Examination of Vermont's changing landscapes through the interpretation of historic images. Emphasis on the interaction between geology, geologic processes, and human endeavors and societies.

3 credits – on-line
GEOL 196
Continuing Education Winter Term (and a little bit of spring :)
starts December 23, 2008

Description

Vermont prides itself on its breathtaking natural landscapes: for more than one hundred years, tourists have flocked here to see these landscapes, residents enjoyed small-town and rural lifestyles, and students of all ages learn by experiencing the Vermont landscape. But the landscapes we see today have not always looked the same. Using historic photographs we can glimpse the past, seeing Vermont as it was. The landscapes captured in historic images can help us understand change in Vermont and inform contemporary decisions about land use and its impacts on the environment.

This on-line course will provide you with the tools to understand landscapes through the analysis of historic images. Although the course will be almost entirely on-line, there will be the opportunity for students and faculty to exchange ideas through email and web-based interactions. The course consists of a series of modules to be completed in sequence and by certain due dates. You will conclude the first part of the course by creating an interpretive PowerPoint presentation of images, selected from the archive, that tells a story either of a place through time or of a process shaping the Vermont landscape - a module. The course is structured so that peer review of your work happens several times.  The second part of the course is independent work that will continue over the spring term.  It will involve relocating and rephotographing historic images and then describing the changes you observe.

We will begin with an overview of the geologic forces and events that have shaped the Vermont landscape. Then, we'll use an ever-expanding community archive of Vermont historical imagery, the Landscape Change Program, as the catalyst for our work. Using this UVM-based archive (http://uvm.edu/landscape), we will practice describing and interpreting historical images, as well as learning the technology needed to find and download images from the archive.

During the first two weeks (winter term), prepare to spend about 12-18 hours working on line, completing modules, answering study questions, and doing downloads related to the class modules. You should expect about 20 to 25 hours of homework time--reading, interpreting images, and creating and revising your personal interpretive PowerPoint presentation.  During spring term, be prepared to spend 20-25 hours in total, finding, rephotographing, describing, and uploading your images.

There are no prerequisites for this course other than an interest in landscapes.

1. Easily and quickly use the Landscape Change Program to find images of Vermont landscapes
2. describe and interpret Vermont Landscapes, their history and origin
3. describe historical images
4. recognize and describe human impact on the landscape and the impact of the landscape on human endeavors
5. apply these newly learned skills in image interpretation, digital imagery, and computer use to create an interpretive PowerPoint presentation that tells a story important to you, examining either a topic in landscape history or the landscape history of a place over time
6. experience critical review of your work and the revision and improvement process that follows
7. relocate, rephotograph, geolocate using GPS the sites of old images and then describe landscape changes that have occurred
   

http://learn.uvm.edu/?Page=online_equipment.html

Optional textbook: Suggest that you consider buying or borrowing: Albers J., 1999. Hands on the land: a history of the Vermont landscape. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA.

Grading

40% on-time completion of assignments for modules 1 to 7 and 9

15% on time submission and quality of draft PowerPoint presentation

15% on time submission and quality of final PowerPoint presentation

30% on accurate rephotography, GPS measurement, description, uploading and analysis of new images over spring term.