This course is designed for students outside of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. It will reach out to future journalists, lawyers, legislators, teachers, and others, so that they develop an appreciation of the impact insects have on us. The course gives students an appreciation of the past, present and future role of insects with human society. It includes how to identify common insects and other arthropods, the effects of insects on human history; diseases transmitted by insects and their worldwide impact; insects and their influence on our language, literature, and the arts; management of pests of plants, animals, and its effects on environmental pollution; and practical information of how to recognize and manage important insects and arthropods, such as termites in houses and fleas on animals. We also discuss pesticide pollution in various countries, and the problems with pesticide-contaminated food shipped from abroad into the US.Course materials include the following:
- Microsoft PowerPoint presentations
- VHS films/movie clip, and news clips
- Slides, both real and electronic
- Living insects, with one given to each student to raise to adulthood
- Handouts with diagrams
All lectures have used Microsoft PowerPoint presentations this semester, with the aid of a PowerPC 8100 and a color projection panel from Media Services. The electronic screenshows have always included electronic clipart, and most have included scanned images and digitized photos. Two include QuickTime movie clips of insects. Electronic material used in the class includes selected clipart from a COREL CD containing 10,000 clipart images--including more than 100 pieces of insect clipart. We also have 300 royalty-free photos on CD. Printouts of the PowerPoint screen shows have been used as handouts for every class. Our classroom is configured with two screens so that both an electronic screen show and slides can be displayed at the same time. This has been very effective.
Student response has been excellent! Students have commented that they like the electronic presentations. The handouts give the students a detailed outline of the presentation, enabling the instructor and the students to have a dialog on the information. Students spend less time as scribes and more time learning.
For additional information on this innovation, contact:
tmack@vt.edu