About
The mission of Outcrop.org is to build a community of geologists, geoscience educators, and students of the Earth in ways that employ “Web 2.0″ (Read/Write web) technologies and an “open source/open access” philosophy. In so doing it is hoped that this site will complement and build upon excellent geoscience resources that are currently available on the web (e.g., SERC, DLESE, USGS, etc.).
Geology is broadly interpreted here to include many aspects of the Earth system, starting with traditional solid and dynamic earth topics (e.g., plate tectonics, rocks, minerals, earthquakes, volcanoes, etc.) and extending to cutting edge and cross disciplinary topics (e.g., geomicrobiology, climate studies, etc.). Materials on the site are intended to appeal to a broad audience, from beginning geology students to geoscience professionals. Education is a primary focus of the site, but aspects of the geosciences ranging from technical/research oriented to simply entertaining are welcome, as well.
The site is set up fundamentally as a blog so as to enable regular, fresh content posting and to take advantage of tagging, RSS feeds, and structured metadata. A second major part of the site is a WikiBooks-styled set of wiki textbooks for geologic topics - initially aimed at offering textbook alternatives in traditional geoscience subdisciplines, but also potentially enabling collaborative project building on a diverse range of geologic topics. A gallery of Creative Commons-licensed photographs and illustrations is hosted on this site. All site materials (blog posts, photos, etc.) are georeferenced with GeoRSS and KML/KMZ placemarks wherever relevant. Podcasting, screencasting, and a host of other technologies will be incorporated into the site in the near future.
Community generated contributions are gladly welcomed and strongly encouraged. Please contact Ron Schott (rschott@outcrop.org) if you’re interested in becoming a blog author or if you want to contribute photos or other content.
posted in geology |
