Geo-Focus:Spotlights on the geology of Switzerland 

In 2022 you created a series of videos for the course “Dynamische Erde I”. Now you have published a new series of videos. Please tell us a little bit about the videos and how they will be used as part of the lecture.

For the lecture “Geologie der Schweiz”, held by Dr. Iwan Stössel, we created a video series that explains important aspects of the geology of Switzerland using specific field examples. Each major topic is explored in a video filmed at a representative location in Switzerland to show the actual situation in the field.

Lectures typically rely on figures and diagrams that give a more general and simplified view, but it is difficult to convey the actual conditions in the field in this way. Videos bring the geological reality of the field into the classroom. We used a drone to get overview shots – the “big picture”– and to reach places that cannot be reached by foot. We also added a voiceover so that students can use the videos for self-study.

What are the advantages of these videos that motivated you to produce them?

The figures and diagrams shown in a classic lecture are often simplifications of the geological reality. The videos complement the lecture by showing the real conditions in the field. This helps students learn how the actual results of the processes discussed in the lecture look like. The videos link theory to reality.

This is very important and also one reason why we have many field excursions and field courses at our department. The videos could be seen as small virtual excursions that are not dependent on the weather and that are accessible to everyone. They reduce barriers for people who might not be physically able to visit the locations shown in the videos. Another advantage is that by using the drone we get views and perspectives that are not possible from the ground. This is very important for the understanding of the local geology.

What kind of feedback and reactions did you get from the students to the videos you produced in 2022?

We got very positive feedback. Students found the videos were motivating and easy to understand. They appreciated that they could watch them at their own pace and pause to take notes. Students liked the scenes filmed in the field (most 2022 videos were filmed at ETH) because it gave them a reference to the real conditions outside.

One critically evaluated point was the integration of the videos into the lecture. Our initial idea was that the students could either watch the videos at home or during the lecture time. To some students, it was unclear when there was a lecture with Prof. Dr. Olivier Bachmann and when the podcasts were shown instead (and they could have stayed at home if they wanted). This was easy to solve the next time the lecture was held in 2023.

For the current project, we will integrate the videos differently because each video corresponds to one lecture topic. Some parts of the videos will be shown in the lecture, and Iwan comments on the key points. Other parts will be available for self-study.

You have chosen to make the videos public, but you could also have hosted them privately. Why public?

We want the videos to be public so that anyone interested in the geology of Switzerland can watch them. We want to share our fascination for geology, and promote the studies of Earth Sciences at ETH Zurich. We especially hope to reach younger secondary school students and spark their interest in geology. And maybe some of them will come to study Earth and Climate Science at our department.