Ecology On-Line
Ecology On-Line serves three purposes
at Colorado State University. One, it provides the core content, course
administration, and testing functions for the author's lecture course in
the Fundamentals of Ecology at CSU. Second, it is an Internet based distance
learning course in basic ecology. And, third, it is the ecological basis
of a less rigorous continuing education course called Ecology and Ecosystems
Online at CSU.
Note!!
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Contents
What is Ecology
On-Line?
- Ecology On-Line is a 3 credit
introductory level course entitled Fundamentals of Ecology offered through
Colorado State University in the multimedia environment of the Internet using
the World Wide Web course development tool WebCT. Reference material for WebCT
can be obtained by using the several HELP features associated with the software.
- Ecology On-Line exists
as BY220
- Fundamentals of Ecology at Colorado State University. (When
the Log In box appears type in student for the ID and student for the password.)
- Ecology On-Line was developed using the Ecosystem
Tutorial embedded in SAM On-Line (http://www.cnr.colostate.edu/SAM)
as a prototype. The SAM On_Line project was partially supported by
the Bureau of Land Management.
- Descriptions of WebCT and examples of On-Line courses developed
with the WebCT tools are found at (http://homebrew.cs.ubc.ca/webct/)
- An example reference book is Khan, Badrul H. (ed). 1997.
Web-Based Instruction. Educational Technology Publ., Englewood Cliffs, NJ.
463 pp.
- The course offers participants basic concepts
derived from ecology and ecosystem science (including people) using a variety
of methods to accommodate as many learning styles as possible. Emphasis is
placed on active rather than passive learning.
Ecology On-Line
will uses traditional and animated graphics, images, audio and video to enhance
on-line text, readings from the course textbook (still an essential part of
education), important Internet links, and other reference material.- Participants will interact with course materials
on screen with several devices such as:
- a Table of Contents, hyper-links to an extensive
glossary, other locations within the course structure and sites on the Internet;
- practice tests with links to answers and appropriate
discussions;
- electronic chat lines, bulletin boards and
e-mail to the instructor and "class mates";
- Internet based geographic information systems
and mathematical models;
- a variety of "what if, what is it and where
is it" games are under development.
- Ecology On-Line will introduce
and feature Virtual Field Trips with Dr. Ecos -- field trips
to explore ecosystems of the world, observations of interesting and informative
ecological phenomena and events, places and people. Because of the reality
that participants in Ecology On-Line will not be able take field
trips together, Dr. Ecos will go to the field and report back
to the class on-line and as close to real time as possible. Dr. Ecos
will also suggest self-guided field trips for participants.
- Ecology On-Line will take advantage
of the vast and growing body of excellent information available on the Internet
(for example, the National Science Foundation's Long-Term Ecological Research
[LTER] Network).
What
are the objectives for Ecology On-Line?
- Introduce participants to the concepts and terminology
of ecology and ecosystem science which provide a foundation for understanding
the structure, functioning and sustainability of the earth's ecological systems.
- Present the core ecological
knowledge and critical thinking skills necessary comprehend the issues represented
in the boxes in the figure to the right.
- Provide an opportunity for participants to learn
about and critically evaluate ecological issues and realities that are so
pervasive today, including population growth, natural resource management,
land use change, biodiversity, global climate change, wilderness protection,
food production, waste management, and others.
- Encourage a questioning attitude which will
allow participants to anticipate logical ecological outcomes (reactions) and
consequences of human actions taken today.
- Inform thoughtful citizens and future and current
land planners and managers about the need to transcend political, geographic,
disciplinary, and economic boundaries as they apply ecological principles
to decision making.
- Challenge participants to adopt a time reference
of decades to centuries as they think about the sustainability of the earth's
important and desireable ecosystems.
- Provide an open, honest and safe environment
for participants of all ethnic and cultural backgrounds to explore their own
wisdom and viewpoints while honoring and respecting others, even when those
viewpoints conflict.
Who
is responsible for this ecology course or "Who is Dr.
Ecos anyway"?
- Robert G. Woodmansee, AKA Dr.
Ecos, Professor, Department of Rangeland Ecosystem Science and
former Director of the Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory at Colorado State
University
Where is Ecology
On-Line?
-
Ecology On-Line resides on WebCT
servers maintained at Colorado State University.
-
Dr. Ecos will draw heavily from
experiences and knowledge of colleagues and friends who have established
valuable and extensive web sites throughout the world supporting ecology
and ecosystem science (for example, sites within NSF's Long-Term Ecological
Research Network, CSU and other universities, government agencies, non-governmental
organizations, etc).
-
Dr. Ecos also will
go to the field periodically and report back on important phenomena and
events influencing ecosystems.
-
Most examples will come from the Colorado and
the western United States because that's where Dr. Ecos lives
and works .
Why
an on-line ecology course from CSU?
- Ecology On-Line
derives from a perceived need to:
-
provide an innovative and exciting alternative
to traditional large classroom instruction.
- provide a means for transfer students to acquire
a needed perquisite before they arrive at
the "Big University" (CSU and other institutions with similar problems such
as Utah State and Oregon State).
Discussions are currently underway with USU and OSU to determine
the efficacy of their students using this course to satisfy their similar
needs.
-
provide a common ecological knowledge base for
in coming graduate students.
-
serve as a core knowledge reference for graduate
students.
-
provide a public service for transfer of ecological
concepts to the public decision making arenas of land use planning and
management.
-
fulfill a professional continuing education
role needed by environmental, natural resource and land management agency
personnel who are implementing the new community-based and collaborative
decision making processes such as the "Ecosystem Management" paradigm.
-
serve as a basic ecology core (simpler and less
demanding for novice learners) branching to more advanced modules (detailed
and more demanding for experienced learners). The contents of the advanced
modules will range from in-depth discussions of research findings to links
to advanced courses. A current example from the Department of Rangeland
Ecosystem Science is seen in the figure to the right.
-
serve as a organizing activity to explore the
use of Internet as a means of delivering high quality education and ecological
knowledge to a broad array of people locally, in the State of Colorado,
on tribal lands, regionally, nationally and internationally.
-
demonstrate and utilize the accomplishments
of the ecological and ecosystem enterprises at CSU and cooperating institutions
and within the LTER.
What
philosophy underlies Ecology On-Line?
-
Ecology
On-Line will emphasize a systems approach to ecology stressing the
structure, functioning and sustainability of ecosystems while recognizing
that community, population and evolutionary ecology are essential perspectives
in the core knowledge of ecology.
- Spatial scales evaluated will range from a single
organism to the globe but emphasis will be on patches or stands up to landscapes
or small regions.
- Humans will be considered integral parts of
ecosystems, as depicted in the figure to the right, will be dealt with explicitly.
Where
did Ecology On-Line come from?
-
Ecology On-Line is an progeny
of my section of the CSU ecology course BY220
- SAM-on-Line (http://www.cnr.colostate.edu/SAM),
an Ecosystem Management tutorial developed with some Bureau of Land Management
support is the prototype for Ecology On-Line.
-
A full career as a professional researcher,
teacher and administrator in ecology and ecosystem science.
What
is the Content of Ecology On-Line?
