Computers & Geosciences 28 (2002) 1167–1176

Geology explorer: virtual geologic mapping

and interpretation$
Bernhardt Saini-Eidukata,*, Donald P. Schwerta, Brian M. Slatorb
a
Department of Geosciences, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND 58105-5517, USA
b
Department of Computer Science, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND 58105-5517, USA
Received 30 January 2001; received in revised form 1 December 2001; accepted 5 January 2002

Abstract

We are developing internet-based freeware for virtual mapping and geologic interpretation. This takes the form of a
synthetic, virtual world, Planet Oit, where students are given the means and the equipment to carry out geologic
investigation and interpretation as a geologist would in the field. The environment is designed to give students an
authentic experience that includes elements of: (1) exploration of a spatially oriented, virtual, world; (2) practical, field
oriented, expedition planning and decision-making; and (3) scientific problem solving (i.e. a ‘‘hands on’’ approach to
mapping, geologic investigation, data acquisition, and interpretation). The game-like environment is networked, multi-
player, and simulation-based. Planet Oit can be visited on the Internet at http://oit.cs.ndsu.nodak.edu/
r 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Geoscience; Education; Virtual environments; Role-based learning

1. Introduction Science is not just facts. More than anything else, a

The experiences provided to a student within a virtual
world can be both meaningful and authentic, although
some trade-off is required to make it fun, challenging,
and occasionally unpredictable. The goal is to have the
student assume the role of a geologist in applying the
scientific method to observations and measurements he
or she makes in this virtual world. By keeping these
experiences structured, albeit loosely, the student is self-
directed into a ‘‘learn by doing’’ process (Dewey, 1900),
patterned on that applied in field training. The virtual
world can be designed to operate simultaneously at all
levels of sophistication, thus allowing the student 2to
encounter simulated situations relevant to his or her
level of training and expertise.
$
Code available from: http://oit.cs.ndsu.nodak.edu
*Corresponding author. Fax: +1-701-231-7149.
E-mail address: sainieid@badlands.nodak.edu
(B. Saini-Eidukat).
science is an internally consistent and coherent set of
hypotheses and theories, which are based on facts and
observations. In many cases (especially in large, lecture
hall settings), scientists have tended to instruct students
to remember facts outside of the context in which those
facts are understood. For geology, the context in which
facts are understood is generally the field environment,
including all its irregularities, anomalies, and surprises.
Other facts are understood in the context of a laboratory
environment with its inherent uncertainties and logis-
tical difficulties. History has shown that divorcing facts
from their context has been unsuccessful in helping
students to learn science.
Authentic instruction (Brown et al., 1989) would
allow each student to participate in the practices of the
working scientist. The student would be a part of
laboratory research or fieldwork, would have access to
the tools of the working scientist, and would, in every
case, be shepherded through the scientific process. New
concepts would be introduced in such an authentic
problem-solving context (McGee et al., 1998).

0098-3004/02/$ - see front matter r 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
PII: S 0 0 9 8 - 3 0 0 4 ( 0 2 ) 0 0 0 3 6 - 5
1168 B. Saini-Eidukat et al. / Computers & Geosciences 28 (2002) 1167–1176
2. Background
The World Wide Web Instructional Committee
(WWWIC) at North Dakota State University is an
interdisciplinary faculty group actively researching the
effect of interactive, multi-user, role-based virtual
environments on student learning. Several projects are
under development, including geology, biology, compu-
ter science, archaeology, and economics environments.1
This paper will describe the virtual geologic mapping
and interpretation project, known as the Geology
Explorer.
The Geology Explorer is an interface to a virtual
world where learners take on the role of geologists on an
expedition to a mythical, newly discovered Earth-like
planet (Planet Oit). Students are given an authentic
geologic goal, e.g., to locate a particular mineral found
in a geologically reasonable context, or to map a
metamorphic terrane. Accomplishing such a goal entails
mastering several geologic concepts and procedures, and
demonstrates student mastery of the material. To play
the game, students are transported to the planet’s
surface and acquire a standard set of field instruments.
They are issued an ‘‘electronic log book’’ to record their
findings and, most importantly, are assigned a sequence
of exploratory goals. The students make their field
observations, conduct small experiments, take note of
the environment, and generally act like geologists as
they work towards their goal. Students who may be
physically separated by thousands of kilometers can
collaborate on their exploration and problem solving. A
scoring system lets student compete with each other and
with themselves.
The first module, which has been tested on large
(>400) classes of physical geology students, involves
mineral exploration, where students are expected to plan
an expedition, locate mineral deposits, and survive the
somewhat hostile virtual environment in order to report
on it.
3. Virtual geologic investigation
Geologists are engaged in the study of the materials of
which the Earth is made, ‘‘the processes that act on these
materials, the products formed, and the history of the
planety’’ (Bates and Jackson, 1997). Students can best
learn geology by learning the process of geologic
investigation, including taking samples, petrographic
analysis of thin sections, whole rock chemical analysis
for major and trace elements, microprobe analysis of
mineral grains, etc. and by evaluating the data obtained
in a theoretical context.
1
World Wide Web Instructional Committee http://
www.ndsu.nodak.edu/wwwic/
However, in the real world, students may not have
access to all the equipment necessary for such a
complete investigation, nor to the locations for collect-
ing interesting samples. The Geology Explorer affords
an environment in which expensive analytical tools can
be built, and any location can be visited, virtually. A
student will be able to take a sample of a garnet–biotite
schist, view a thin section of it, make microprobe
analyses of coexisting garnet and biotite, collect radio-
genic isotope analyses, all while perhaps collaborating
with a peer from a different country. These types of
virtual experiences are not designed to be replacements
for real life field or laboratory analytical work. Rather,
they are learning environments that can provide
students who might not have immediate access to the
field or laboratory with an appreciation of the methods
of geologic study.
3.1. Tutoring
In the field, when a student has difficulty identifying a
sample, a more experienced geologist might ask the
student a series of leading questions or provide hints on
how to obtain a field identification. An important
feature of educational media is this type of ability to
tutor students. On Planet Oit, tutoring is done through
unintrusive but proactive software agents. These agents
monitor student actions and ‘‘visit’’ students as the need
arises. Tutors give advice, but they neither mandate or
insist on student actions nor block or prevent student
actions. They provide assistance to players in the course
of their diagnostic reasoning within the scientific
problem solving required to accomplish their goals.
The tutors work from knowledge of the geology,
knowledge of the ‘‘experiments’’ needed to confirm or
deny the identity of an object (e.g. contact metamorph-
ism of limestone to marble), and the student’s history.
3.2. The interpretive module
Because students will have already achieved several
goals involving rock and mineral identification before
being assigned the interpretive module, they will have
the necessary background to undertake further investi-
gation. The geologic interpretation module is based on a
detailed deciphering of the geologic history of an
unexplored region of Planet Oit. The level of difficulty
of this module can range from introductory physical
geology (sequencing of geologic events) to undergradu-
ate petrology (interpretation of metamorphic pressure
and temperature history of specific geologic units).
Fig. 1 is a schematic geologic map of the region,
showing contact relations (not to scale). Although
simple, the geology of the region holds enough
ambiguity to provide training for novice geologists.
While it is clear that the mafic dike cross-cuts the
 B. Saini-Eidukat et al. / Computers & Geosciences 28 (2002) 1167–1176
sedimentary and metamorphic units, features such as
which direction is stratigraphically up and the age
relation between the dike intrusion and the regional
tilting must be determined by careful investigation of
various data types. Fig. 2 is a prototype view of the fully
3-D model we are constructing for the region.
Upon entering the region, the student is asked to map
the outcrops. This requires spatially navigating the
region, sampling, testing, and identifying rock types as a
geologist would in the field. Some of the samples may
need to be taken back to the ‘‘lab’’ for thin sectioning
and investigation under the ‘‘microscope’’ (in practice
these would be digital images of thin sections). As
identification proceeds, the student would create a draft
geologic map by locating potentially significant geologic
contacts. When all these intermediate goals have been
met, the student will be asked to put the rock units in
time-stratigraphic order. In fact, without complete
information (such as, perhaps, paleomagnetic data
combined with age determination of the dike), there
may be more than one plausible answer. This provides
the student with the real-world experience of geologists
sandstone q q sandstone
shale h h shale
mafic
dike
limestone m m limestone
schist s2 g2 gneiss
Fig. 1. Schematic map showing contact relationships, strike
and dip, and foliation of rock units in interpretive region on
Planet Oit (not to scale). q-quartzite, h-hornfels, m-marble, s2-
schist 2, g2–gneiss 2.
Fig. 2. Prototype 3-D view of interpretive region (see Fig. 1 for map view). Perspective view of dike showing low outcrops of sandstone
in foreground, scattered outcrops of resistant quartzite near dike, and dike in distance.
1169
holding multiple working hypotheses on maps in
progress (Chamberlin, 1897).
With each success, the student demonstrates mastery
of the material. More advanced concepts such as
thermobarometry can be learned by the student carrying
out virtual microprobe analyses of minerals in the
metamorphic rocks. For example the student will be able
to obtain virtual microchemical analyses of garnet–
biotite pairs, and perhaps together with hornblende
analyses be able to estimate maximum P-T conditions to
which these rocks were subjected.
4. Software and world development
Planet Oit is simulated on a MOO (‘‘MUD, object-
oriented’’, where MUD stands for ‘‘multi-user do-
main’’). MUDs are typically text-based electronic
meeting places where players build societies and fantasy
environments, and interact with each other (Curtis,
1998). Technically, a MUD is a multi-user database and
messaging system. The basic components are ‘‘rooms’’
with ‘‘exits’’, ‘‘containers’’ and ‘‘players’’. MUDs sup-
port the object management and inter-player messaging
that is required for multi-player games, and at the same
time provide a programming language for writing the
simulation and customizing the MUD. The usual
platform for operating a MUD or MOO is a machine
running a Unix-based operating system. Participants
(usually referred to as players) connect by using Telnet
or some other, more specialized, client program, which
establishes a text-based session on the MOO.
We first implemented the Geology Explorer as a
synthetic environment using the freely available Xerox
PARC LambdaMOO, which is a development environ-
ment for creating text-based virtual worlds. The devel-
opment of Planet Oit began with a realistic planetary
design which included roughly 50 locations (arroyo,
mountains, desert region, etc.), almost 40 scientific
instruments and geologists tools (streak plate, hand
lens, acid bottle, etc.), nearly 100 rock and mineral
types, and over 200 boulders, veins, and outcrops; each
1170 B. Saini-Eidukat et al. / Computers & Geosciences 28 (2002) 1167–1176

implemented as simulated software objects. In the text-

based version, students use a command language, which
allows for navigation, communication, and scientific
investigation while on the planet. Command verbs
dictate the student’s application of instruments
(‘‘streak’’, ‘‘scratch’’, ‘‘hit’’, etc.) and senses (‘‘view’’,
‘‘taste’’, ‘‘touch’’, etc.). Students can communicate, and
therefore work, with one another through verbal return
commands. return
graphics
login
verification
Once the layout and artifacts of Planet Oit were Client Browser
implemented, the ‘‘rules of the game’’ were imposed over request request
telnet
top. Specifically, we created an environment where graphics
connection
request return
students are transported to the planet’s surface. Students page applet

are automatically assigned an initial exploratory goal

and can acquire whatever equipment they wish. The Internet
goals are intended to motivate the students into viewing return
return directive
applet send
their surroundings with a critical eye, as a geologist request MOO
string
page
would. Goals are assigned from a principled set (from command
www LambdaMOO
less to more difficult), so as to leverage the role-based server server
elements of the game (McLuhan, 1964). In order for
students to achieve a goal (and therefore earn points),
they must address a multitude of tasks identical to those
faced daily by field geologists. These include the image data java applet MOO data
selection and use of proper field tools, navigation across
the planet to the correct region, and interpretation of the Fig. 3. Schematic diagram showing relation between Lambda-
tests the student applied to the problem. As each goal is MOO server, web server, and client software on Geology
satisfactorily completed, the students are automatically Explorer. See text for further explanation.
assigned new goals requiring progressively higher levels
of expertise and decision-making. Through this practical To use the Geology Explorer, the user launches a
application of the scientific method, students learn how browser on their workstation, pointing it to the Geology
to think, act, and react as geologists (Duffy and Explorer web site. Then
Jonassen, 1992).
Because the Geology Explorer project is intended to (1) the web server software returns a Java applet to the
be a platform-independent distance education system, browser,
the first client software for the project was a Telnet client (2) the Java applet begins execution and requests data
developed in Java. This enabled connections from and graphics from the web server,
Macintosh, Microsoft Windows, or Linux X-Windows (3) the Java applet also initiates a Telnet session which
machines, using either Netscape or Internet Explorer forms a connection to the MOO server software,
browsers. The client software to Planet Oit has been hosted on the same remote machine, and
developed as different versions under the name GUMI (4) the user logs into the Planet Oit MOO using Telnet.
(graphical user-friendly MOO interface). The first
prototype, a strictly text-based client, was called Once the connections are established and the user has
‘‘GUMI-bare.’’ successfully logged onto the planet he or she navigates
Recognizing that geology is a visual science, we and explores (i.e. plays the game). In the course of
employed artists to create compelling and geologically accomplishing their goals, the use causes requests from
plausible scenes into which outcrops, boulders, etc. the client (the applet launched by the browser), which
could be placed. A graphical user-interface, called are serviced with either (a) data or graphics from the
‘‘GUMI-Game’’ is being developed as a Java applet to web server, (b) additional applet code from the web
allow players to navigate the MUD spatially. Fig. 3 server, or (c) simulation data from the MOO server. This
shows the interaction between Lambda-MOO, the web continues until the user logs off and the connection is
server, and the clients. The Geology Explorer is built on broken.
a client-server architecture. This is a model of computing
where a user launches client software that connects to 4.1. Textual implementation
server software hosted at some remote location and
accessed across a network (or across the internet, which Planet Oit development has been accomplished by
is simply a network of networks). creating objects in the LambdaMOO environment and
 B. Saini-Eidukat et al. / Computers & Geosciences 28 (2002) 1167–1176
implementing methods (verbs) on those objects in order
to simulate an authentic exploration and problem-
solving experience (Slator et al., 1998). To accomplish
this, the following classes of objects have been im-
plemented:
* objects representing geologic ‘‘spaces’’ (mountains,
caves, buttes and the like —these are implemented as
instances of the LambdaMOO ‘‘$room’’ object);
* objects representing geologic ‘‘entities’’ (outcrops,
minerals, streams, and so forth—these are implemen-
ted as instances of the LambdaMOO ‘‘$thing’’
object), and programmed to act and react authenti-
cally;
* objects representing the ‘‘tools’’ and ‘‘instruments’’
of geologists (both ‘‘field instruments’’ like a com-
pass, a rock pick and an acid bottle, and ‘‘laboratory
instruments,’’ spectrometers, etc. to perform complex
analyses—these are also implemented as Lambda-
MOO ‘‘things’’);
* objects for representing game players (these are
special instances of the LambdaMOO ‘‘$player’’
type);
* objects representing on-line tutors (these are software
agents implemented as another special instance of the
‘‘$thing’’ type).
4.2. Locations
Planet Oit is built out from an ‘‘entryway’’ room,
which represents the expedition’s landing and staging
area, with exits leading toward each of the compass
directions. There are seven main areas adjacent to the
Planet Oit entryway (Fig. 4):
1. to the north is a glistening, azure, ocean seashore,
2. to the northwest, you see a sparkling inland lake,
3. to the west is a majestic range of chiseled mountains,
4. to the southwest, you see a vast expanse of open
prairie,
5. to the south is a blistering desert,
6. to the east is the soft outline of a mountain range,
and
7. to the northeast, you see a broad area of rolling hills
and valleys.
In addition, the expedition’s spaceship, containing a
laboratory, an equipment dispensary, and a rock and
mineral museum, is to the southeast of the staging area.
To facilitate navigation on Planet Oit, every exit must
have a direction as one of its names (e.g. ‘‘East’’), and a
letter-direction name (e.g. ‘‘e’’), and a room-direction
name (e.g. ‘‘cave’’). Therefore, a player in the Old
Mountains can type ‘‘n’’ or ‘‘north’’ or ‘‘cave’’ and get
to the ‘‘cave with stalactites’’.
1171
4.3. Rocks and minerals
Rocks and minerals on Oit are implemented as objects
of type $thing. Each was first classified as either a rock
or a mineral, and then properties were defined, such as
odor, flavor, and texture, density, height, weight, color
(a string), luster (a string), magnetism (a 0, 1, or 2),
hardness (float value in the range 0.0–10.0), and in
addition, for rocks, rock type (igneous, sedimentary, or
metamorphic); and values for mineral content (a list of
{proportion mineral} pairs).
Once objects for rocks and minerals were defined,
verbs were written to describe behaviors for when
they react with geologic instruments. For example,
verbs were specified to react to commands for
‘‘hitting’’ (with a hammer or with bare hands), and for
‘‘pouring’’ (a 10% solution of hydrochloric acid or other
liquid).
4.4. Instruments and tools
As is usual in the object-oriented programming
paradigm, actions and reactions between objects are
defined in terms of message passing. A detailed table of
interactions was designed to account for all the possible
cases. To create instruments, it was necessary to do the
following:
1. classify by type: a laboratory instrument, field
instrument, or some other kind;
2. create instrument objects and describe them;
3. locate laboratory instruments in the Laboratory, and
make them immovable;
4. assign values to the odor, flavor, and texture
properties if they differ from the defaults;
5. assign values to the height, width, depth and weight
properties; and
6. write verbs on the instruments, with appropriate
error checks, to describe their behavior when reacting
with rocks and minerals, or other elements of the
environment, as necessary.
These verbs are mostly short and consist of two
components:
1. messages describing the actions of an instrument in
terms of sight and sound; and
2. a ‘‘message’’ sent to, or a verb invoked on, the object
of the instrument’s action. For example, the rock
pick makes a ‘‘whooshing noise’’. Then it calls the
hit by verb on the relevant object.
Table 1 presents examples of how three instruments
were implemented, with descriptions of how they
interact with different types of rocks and minerals.
1172 B. Saini-Eidukat et al. / Computers & Geosciences 28 (2002) 1167–1176

Fig. 4. Topological map of Planet Oit ‘‘rooms’’. Lines connecting rooms represent ‘‘doors’’, although players are given ability to
‘‘teleport’’ to any room they have already visited.

4.5. Graphical implementation evolution, and to read instruments of all levels of

Geologists use the sense of sight to navigate
in a spatial world, exploring Earth surfaces of consider-
able diversity and relief while viewing minerals,
rocks, and other natural objects of variable color,
texture, and luster. To be a geologist, one uses vision
to draw maps, to navigate with a compass, to describe
terrains, to interpret Earth processes by landform
sophistication. Aside from vision, other senses are
involved. Touch is used to describe the texture of
rocks and minerals. Taste is used to detect the presence
of specific minerals. Sound is used to detect certain
properties of rocks. Smell is used to detect certain
chemical components in minerals and rocks. All of
these senses need to be incorporated into a realistic
graphical client.
 B. Saini-Eidukat et al. / Computers & Geosciences 28 (2002) 1167–1176 1173

Table 1
Examples of how three instruments, acid bottle, glass plate, and magnet, interact with minerals, rocks, and other objects

Minerals Fine-grained rocks Coarse-grained rocks Other objects

Acid bottle: ‘‘pour acid If the property If the rock contains Because each mineral in Most other objects in
bottle on substance’’ acid reactive is 2, the more than 10% calcite, the rock can be the game have a
mineral fizzes actively it fizzes actively when distinguished, the test acid reactive property
when acid is poured on acid is poured on it. If can be performed on of 0. Pouring acid on
it. If the property the rock contains each mineral. Each them will cause them
acid reactive is 1, and a between 0% and 10% returns whether it is not to fizz. Players are
powder is made of the calcite, its powderized acid reactive or not an exception to this
mineral, the powder will form will fizz. Also, if rule. You are unable to
fizz actively. If the the rock contains more pour acid on other
acid reactive property is than 25% dolomite, its players
0, the mineral does not powder will fizz actively.
fizz Finally, if the rock
contains no calcite or
dolomite, it will not fizz

Glass plate: ‘‘scratch If the mineral has a If the hardest mineral in Because each mineral in It is possible to scratch
substance with glass hardness greater than the rock has a hardness the rock can be any substance with any
plate’’ 5.5 it will scratch the greater than 5.5 it distinguished, the test other substance. Most
glass plate, otherwise it scratches the glass plate, can be performed on other objects have a
will not. To test if one otherwise it will not each mineral. Each specific hardness
mineral is harder than returns whether it will property. If the object is
another, simply scratch scratch the glass plate or harder than 5.5 it will
them together not scratch the glass plate,
otherwise it will not

Magnet: ‘‘touch If the property magnetic The result is based on Because each mineral in Most other objects in
substance with magnet’’ is 2, the substance is the mode. If 10% or less the rock can be the game have a
magnetic, otherwise it is of the rock has minerals distinguished, the test magnetic property of 0.
not magnetic whose magnetic can be performed on Each returns the fact
property is 2, it is not each mineral in the that they are not
magnetic; if 10–40% rock. Each returns magnetic
have a magnetic whether it is magnetic
property of 2, it is or not
magnetic; >40% have a
magnetic property of 2,
it is highly magnetic

4.6. Graphical interface
A key element of the exploratory game idea is the
notion of a spatially oriented synthetic environment
where learners explore and discover. The spatial
metaphor maps a domain (and, consequently, its inter-
face) onto the basic spatial elements on Oit. The
Geology Explorer accomplishes this using client soft-
ware written in Java that is a viewport into the MOO
running the game server. In it, objects are represented by
graphical elements that can be manipulated in a way
that makes sense to the domain. Changes in the server
are reflected in the viewport, and manipulations of the
viewport change the state of the server. The viewport on
the client machines is a view in a window, which displays
pictures that represent MOO objects such as exits,
objects, and other players. A user’s viewport not only
reflects the changes made by a user’s actions but it also
shows the results of actions performed by other
simultaneous users. One implication of this, is that one
player could observe a second player performing a test
on an object that the first player had never considered
trying.The viewport is responsible for:
1. storing the current room information (identification);
2. storing a list of objects in that room;
3. notifying those objects when their state changes; and
4. notifying the server when the user manipulates the
objects.
The viewport is used mostly for protocol between the
server and the objects in the room, and also between the
objects and the platform’s user interface routines.
Objects in the room are stored as viewlogos. Viewlogos
1174 B. Saini-Eidukat et al. / Computers & Geosciences 28 (2002) 1167–1176

are responsible for:
1. storing the object name and id;
2. storing the object’s position;
3. retrieving and displaying the object’s image;
4. responding to clicks, double-clicks, dragging, and
drop requests;
5. responding to state changes by updating the object’s
image; and
6. possibly supporting animation.
There are different subclasses of viewlogo for different
classes of objects in the MOO. The three main subclasses
are Object, Exit, and Player.
Currently under development is a graphical user
interface where players will be able to:
1. navigate the planet via maps;
2. see authentic landscapes containing boulders and
outcrops;
3. see and manipulate tools and instruments; and
4. see themselves and each other.
In the graphical client, we are implementing the rooms
with graphically rendered backgrounds (i.e. an authentic
looking drawing of a desert scene), with photographic
foreground elements (Fig. 5). This approach sometimes
referred to as ‘‘212D’’ (as in between 2D and 3D) has the
advantage of separating foreground from background,
which assists the players in determining where to direct
their attention. Without this separation, there is a
danger of the important outcrops being ‘‘lost’’ against
a photographic backdrop which might feature spurious
outcrops and boulders. The graphical client is scheduled
to be available for freeware use by summer, 2001. Also
under development is a fully 3D representation of the
world (Fig. 2) using the Java-3D protocol.
5. Efficacy of the method
This work is part of a larger project by the NDSU
WWWIC (McClean et al., 1999; Slator et al., 1999, see
[footnote 1]). WWWIC believes that virtual role-playing
environments can be powerful mechanisms for teaching,
provided they are constructed such that learning how to
play and win the game contributes to a player’s
understanding of real-world concepts and procedures.
A major goal of WWWIC is to assess the effectiveness of
these types of environments on student learning and
problem-solving ability.

Fig. 5. Screen shot of prototype 212D graphical client, which uses graphically rendered backgrounds combined with photographic
foreground elements. Each player is represented by avatar of his or her choice. Bookcase contains game information, including help
files, notebook, and player history; instrument panel holds player’s tools; and inventory panel holds samples which player has
collected.
 B. Saini-Eidukat et al. / Computers & Geosciences 28 (2002) 1167–1176
Our assessment strategy rejects the notion that
standardized multiple choice tests are adequate evalua-
tion instruments in an active learn by doing context. Of
course, we expect certain facts to be learned during the
course of exploring a world, but we are also concerned
with measuring improvement in student learning. This is
done by giving students short problem-solving scenarios,
and asking them to provide a narrative answer describ-
ing their solution strategy. These scenarios are adminis-
tered before and after the students encounter the virtual
environment. The scenarios are graded by trained coders
for evidence of geologic problem-solving skills. Details
of the assessment method are provided in McClean et al.
(2001).
This assessment method was applied to students in a
large (>400) Physical Geology lecture class. Students
were invited to participate in an extra-credit project;
approximately half volunteered. All volunteers first
completed a technology assessment survey, which
ranked the entire volunteer corps relative to their
computer skills, plus allowed for an equal division of
the corps into two groups based on both these skills and
gender. Students in one such-ranked group completed
the minimum point goal of the Geology Explorer game,
plus completed the pre- and post-game scenario. A
second equally ranked group of students, of approxi-
mately the same number, completed a parallel exercise
involving interactions with a geophysical or geographi-
cal database (depending on the assignment), available
through the World Wide Web; this group did not
participate in the Geology Explorer, although they
likewise were asked to complete an identical set of pre-
and post-game exercises. All remaining students,
approximately 200, in Physical Geology neither partici-
pated in the game nor in the web-based exercise, but
nonetheless completed the pre- and post-game scenarios.
Results showed the Geology Explorer group was able to
solve geologically relevant problems significantly better
than the alternate groups (McClean et al., 2001).
6. Summary
The Geology Explorer is a multi-user, role-playing
virtual environment for learning geologic concepts
available on the internet.2 WWWIC believes that virtual
classrooms and virtual laboratories may help solve
many of the problems currently faced in education:
distance learning can become a reality, learner diversity
is accommodated (both in terms of learning styles and
life styles), and in many cases the curriculum becomes
more active, more role-based, more self-paced, more
collaborative, and more learn by doing than ‘‘learn by
listening’’.
2
Planet Oit http://oit.cs.ndsu.nodak.edu/oit/
1175
7. Freeware availability
A freeware version of the text-based version of Planet
Oit has been available since 1998. The general public is
invited to participate in the environment, and instructors
are encouraged to include the Geology Explorer in their
curricula. Planet Oit is open to the public.
To visit the planet, users will need a Java-compatible
browser of modern vintage. The instruction page3
contains information on how to create a new character.
After pointing their browsers to the text-based Planet
Oit website,4 they will see the message ‘‘Click Connec-
tion to Begin.’’ After they select ‘‘New’’ from the
‘‘Connection’’ menu, a dialog box will allow them to
create a character and select a password. On subsequent
visits, users should connect using the same character and
password, to continue exploring the planet from where
they last stood upon logging off.
Acknowledgements
Development of Planet Oit is funded by the National
Science Foundation under grants DUE-9752548, EAR-
9809761, DUE-9981094, EIA-0086142 U.S. Department
of Education FIPSE grant #P116B011528. We also
acknowledge the large team of dedicated undergraduate
and graduate students in the computer and earth
sciences who have made this project so successful.
Special thanks are due to John Bauer for Java graphical
client development, to Rebecca Potter and Shannon
Tomac for graphical development, to Otto Borchert and
Guy Hokanson for simulation development, to Bryan
Bandli, Julia Karst-Gray, Ned Kruger, Carson Rittel,
Joy Turnbull, Dean Vestal, Mindy Sue Vogel, Jeff
Walsh, and Jane Willenbring for geology content
development and assessment, to Mark Tinguely, who
saved our world when its universe imploded, and to
Dave Schmidt for the name: Planet Oit.
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3
Login instructions for Planet Oit http://oit.cs.ndsu.noda-
k.edu/oit/demo-login.html
4
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