Virtual Soil Monoliths: Merging of Old and New Educational Tools.

Soil monoliths are a valuable educational resource for soil identification and classification -  necessary skills for natural resource students, scientists and professionals. Monoliths also provide historical records of numerous sites no longer in existence. The University of British Columbia (UBC) has the second largest Canadian collection of soil monoliths (totaling 191), which has been underutilized in teaching because of its inadequate display and storage status. The objective of our project was to develop an interactive, web-based teaching tool to enhance the usability of UBC’s monolith collection by making it accessible to anyone with internet access. The teaching tool (http://soilweb.landfood.ubc.ca/monoliths/ ) was developed during 2009-2010 and it features high-resolution digital photographs, detailed descriptions of each monolith, information on how to approach soil identification, basic information on the Canadian soil classification system, and an interactive soil map of British Columbia. Each soil featured can be placed within the geographical context of location, climate, and biotic type allowing students to integrate and build upon various concepts and skills they have learned in 1^st year science and introductory soil science courses. The tool has been launched in term 1 of 2010/11 academic year in APBI 200 – Introduction to soil science, APBI 401/SOIL 501 – Soil processes, APBI 402/SOIL 502 – Sustainable soil management, and APBI 403/SOIL 503 – Field and laboratory methods in soil science courses offered at UBC and initial student feedback has been very encouraging. Although the tool's main objective is to enhance student learning, its open access may help increase awareness about soil with the general public.  An interactive overview of the tool will be given during the presentation.