My STS 201 students utilizing iPads to take notes/images/video in El Yunque National Rainforest, Puerto Rico, October 2012

My name is Laura Guertin (my students call me “Dr. G”), and I am a Professor of Earth Science at Penn State Brandywine. As the Brandywine campus does not have a four-year degree in Earth Science, I teach general education science (or GN) courses for students not pursuing a science degree. I am very interested in exploring how new and innovative technologies can enhance my teaching and student learning in introductory-level Earth Science/geoscience/geography courses for non-science majors, and how this technology can enhance student science literacy, information literacy, and digital literacy.

I welcome technology in my classroom. There exists a wide-range of technology tools that can help facilitate my instructional methods and student learning goals. However, I approach technology with caution. Technology should not be used just because it is there. I believe that a thoughtful exploration of overarching and secondary course goals and objectives needs to occur before a piece of software or an audio/video recording device is integrated into a course.

In addition to their scientific literacy, I want my students to increase their digital literacy, where they learn how to use various tools appropriate for an intended academic purpose (I am referring to tools beyond traditional science laboratory equipment). I want my students to develop a good tone and speaking style when recording a podcast to promote awareness of global water issues. I want my students to utilize a vocabulary appropriate to my discipline when posting on an online discussion board about their reactions to a satellite image showing wildfire damage. I want my students to be aware of copyright laws and the Creative Commons license so they can create video documentaries or their own version of a “TED talk” on innovative uses of solar energy that can be posted online without any legal violations. (Examples of instructional methods and student projects in my courses can be found at the TWT Examples page).

My current passion is to find more effective uses of existing technology tools to enhance the geographic as well as scientific literacy of students. As global citizens, it is more important than ever for students to realize where they are in relation to other people, lands, and cultures. The National Geographic-Roper Public Affairs Survey (2006) emphasizes this point even further. Their survey of 510 18-24 year olds in America showed that only 50% could accurately locate New York on a map. On a map of the Middle East, 63% could not find Iraq or Saudi Arabia. Three quarters of those surveyed could not find Indonesia on a map, even after the tsunami disaster.

Certainly, being a global citizen is more than being able to locate oneself on a map. But once a student has a better understanding of spatial distributions and relationships, then the student can move on to apply additional knowledge from the arts, humanities, political science, business, economics, etc., to then have a well-rounded view of the world, armed and ready to enter discussions, debates, and decision-making. An interdisciplinary approach and view of the world is critical for our students, and technology can help us make that happen.

What technologies could assist with this situation? I have been actively utilizing Google Earth and Google Maps in my classroom, a free program that pulls together satellite imagery from across the world, enhanced with layers of data for further their global exploration. I believe that by having students customize placemarks and information in Google Earth/Maps, instead of just using the tool for show-and-tell, students take a more active role in determining places and spaces. Another technological tool that I have added to my teaching toolkit is GigaPan, a process that allows the user to create high-resolution panoramas. I am beginning to have my students explore existing GigaPan images for virtual fieldtrips to places I would never be able to take them. These images help the students obtain quality information from field sites for guided inquiry exercises and undergraduate research projects.

In conclusion, I wish to emphasize that it is critical to begin with the goals of a course. What do I want my students to learn? What is the essential content knowledge and skill set students should leave my course with? Then, after clearly defining these goals, the next step is to explore the wide range of technology tools available to see, from a teaching and learning standpoint, what can assist me and my students in achieving those goals.

GfK NOP. (2006). Final Report: National Geographic – Roper Public Affairs Survey, 2006 Geographic Literacy Study. New York. 89 pages.

To explore additional examples of how I utilize technology for my teaching and student learning, please visit Dr. G’s Teaching with Technology ePortfolio.