New Worlds for Geoscience Teaching: Using Online Games and Environments

Frank Wattenberg

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I would like to focus on the combination of Global Warming, Modeling and Simulation, and Collaborative Experiments both because this is the single most important job we face as earth system scientists and mathematicians and because it is a good venue in which to study the issues surrounding game-like environments and collaborative environments.

Here are some points I would like us to address

• Simulations should always include details of the models. Indeed, this should be the focus of students' attention. The presentation should not overstate the models. For example, a simple model based on a very idealized earth (e.g. only solar energy input and energy radiation through the atmosphere) should be presented as a sphere without details. A more complex model linking the atmosphere, land, and water masses should be represented by a an earth with correspondingly more detail. As we add details to the model -- for example, the role of vegetation -- the presentation should add details.

I'm one of the leaders of an effort to create and use models and gamelike simulations in STEM education.

What do you hope to learn from the workshop experience?

Share what we are all doing and talk about what works.

What specific aspects of on-line games and environments in geoscience education are you interested in discussing with other workshop participants?

The single most important problem we face is climate change and our understanding is largely dependent on earth system science modeling and simulation. Public policy decisions must be informed by a deep and rich understanding of the underlying models. For these reasons modeling and simulation is the center of my interest.

Frank's Poster (PowerPoint 7.9MB Apr19 08)