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Plant Dictionary emerged from a concept of Dr. Tim Rhodus and
Dr. Pablo Jourdan, professors of horticulture, The Ohio State University,
and Dr. Robert Lyons, Department of Horticulture, Virginia Polytechnic
Institute, to integrate technological innovations into education at The
Ohio State University. A complete review of the horticulture curriculum
resulted in the institution of a four-course core requirement for all majors.
The topics and assignments presented in the core were designed to be tightly
integrated so as to provide a strong base for all subsequent courses in
the various majors. Consequently, students gain an explicit understanding
of how the material in one class relates to that in another.
Effectively teaching the art and science of horticulture can be aided
by the development of a core set of courses that accomplish four distinct
goals.
- First, introduce students to the world of horticulture that exists
around them. Reacquaint them with plants and products which they use in
their everyday lives. Show them the relevance of the discipline and how
much we depend upon its products and services.
- Second, create the understanding of basic plant sicence principles
all practicing horticulturists build upon each and every day. Link basic
biology, chemistry, and cellular responses to the physical environment
in which plants exist.
- Third, explore the many ways people have deliberately manipulated and
controlled these natural processes for their own needs. Have students discover
that plants grow, flower, fruit, and survive in very unnatural environments
and locations and that most people think nothing of it.
- Fourth, examine the tremendous diversity of plant materials which exist
in the natural world and the incredible variants upon these natural forms
that have been created by plant breeders.
Plant Dictionary is built upon the concept of the four-course
core curriculum as a means for delivering multimedia support materials
in Plant Biology, Technology, History and Plant Materials. To this end,
the Horticulture and Crop Science Department received a grant from the
USDA for the development of interactive multimedia instruction in the discipline
of horticulture through the establishment of a WWW server.
The WWW project merges the techniques of information retrieval and hypertext
to make an easy but powerful global information system. The project is
based on the philosophy that much academic information should be easily
available anywhere. It aims to allow information sharing within internationally
dispersed teams, and the dissemination of information by support groups. |