Wondering, Wandering, and Winnowing: the WWW and Mineralogy
Initial Publication Date: May 9, 2008
Summary
The purpose of this laboratory exercise is to introduce the student to Earth Science resources on the World Wide Web (WWW) and in particular provide access to material which can be useful throughout a typical Mineralogy course. One way to use this lab would be during the first week of classes (typically immediately after Labor Day at Wisconsin) prior to having covered enough material in lecture to have a "real" lab. If you don't have access to a computer lab so that all the students in a lab section can work on this at once (singly or in pairs) or if you have some other favorite first lab, one could introduce this exercise and plan to have the students do much of this on their own.
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Context
Audience
This activity is designed for an undergraduate required course in mineralogy and is generally for sophomore or junior level students.
Skills and concepts that students must have mastered
Students should be familiar with searching on the world wide web.
How the activity is situated in the course
This activity is a stand-alone exercise, but is part of a larger volume of classroom and laboratory activities from "Teaching Mineralogy," a workbook published by the Mineralogical Society of America, Brady, J., Mogk, D. W., and Perkins, D., (editors), 1997,406 pp.
Goals
Content/concepts goals for this activity
This activity introduces students to Earth Science resources available on the World Wide Web with an emphasis on mineralogical concepts.
Higher order thinking skills goals for this activity
Other skills goals for this activity
This activity aids in students' ability to search the World Wide Web for useful and accurate mineralogical information.
Description of the activity/assignment
The purpose of this laboratory exercise is to introduce the student to Earth Science resources on the World Wide Web (WWW) and in particular provide access to material which can be useful throughout a typical Mineralogy course. One way to use this lab would be during the first week of classes (typically immediately after Labor Day at Wisconsin) prior to having covered enough material in lecture to have a "real" lab. If you don't have access to a computer lab so that all the students in a lab section can work on this at once (singly or in pairs) or if you have some other favorite first lab, one could introduce this exercise and plan to have the students do much of this on their own.
Determining whether students have met the goals
Students have met the goals of this exercise if they have answered the thought questions completely and accurately thereby demonstrating that they successfully collected information from the WWW.
More information about assessment tools and techniques.Teaching materials and tips
Other Materials
- Assignment description, hand outs, and instructor's notes. (Microsoft Word 53kB May3 08)
- Assignment description, hand outs, and instructor's notes. (Acrobat (PDF) 59kB May3 08)
Supporting references/URLs
Brady, J., Mogk, D. W., and Perkins, D., (editors), 1997, Teaching Mineralogy, a workbook published by the Mineralogical Society of America, 406 pp.
Mineralogical Society of America - become a member today!
Download activity for full WWW address list.
Mineralogical Society of America - become a member today!
Download activity for full WWW address list.