Distance education: A new course in wildland fire ecology

Abstract

Distance education, facilitated by modern telecommunications and computer technology, is revolutionizing delivery of college-level courses. In creating an interdisciplinary course on wildland fire, we learned that initial investments of at least $100,000 may be required, particularly for a video-based offering. Specialists in media production and web page development are crucial-not just to allow faculty to focus on content, but also to produce material that compares favorably with the TV productions students are familiar with. We further recommend conducting a pilot test with a live audience of students. Despite the challenges, we believe that many natural resource courses lend themselves to this format because of the photogenic nature of the topics and widespread interest in them, and that-over time-distance education courses can recoup the costs of their development.