or if you would like to nominate
someone else, please respond to Heather Petcovic, GED Past Chair, by June 1, 2008:
heather.petcovic@wmich.edu . We will request a brief bio and statement of interest from
each candidate on the ballot. Elections will be held in June, with the new member
officially joining the board at the 2008 GSA Annual Meeting.
[TOC]
Internships Available in Scientific Drilling
DOSECC (Drilling, Observation and Sampling of the Earth's Continental Crust) internships
promote involvement in projects where drilling has provided data and materials for study.
Graduate and undergraduate students, as well as primary and secondary school teachers, are
invited to apply. Interns can undertake research related to ongoing or past drilling
efforts. Internship funding will be available in the summer of 2008 and budgets of $2000
to $5000 are appropriate. Applications must be received by March 1, 2008 and awardees will
be announced April 1, 2008. In the past, a high percentage of applicants have been
successful. Application details are listed on our website:
www.dosecc.org . For additional
information, contact a DOSECC representative at a member institution, or e-mail DOSECC's
Education and Outreach Manager, David Zur at dzur@dosecc.org .
David Zur
DOSECC
[TOC]
Two Opportunities in Science Education
Morehead State University invites applications for two tenure track, nine month
appointments as Assistant or Associate Professors with expertise in:
1) Earth/Space Science Education, or
2) Physical Science Education
in the Department of Physical Sciences beginning August 7, 2008.
Responsibilities: Teach science education content and methods courses to pre-service and
in-service candidates for preK-12 teaching at the undergraduate and graduate levels; teach
at off-campus MSU centers, online, and through ITV; advise and mentor science education
students; maintain an active scholarly agenda; and participate in service to students, the
department, the university, schools, community, and professional organizations.
Qualifications: 1) Doctorate in science education and Master's degree or equivalent in an
earth or space science discipline, or Doctorate in an earth or space science discipline
and Master's degree or equivalent in science education. 2) Doctorate in science education
and Master's degree or equivalent in a physical science discipline, or Doctorate in a
physical science discipline and Master's degree or equivalent in science education. ABDs
will be considered if completion of the doctorate degree is by August 2008.
Desired Qualifications: Successful K-12 teaching experience.
Review of applications will begin on January 30, 2008 and will continue until positions
are filled.
To apply, visit: www.moreheadstate.edu/novushrapps to complete the MSU Application for
Employment and upload a letter of application, curriculum vitae, transcripts, a cover
letter addressing suitability with regard to responsibilities and qualifications for the
position, a statement of teaching philosophy, three letters of reference, and transcripts.
The online application must be completed; however, supporting documents can be mailed to:
Office of Human Resources, Attn: 2 Sciences, Morehead State University, HM 101, Morehead,
KY 40351. Files can be attached to your MSU Application for Employment after submitted by
visiting the Applicant Home Page and clicking on "Manage Uploads." Morehead
State University is an equal opportunity/affirmative action educator and employer with a
strong commitment to community engagement.
Jen O'Keefe
Morehead State University
j.okeefe@moreheadstate.edu
[TOC]
History of Science Syllabus Sampler Submissions Sought
The History of Science Syllabus Sampler volumes 1 (1992) and 2 (2001) have provided an
invaluable resource to faculty members wishing to extend, enrich, and improve their
approaches to history of science in the classroom. The Committee on Education announces
the creation of a third sampler volume, building on and updating the strong tradition
established by Henry Steffens, editor of Samplers I and II.
The third volume will be an online, rather than a print or "hardcopy" project.
This will allow the syllabi to be readily available and easily cross-indexed. It will also
eliminate printing and shipping costs and will allow for the inclusion of many more
syllabi than a print version could accommodate.
The Sampler III project will include syllabi and syllabi sections for three broad
categories of courses:
- Majors: History of Science Courses for History of Science Majors
- Minors: History of Science Courses as Enrichment in Other Majors
- Harmonics: History of Science Content for Non-History of Science Courses
Submissions will be evaluated by a referee committee. Those selected will be published as
PDF documents accompanied by brief statements on course philosophy and organization by
their authors. The deadline for submissions is 30 June 2008.
Please consider submitting your own syllabi and encourage your colleagues, teachers, and
students to submit their own.
All inquiries and submissions should be directed to the Editor: Julie R. Newell, HSS
Committee on Education Chair 2007-08, jnewell@spsu.edu.
Julie Newell
Southern Polytechnic State University (Georgia)
[TOC]
History of Geology Division Student Awards
The GSA History of Geology Division is soliciting proposals for a student award for the
amount of $500. The selected paper will be given at the GSA Annual Meeting for that year.
This award, established in 2004, is made possible by a bequest from the estate of Mary C.
Rabbitt. Consideration will be given to both undergraduate and graduate students provided
the person is a student in good standing at the time of application; the presentation at
the GSA Annual Meeting may take place after graduation. Both oral and poster presentations
are acceptable, but oral presentations are preferred. Faculty advisor(s) may be listed as
second author(s), but not as the lead author of the paper. The proposed paper may be, but
is not limited to: (1) A paper in the history of geology; or (2) A literature review of
ideas for a technical work or thesis/dissertation; or (3) Some imaginative aspect of the
history of geology we have not thought of before.
The award consists of a plaque and a check for $500 presented at the History of Geology
Division luncheon, and the student will present the winning paper in the History of
Geology Division disciplinary session at the next GSA Annual Meeting. It is open to all
students regardless of discipline, provided the proposed paper is related to the history
of a geological idea/person, etc. After the applications have been received and reviewed
by the Award Committee, the winner will be notified. The winner should formally submit
his/her abstract for the next GSA Annual Meeting and then register for that meeting in
order to present his or her paper at the History of Geology Division disciplinary session.
A ticket to the History of Geology luncheon will be provided for the student and a guest.
The $500 award and plaque will be presented and the student will be recognized at the
annual luncheon. If there are multiple authors, the cash award will be presented to the
senior author, and further distribution is up to that person.
Proposal guidelines and application forms are available from the Division website at
http://gsahist.org , or if there are any questions about the award, please contact the
Division Secretary-Treasurer, Chris Schuberth,
kyanite23@verizon.net. Nominees do not have
to be members of the History of Geology Division or members of the Geological Society of
America.
Due date for proposals and application is May 1 each year, so that the proposal content
can be reviewed and the selection made for the award in time to meet the official GSA
deadline. Also in this way, the GSA abstract can, perhaps, be refined. The Division award
committee will make the selection.
Chris Schuberth
History of Geology Division
[TOC]
GED Gets Kudos from GSA Council (we so rock…)
The Geological Society of America thrives because of the work done by its members,
especially in the divisions and sections. This is particularly true of the Geoscience
Education Division, and I hope you all know that your work is deeply appreciated. We can
all tell a multitude of stories of the misconceptions that exist in the general public
about the Earth and Earth processes. The development of a scientifically literate
citizenship—and geoscientifically literate as well—is a goal that will take all
of us pulling together to achieve.
GSA's Geoscience Education Division plays a key role in this challenge, because the
Division membership includes geoscientists from all disciplines, joining together to
improve the nation's understanding of our planet, its history, and its resources. As the
Division plans for 2008, be encouraged by knowing that GSA considers your work invaluable.
Please don't hesitate to contact me at nmcmilla@nmsu.edu if there is anything I can do to
pave your way.
Nancy J. McMillan
GSA Council Liaison to the Geoscience Education Division
[TOC]
The Spirit of Geology: The ESPRIT Online Community
The ESPRIT listserv began nearly two decades ago in New York State with a clunky IBM
product called PSINET (people sharing information network). This slow, modem-based tool
has grown into what is probably the most active geoscience education network in the world.
There are currently about 1500 participants in most states and many foreign countries.
The physical location of the ESPRIT listserv is at Oneonta College in New York State and
moderated by Dr. Jim Ebert. This is not an actively moderated list so anyone can post
messages. But Jim and the more active members do a good job of keeping us focused on
common educational needs. Participation has grown from a few discussions a week into about
20-50 messages a day. (Those who have a "day job" learn to hit the delete key
– a lot.)
Discussions of teaching resources dominate the email traffic. A question of "Where do
I find…" quickly draws many responses both on and off the public list. For
example, recent discussions have included sharing web sites, dealing with student and
parent Creationists, new classroom technology, and sequencing Earth science. A free DVD of
time lapse clips of tides on the Bay of Fundy was offered. A number of people with
research degrees regularly contribute.
Some listees comment that this has been their most important in-service resource ever.
This network helps connect many isolated individuals, especially new teachers or those who
are the only geoscience person in their schools. It has even led to group projects and
people visiting one another sight unseen.For those who don't mind the high volume of traffic, this resource can be a great vehicle
for professional development and a source of shared expertise. Subscription/unsubscription
is easy and free at
http://employees.oneonta.edu/ebertjr/listserv.html (bookmark that URL
so you can sign off when the traffic is unwelcome, such as when you'll be away from email
for days or weeks).
An informal group of listserv members (right) who gathered for several days of field experiences in the Adirondack Mountains of New York. Most came hundreds of miles and stayed at Marion Weaver's (second from left) Adirondack farmhouse. |
The image to the left is from one of our field stops. This shows two of our group at Saratoga Springs Stromatolite fossils location. (Modern algal blooms are found in tidal pools of Western Australia.) |
The image to the right is of us examining flow structures and mineral segregations in an exposure along the upper Hudson River. |
Tom McGuire
GED Member
[TOC]
Do You Know an Outstanding Earth Science Teacher?
The Geoscience Education Division recently voted to actively support the Outstanding Earth
Science Teacher award program, run by the National Association of Geoscience Teachers, by
providing complimentary memberships to OEST Section winners. NAGT would also like to
encourage Geoscience Education Division members to become active in the program by seeking
out and nominating outstanding earth science teachers in their local region. A full
description of the program - and a copy of the nomination form - can be found online at
http://www.nagt.org/nagt/programs/oest.html .
Please note that both formal and informal educators at the K-12 level are eligible and
that nominees are not required to teach 100% earth science. As long as a teacher spends a
significant amount of class time on earth science topics, and does an excellent job in the
classroom, they can be nominated and will receive full consideration.
John R. Wagner
Clemson University
[TOC]
EarthScope Needs You!
As the EarthScope MREFC (Major Research Equipment and Facilities Construction) phase
approaches completion, the advisory structure for the EarthScope program is being revised
to focus on its scientific
goals. With this letter to the EarthScope community, we solicit nominations to populate
the committees and working groups comprising the EarthScope advisory structure.
- EarthScope Steering Committee (ESSC), assisted by the EarthScope
National Office (ESNO), will be the liaison between NSF and the EarthScope science
community, including coordination
with other related E&O activities.
- EarthScope Cyber Infrastructure Subcommittee (ECISC) will provide
advice for the continuing development of EarthScope cyberinfrastructure (data, data
products, and information access and availability), including coordination with related
cyberinfrastructure efforts.
- Thematic Working Groups (TWG) are being established for each of the EarthScope science themes. The TWGs are responsible for advocating for, communicating results of, and coordinating scientific advances.
For more information on the charge and current membership of each of these committees,
descriptions of the TWGs and to nominate individuals for membership on these committees,
please see http://www.earthscope.org/about_us . Please include contact information and a
brief biographical summary with nominations. Self-nominations are welcomed.
Nominations were due this year by January 10, 2008. A nominating committee chaired by
current ESSC member Brad Hacker will provide the ESSC and NSF with recommendations for new
committee and working group members by mid-February. We anticipate that a call for
nominations will be issued annually.
EarthScope will need broad participation from the geoscience research community to fulfill
its promise. Please do your part!
Robert J. Lillie
Oregon State University
[Editor's Note: the deadline for 2008 nominations passed before this newsletter could be
published. However as noted, a call for nominations will be issued annually.]
[TOC]
Be a GSA Fellow: You'll be in Good Company!
In an attempt to stimulate GSA Fellowship nominations and increase participation from the
membership, GSA is actively soliciting nominations through its Divisions and Sections. The
goal is to identify GSA Members who have not been nominated in the past and are deserving
of Fellowship. This endeavor is supported by the Committee on Membership and the GSA
Council.
We ask that your group identify colleagues in your field who are deserving of Fellowship
by encouraging Fellows in your Division to make nominations. This can be accomplished by
making this an agenda item, by placing nomination information on your website, or by
contacting colleagues through your newsletters or other communiqués. As an example, the
Hydrogeology Division has a page on their website
http://gsahydrodiv.unl.edu/GSAFellowship.htm that encourages nominations within their
field. This Division successfully nominates 10-15 new Fellows each year.
To help facilitate this task, we have attached a spreadsheet of GSA Fellows in each
Division to help your Division determine if there are individuals who are not on this list
that are deserving of GSA Fellowship.
Thank you in advance for your support of GSA Fellowship. If you have any questions or
comments, please do not hesitate to contact myself at the below email or phone number, or
Diane Lorenz Olsen, Program Officer of GSA Grants, Awards, and Recognition at
dlorenz@geosociety.org or 303-357-1028.
Fellowship Nominations are due 1 February 2008. General information can be found at
http://www.geosociety.org/grants/ and specific nomination information can be located at
http://www.geosociety.org/members/fellow.htm .
Pat Kilner
Director of Membership Development
Geological Society of America
[Editor's Note: Below is a list of your fellow GED members, listed in chronological order
according to when they became GSA Fellows.]
[TOC]
Start Planning for GSA 2008!
Fall 2008 opportunity...
Follow your News Year's resolution to plan ahead! This session, sponsored by Geoscience Ed
Division, NAGT, GSA Geoinformatics Division, and GSA Div of Geology and Society will be
looking for contributors:
Propagating Geoinformatics and Virtual Globe Resources into the K-12 Environment:
Integrating Spatial Earth System Data with Classroom Science for a Future Workforce
Cathy Connor and Anupma Prakash are session organizers.
Cathy Connor
University Alaska Southeast
[TOC]
Field Geology: Far Afield
The Faculty of Earth Sciences at China University of Geosciences (CUG) in Wuhan, China,
and the Department of Geological Sciences at the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA)
are collaborating to develop a field geology course to be held in China.
This course will be open to both undergraduate and graduate students in the United States
of America. We plan to offer this course in the summer of 2009. This course will build
upon current collaborations between these institutions, specifically Dr. Zuoxun Zeng
(structural geology) at CUG zuoxun.zeng@126.com and Dr. Stuart Birnbaum (sedimentology) at
UTSA stuart.birnbaum@utsa.edu .
Stuart Birnbaum
University of Texas at San Antonio
[TOC]
Help GSA Reward Young Scientists
VOLUNTEER TO BE A JUDGE! GSA provides three special awards for earth science project
excellence at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair. We are seeking judges
for this prestigious event, to be held in Atlanta, Georgia, May 14-16, 2008. There are no
funds for this position, so we are looking for GSA members living near or willing to
travel to Atlanta and donate their time. If you are interested in this fascinating and
rewarding volunteer activity, please contact Chris McLelland at
educator@geosociety.org or
303-357-1082.
Chris McLelland
GSA Distinguished Earth Science Educator in Residence
[TOC]
Cochise Virtual Geology Museum Keeps Growing
The Cochise College Geology Home Page is now also the Virtual Geology Museum. This
educational geology website has grown tremendously this past year. There are now over 7700
photos of minerals, rocks, fossils,
gems, and meteorites, copyright free for non-commercial educational uses. In addition,
there are now more than 160 web pages created by Cochise College students on a wide
variety of geology topics; these web pages are excellent mini-lectures.
The Bibliography of Arizona Geology continues to grow. Virtual geology field trips to
Catalina Island, California, Mount Saint Helens, and Santorini in Greece have been added.
"Opal's Pals" is a new feature that consists of a collection of 128 geology
cartoons to help spice up your lectures. After early February, 2008, a new collection of
photos from the Tucson gem and mineral shows will be added to the photographic
collections.
The fastest means of locating these websites is to on Google and search for either
"cochise geology" or "virtual geology museum". If you would like see
new geology topics added to the website or would like to contribute your geology photos to
this project, please contact me at wellerr@cochise.edu . There have been over 1.5 million
page views from visitors in 176 countries to the Cochise Geology Home Page since October
2005.
Roger Weller
Cochise College
[TOC]