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Development of an On-Line Electronic Course in Environmentally-Sensitive Spray Applications Mike Williams1, Alvin Womac2, William Hart 2, George Grandle2 1 Graduate Assistant, 2Associate Professor The University of Tennessee, Knoxville Biosystems Engineering & Environmental Science Department

Abstract Software packages, course lesson plan topics, and a presentation format for an on- line engineering course for university credit were identified as a case study. Development criteria included the use of commercial software to minimize the effort required for course start-up. Consultation with faculty peers revealed that a dual software package would provide the best compromise between start-up effort and flexibility. Essentially, a high- end, web-instruction software package was recommended for course administration and tests, and a multimedia-developed web site residing on a department, or business-class server was recommended for presentation of the technical material. Navigation between the two packages, with appropriate security measures, was nearly seamless through the eyes of the student. One consultant advised that this dual approach should reduce the need to enter and re-enter technical material into the high-end, web instruction software as software upgrades were implemented from year to year, and that the window size to present the technical material would be greater for a typical web site compared to the instruction software. Investigation of high-end, web-based instructional software packages revealed the importance of faculty involvement in the selection process of university- supported packages, and this was in hindsight since the expensive package was pre- selected before this project started. The ability to easily share entered information among various software brands and/or versions should comply with Shareable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM) criterion. Further, an asynchronous course offering was prioritized to maximize flexibility in student involvement. The primary course objective was to educate pesticide applicators, regulators, sprayer engineers, and others on the environmental impact and corrective action to lessen atmospheric spray drift of applied crop protectants. Lesson plan topics were developed for modules with a progressive line of thought including (1) overview of spray drift problem, (2) dosage transfer of atomized materials (why we spray), (3) mass balance of applied spray material (how much is lost), (4) atmospheric transport (how droplets are carried away), and (5) best-management practices for reducing atmospheric transport. The presentation format was to link together a series of shortened technical segments, with attention given to developing salient technical points in sufficient depth with enough overlap with previous and subsequent sections to reinforce course continuity.

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Hart, W., & Williams, M., & Grandle, G., & Womac, A. (2003, June), Development Of An Online Electronic Course In Environmentally Sensitive Spray Applications Paper presented at 2003 Annual Conference, Nashville, Tennessee. 10.18260/1-2--11424