Stephen K. Boss Outreach

ACADEMIC OUTREACH PROGRAMS

DR. STEPHEN K. BOSS

Department of Geosciences, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, USA

This page provides brief descriptions of outreach programs in which I have participated since joining the faculty at the University of Arkansas in August, 1996. The map below shows the countries of origin (in red) of visitors to my World-Wide Web sites. Note that visits have come from all 6 of the inhabited continents indicating that the Internet is truly a mechanism for achieving global outreach.

Click map for larger view

Visitors from 63 nations since 1 October 1999

LAKE LEATHERWOOD CITY PARK, EUREKA SPRINGS, AR

The link above connects to a short pamphlet I composed to describe the geologic history of Miner's Rock, the highlight of the Miner's Rock Trail at Lake Leatherwood City Park, Eureka Springs, Arkansas. Lake Leatherwood is a marvelous and comprehensive, 1600-acre municipal park with a lake for swimming, fishing, and boating, camping and picnic grounds, year-round cabins, and beautiful hiking trails - a must-see for anyone visiting northern Arkansas.

FULBRIGHT COLLEGE OUTREACH RESOURCES

Ms. Lynne Hehr, Science Education Liaison for the Fulbright College of Arts & Sciences (University of Arkansas-Fayetteville) regularly adds links to my Earth Science websites to her UAF K-12 Education Outreach Projects home page. Ms. Hehr's association with the Arkansas public school community is a valuable asset in helping spread the word of the good work of the faculty at the University of Arkansas and in helping to share the products of my WWW publishing activities. Visit Ms. Hehr's site by clicking on the button above - it's full of great ideas, projects and sites to be used by teachers and students alike!

WATER WORLD

Water World is an image resource for K-12 teachers that I created in association with my participation in the Arkansas Jason Project (Jason IX). The images are taken from my collection of slides showing oceanographic research in which I have been involved. The images are available on-line and may be freely downloaded for non-commercial educational uses. My intent with this site was to provide K-12 educators with some information and imagery regarding the diversity of approaches used to study marine ecosystems.

EARTH SYSTEMS SCIENCE ONLINE

Earth Systems Science is the first "all Internet, all the time" course at the University of Arkansas; all course materials (readings, exercises) have been compiled from Web-based resources related to the Earth Sciences. In addition, students submit all writing assignments via e-mail attachments. Because this course is available on-line, its resources are freely available to anyone with Internet access. Thus, this course represents a new style of academic outreach for educators and the interested public and is a prototype of 21st Century education. This course was developed and is being taught for the Honors Program at the University of Arkansas - Fayetteville. Tune in...Turn on...Link Up!

SOILS LAB

For Fall/Winter 1997/98, I will continue collaborating with Mr. Rosendo Terronez (Earth Science teacher at United Township High School in East Moline, IL) and students in his Geology classes. This year, the students are describing and analyzing soil samples from 6 western states. Students will then share data using the internet and cgi forms to produce conclusions about their study. Data and conclusions will be posted on the UTHS web site as student Home Pages. I'm looking forward to my interactions with these high school students this year (maybe some of them will become students at the University of Arkansas!)

FLOOD WATCH '97

Flood Watch '97 was a project conceived and executed by Mr. Rosendo Terronez, Earth Science teacher at United Township High School in East Moline, IL. Students in Mr. Terronez's Geology classes used Internet resources to monitor river discharge and stages across the U.S. Mid-West during the Spring of 1997. Mr. Terronez contacted me to serve as a technical consultant to provide advice and respond to student questions during the term of their project. It should be noted that I have never been to East Moline or UTHS. My contacts with Mr. Terronez and his students were initiated and developed entirely in Cyberspace - a very cool experience!

VIRTUAL GEOLOGY

Since the initial development of this WWW site in December 1996, I have become intrigued by the possibility of sharing geological information and curriculum materials with K - 12 teachers across Arkansas, the United States and (dare I say it?) the world via the Internet. I have obtained several small grants for equipment (digital video camera and 35mm slide scanner) to enhance my capabilities for creating digital resources. Curriculum materials are continuously being added to my WWW sites; current projects are 1) Virtual Geology Field Trips, image collections illustrating topics on a geological theme or documenting a specific location with interesting geology, 2) Virtual Rock Bag, an image gallery of rock forming minerals and common rocks used in Introductory Geology courses, 3) establishment of an FTP site so that educational materials and scientific data may be efficiently transferred to teachers and scientists. If you know a K - 12 teacher or geology professional who could benefit from information on my WWW sites, let them know where to find it (and, if you would, let me know if you find anything useful on these pages!).

THE JASON PROJECT

The Mission of the JASON Foundation for Education is to excite and engage students in science and technology, and to motivate and provide professional development for their teachers through the use of advanced interactive telecommunications. The JASON Foundation for Education is supported by a unique alliance of public, private and non-profit organizations who are committed to improvement of science and technology through creative and imaginative education for all students. I particpated in the inaugural JASON program in Arkansas during the Spring, 1997 at the Walton Arts Center in Fayetteville, AR.

VIRTUAL OUTREACH

Development of WWW sites for my courses, the Department of Geology and our new doctoral program in Environmental Dynamics is an ongoing process spreading the word of our good work at the University of Arkansas across the world via Cyberspace. WWW access statistics for my Geology course sites indicates exponential growth in visitation since 17 September 1997. In addition, while approximately 63% of these visits are from Arkansas, an ever-growing number of visits are being recorded from other regions, primarily the Pacific and Northeast United States. Thus, WWW sites of the Department of Geology serve as a means of "virtual outreach", extending the influence of our programs beyond the physical boundaries of our insititution!

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