Skip Navigation

Geology MOOCs?

Are there geology MOOCs anywhere? Every time I go looking I find at most like three but one's in Chinese (which I don't know nearly well enough to take a course in), one's some advanced thing, and the other... I don't even remember.

Anyway, is there anywhere I could possibly peek into a course like... Rocks an' Whatnot 101 maybe? Dirt Stuff for People with Clean Hands, maybe? :'D I can't promise I won't end up disinterested or get bored or distracted and quit, but I want such courses to be a thing anyway.

14
14 comments
  • Tangent: you win a prize! First user to post that isn't me, haha!

    🍅💨

    No, wait, wrong prize!

    🪨💨

    • Is that a farting tomato? ... Is that a farting rock?!? Thanks, I guess? 🤣

      I just find it annoying that I can take roughly six thousand courses on Python at the same time but couldn't pay somebody (not that I would <.< ) to talk about dirt. Seems like a super obvious hole in the offerings of Coursera, edX... oh, maybe I should check MIT's new thing.

      • Admittedly, it's much easier to teach python digitally, because the hands on portion happens on a computer. For a proper geology education, you will eventually need real samples in your hands, in instruments, etc. So while a first year Rocks 101 course is probably doable online, it gets harder as the material delves deeper.

        It'd be neat to offer an online course with a rocks and minerals package that gets shipped to the customer -- say an assortment of common rocks, and the 30 most common minerals or something.

        Also, it's not farting! It's flying through the air really quickly! Like a thrown tomato. It's so hard to do physical comedy with emojis these days ;)

  • This sounds like the perfect project for...me, if I had more spare time.

    I'll give it some thought. Thanks for the germ!

    ETA: geology.com is always a good starter site with lots of knowledge appetizers for those just starting to show interest.

    • Oooh, feel free to dump thoughts in this community if you're building a curriculum. I'll happily pretend I'm in undergrad again and ask dumb questions. :)

      • What is rock? Is rock different from stone? If a recipe calls for "three small pebbles" do they have to be roughly the same size and shape or...? 🤔Hehehe.

14 comments