Análise de Sites em Geociências e Difusão de Materiais Didáticos na Internet

Abstract

The Internet provides information search tools, softwares and important pedagogical aids for the Geosciences. These tools may be used both by teachers and students as a means to enhance the teaching-learning process. To better understand Internet contents for the Geosciences in Brazil and to provide a guide to what is available and its quality, we selected websites deemed useful for Education in Geosciences. This is an area where deficiencies in the dissemination of regional content and low use of Internet tools are known. Such systematic analysis can profitably optimize techniques of making regional geological and geomorphological information available. It effectively provides a critical assessment of the visual characteristics, the quality of information, and the display alternatives of the websites. The results of the analysis were used to create a data base on Internet resources according to many evaluation indicators. A good educational website should allow pleasant and easy navigation within the on-line universe, it should be up-to-date, and it should contain tools such as graphics, animated clips and hypertexts that stimulate interaction and curiosity. Our study documents the existence of both good and bad websites in the fields of geology, geomorphology and other branches of the Geosciences. Both educators and students will find the data base created from the analysis to be an excellent guide to the most interesting websites on Geosciences.