Technology in introductory geophysics: The high-low mix

Geophysical concepts are challenging to teach at introductory levels because students need to understand both the underlying physics and its geological application. To address this, we are upgrading an introductory course with a mix of 'high' and 'low' educational technology. The primary focus is 'low' technology, using class demonstrations and experiments to demonstrate underlying physical principles and their geological applications. We integrate these into the course, together with the 'high' technology of computer simulations and the vast resources of the World-Wide Web, using a course webpage (http://www.earth.nwu.edu/people/seth/B02). The 'high'/'low' mix provides students with different representations of the same concept. We hope that by using both methods, we help students to better visualize concepts from class. Simulations and demonstrations also serve as a break from a steady diet of equations and make the class more fun for instructors and teaching assistants to teach. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.