Learn how snowfall happening later in the year than usual is impacting cultural practices in this video segment about climate change adapted from the College of Menominee Nation.

In this video segment adapted from the College of Menominee Nation, tribal members observe lower water levels in lakes and streams and call for global, collaborative solutions to address climate change.

The students will learn about the changing environment through study and observation. They will reflect on these changes in the environment and create their own landscape and habitat. This is the second lesson in "Observing connections," a series of three in which students are creating art based on their observations.

The Ocean Health Index is a new, comprehensive measure of the ocean’s overall condition – one that treats people and nature as integrated parts of a healthy system. The ocean touches nearly every aspect of our lives – making it essential to the economic, social, and ecological well-being of everyone, everywhere. Evaluated globally and by country, the Ocean Health Index presents 10 public goals that represent the wide range of benefits that a healthy ocean provides to people. Each country’s overall score is the average of its 10 goal scores. Overall scores and individual goal scores are directly comparable between all countries. All scores range from 0 to 100.

The purpose of this resource is to help students understand the connection between remote sensing, computer imagery, and land cover assessment. Students translate their maps created in the beginning activity into digital code and exchange the digitized versions of their maps with students in another school.

The purpose of this resource is to familiarize students with the importance of perspective and various scales of remotely sensed data. Students create a 3-D model of an area and develop a classification system for the landforms in their model. The maps can then be used to answer certain questions about the environment.

The purpose of this resource is to familiarize students with modeling as it relates to remote sensing and digitized images. Students will use the symbolic map created in the beginning activity to produce a digitized image and begin to see why ground verification of satellite data is necessary.

This video segment adapted from NOVA follows the clean-up effort after the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill off the coast of Alaska. Also featured is a marsh where an oil spill occurred 20 years earlier; analysis suggests that environmental damage may last for decades.

This project will allow students to create a mathematical model to help in making decision about replacing HVAC units on a large scale.

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The online discussions are the single most important part of this course. They are worth more than any other component of the course and the students and I all put considerable time and energy into the discussions.

Disseminating course content is one of the more challenging aspects of online teaching, and discussions help to fill this gap. In order to have meaningful contributions to the discussions, students have to not only understand the topic, but also need to share their comments on it and relate the topics to a larger question. For example, a discussion about developing geologically active land prompts responses that demonstrate understanding of dynamic landscapes, geologic processes, the role of zoning, hazard mitigation and disaster insurance. In addition, a few students are likely to have had personal experiences with natural disasters and thus add firsthand insights that enrich the discussion.

Discussions are also a place where misconceptions arise and they can be easily addressed within this format. In a perfect world, students would be quick to point out flaws in each others' understanding, but when that does not happen, I seize the opportunity to point out the misconception (gently) and clarify it.

Because students have time to research their answers and reflect on their writing, online discussions can bring out wonderful insights and rewarding debates. Introverted students who might otherwise not be inclined to raise their hand in a face to face classroom seem to have an easier time jumping in. If students are not participating enough, I let them know ask them if anything is preventing them from participating, encourage them to get more involved, and suggest some ways for them to jump in.

The discussion topics all begin with open-ended questions that leave a lot of room for interpretation and the discussion is best when it wanders across a few topics. The discussions last for 1-3 weeks. For the longer discussions I have a series of follow-up questions at the ready. I post these to keep the topic moving, to get the class back on track, or simply to toss out a pop-quiz type question that alert students can grab onto.

Teaching Tips
Adaptations that allow this activity to be successful in an online environment
We all know the dreadful feeling when you pose a question to a lecture hall full of students and all you hear are crickets. An online discussion can be far more thought-provoking than a face-to-face discussion because students have time to reflect on the topic, read up on it, and compose their response. So the adaptations are to start off with a very broad question that allows the topic to wander a bit. A sufficient time frame is needed (minimum of one week) to allow the discussion to develop. Lastly, the discussions have to be worth some significant part of the grade so that students do not treat them as optional.
Elements of this activity that are most effective
The most effective element of online discussion is the way students get pulled into the course and are engaged with the content. This is easy to observe by simply noting how active the discussion is. The discussion about climate change never fails to be the most active one and it really brings everybody to the table (including me!).
Recommendations for other faculty adapting this activity to their own course:

Start off with a very broad question that has no correct answer. When you compose the original question, also prepare a series of follow-up questions that you can use to keep the discussion moving.
Limit the number of discussion boards to one at a time. Having multiple discussions going on simultaneously only dilutes the participation.
Being engaged is critical. The first time I taught this course I really stuck by the "guide on the side" tactic. After that fell fairly flat I got more involved. Students enjoy the interactivity and we all get to know each other much better that way. I post pictures, share anecdotes and seize opportunities to respond to posts in a way that builds content, clears up misconceptions, asks questions, and praises outstanding contributions.

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Free Open Educational Resources for the Geosciences. The landing page provides links to three textbooks designed for use with introductory courses in Physical Geology, Historical Geology, and Mineralogy. Content contained within each of these books can be utilized across many related courses. The text is written as much as possible at a high school level. Interactive content and quizzes are sprinkled throughout for a better student experience.

The purpose of this resource is to observe seasonal migration patterns, feeding habits, and nesting behavior of Ruby-throated Hummingbirds (Archilochus colubris) in North and Central America. All students will learn about hummingbird natural history and ecology. Students will learn how to identify and age male and female Ruby-throated Hummingbirds and to observe migration and feeding behavior. Students will learn how to make connections among hummingbird behavior and weather, climate, food availability, seasonality, photoperiod (day length), and other environmental factors.

In this optional activity, students analyze maps of wind patterns from three levels in the atmosphere in order to infer global atmospheric circulation patterns and their role in balancing the radiation budget they established in Units 4 and 5. The main activity is a jigsaw in which students explore a single map on their own prior to class, confer with their classmates in specialty groups, and then synthesize atmospheric circulation for an assigned latitudinal zone. In these synthesis groups, students create maps and cross-section concept sketches to use in a full class discussion at the end of class. A follow-up assignment asks students to infer the relationship between global atmospheric circulation patterns and precipitation and then predict possible consequences of changes in these patterns due to global warming.

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This activity is a field investigation where students will make observations on a chosen location every two weeks for the period of one school year. They will record their observations using a digital camera and a nature journal.

In Part 1 of this unit, students will develop protocols for the collection of sensory data to address a guiding question. The data collected will consist of scents or sounds. The advantage of using sensory data is that students are equipped with the analytical equipment (ears and nose) and are familiar with its use. However, students may not have taken the time to consider the variety of perceptions that occur within a group of people who are sharing a sensory experience and the impact that variation can have when attempting to collect objective data to help characterize environmental problems.
Protocols are necessary to ensure consistency of data between collection points and between data collectors, and to link data collected to a research question. Protocols also serve as a record of the methodology used by an investigator that may be subject to scrutiny by subsequent data users or by anyone reading or using a report containing the data. Data collection in all scientific fields may be collected using protocols common within the field or developed by an investigator for use in a specific study.
Because sensory data is inherently qualitative and subjective, students will need to develop methods of quantification that ensure as much objectivity as possible. Likewise, scientists collecting field data may need to develop unique protocols that ensure that field data is collected in as objective a manner as possible.
Ideally, the unit will span two class sessions to allow for the gradual development of a data collection protocol and field plan.

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In Part 2 of this unit, student groups will plan and execute the field collection of sensory data (scents and/or sounds) using previously developed data collection protocols. The advantage of using sensory data is that students are equipped with the analytical equipment (ears and nose) and are familiar with its use.
Class time will be devoted to developing a field investigation plan. Students will create guiding questions and choose a study area, develop or obtain maps of the study area, assign field roles to group members, and develop a timeline for completion of fieldwork. The plan will need to ensure proper execution of data collection protocol, a clear record of the data collected, and a record of field conditions.
Careful planning of fieldwork is important to ensure that the time in the field is utilized efficiently and effectively and that the data collected meets the intended requirements. Likewise, an environmental professional (such as a geoscientist) undertaking an environmental investigation would need to develop a field investigation plan to meet the needs of the investigation.

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Lab: Particle Size Analysis, Soil Texture, and Hydraulic Conductivity

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The deep continental margins were once perceived as monotonous mud slopes of limited ecological or environmental concern. Technological advances now reveal unexpected diversity, with a mosaic of lush habitats and ecosystems that support varied and unusual species fundamental to the health of the ocean and our own lives. Join Scripps biological oceanographer Lisa Levin as she reveals how changes in ocean temperature and chemistry, as well as growing economic opportunities, are placing new pressures on deep-ocean ecosystems, just as we are getting to know them. (56 minutes)

Join Scripps marine ecologist Edward Parnell as he describes the science behind Marine Protected Areas, how they are established and preliminary results from the first such areas around CaliforniaŐs Channel Islands. (58 minutes)