Introduction to Rocks and Minerals for Env Sci and Geography students Dr Clive Roberts School of Applied Sciences University of Wolverhampton

WOLF Wolverhampton On-Line Learning Framework Similar to Blackboard Not all modules have been “Wolfed” Some reluctance amongst staff BUT – ideal for podcasting

The students Typically local to the West Midlands Significant number have been relatively low achievers at school So low esteem and low confidence Also some mature students, who have been out of the system for a while Need lots of support and reinforcement Tend to “forget” baseline knowledge Time is at a premium – conflicts of work

The Idea Geological skills are need by a wide variety of students on different Awards Not too much time devoted to geology “Holism” rules OK High percentage of fieldwork Basic identification of rocks and minerals Required on several modules Identification in the field needs practice 1 Lab practical at the moment Podcast could be used to re-visit concepts

The Podcast Could easily sit in WOLF Would be a combination of video clips, photos, microscope images and flowcharts Supplemented by audio 2 separate podcasts Mineral identification Classification of rock types

The Problem No experience of podcasting! Several staff in other Faculties have used podcasts But some are Mac-based (Garage?) Must be Windows-based Low budget Could form the basis of a pedagogic paper Good news for the Dean!