In geology, we have to deal with several aspects of the earth, varying from identifying minerals under a petrological microscope to rock structures such as faults and folds, besides recognising topographic features like mountains and valleys; and on most occasions imagining them in 3-dimensions. This poses a challenge, both for the students as well as the teachers. The ongoing pandemic has further made matters worse due to limited physical interaction between students and teachers in the classroom. This has compelled us to hunt for innovative teaching tools. Here below is a list of a few virtual tools which we have found useful for teaching geological concepts in online teaching mode.
Visible Geology allows you to create geologic block diagrams in three dimensions in your browser. You can add geologic beds, folds, dikes, faults, and titling events and then explore your geology on different topographies. You can create cross-sections and boreholes in seconds, and explore data on an interactive stereonet!
Visible geology is one of the tools that students love to interact with. It was used to cover topics in structural geology such as the concept of strike and dip of strata, geologic maps, inferring geological history from geologic block models, the study of effects of topography on outcrop patterns. Go ahead and build your own geologic models with this tool.
The Virtual Microscope (VM) for Earth Sciences is primarily an Open Educational Resource (OER). The VM project aims to make a step-change in the teaching of Earth Sciences by broadening access to rock collections that are currently held in museums, universities and other institutions around the world. The Virtual Microscope allows users to examine and explore minerals and microscopic features of rocks, helping them to develop classification and identification skills without the need for high-cost microscopes and thin section preparation facilities.
Virtual Microscope has been a lifesaver as far as optical mineralogy is concerned. The potential of this platform as a very effective teaching tool for the identification of minerals and rocks in thin section is immense. As faculty, we need to frame the right questions that will challenge our students to get the correct answers. This platform offers a wide range of virtual rocks specimen on an interactive platform that is as good as working on a real microscope but of course without the risk of mishandling the equipment. Go ahead and explore a variety of rocks specimens and thin sections on the platform.
Google Earth allows us, to explore the whole world from above with satellite imagery and 3D terrain of the entire globe and 3D buildings in hundreds of cities around the world and to see cities and landscapes from various angles.
The power of google earth as an easy to use detailed virtual globe with high-quality data cannot be overemphasized this combined with its added functionality such as interactive dynamic KML files, image overlay, basic GIS functionality, Timeline imagery, measure tool and 3D view makes it especially useful for covering various topics in geology. We have used google earth to cover concepts in Earth dynamics (e.g. Plate tectonics), natural hazards (e.g. distribution of earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides etc.), Marine geology (Ocean profiles, Bathymetryetc.), Remote sensing(e.g. Visual image interpretation). Good earth offers endless possibilities for teaching geosciences. So go ahead and try.
Thank you for reading and please feel free to share how technology has helped advance your understanding of geology? in the comments below
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