Vision

Pedosphere.com aims to revolutionize Soil Science education by creating high quality, interactive resources that engage both students and instructors, while becoming an extensive repository of Soil Science information through partnerships with major international organizations.

Expertise

Pedosphere.com is dedicated to publishing Soil Science literature and resources in print and electronic media. Our expertise lies in the integration of three spheres of knowledge (teaching methods, subject area expertise and information technology) and has been recognized by a number of national and international Universities and Institutions.

Projects

The first volume of 'The Pedosphere and Its Dynamics: A Systems Approach to Soil Science' was published in both print and electronic media in 1999. 'Introduction to Soil Science and Soil Resources' has been reprinted twice and the current version, 1.3, will be upgraded to the second edition soon. The content of the textbook is organized into 12 chapters. Each subsection has three headings: definitions, concepts and applications. We have done this to ensure that the reader can master the terminology necessary to understand the major concepts being presented and apply these to solve problems. This approach also makes active use of the glossary and allows the user to master the content efficiently.

The Pedosphere.com Soil Science Test Center provides interactivity for learning and exploring Soil Science and soil resources at an introductory level. It also allows the user to custom design sample quizzes, practice mid-terms & practice final exams. Answers and explanations for each question attempted provide quick and precise feedback, and encourage learning. Performance is measured in terms of overall score, and scores for definitions, concepts and applications. This unique approach identifies competency as well as weaknesses in comprehension of the course material. All these resources have been designed to engage the user in learning the material and also help the instructors to deliver their courses.

We are currently working on updating and publishing a number of other individual and colloborative projects. Some of these include a searchable format of 'Keys to Soil Taxonomy' 8th edition, an updated version of our online glossary and several other features to round out our new online magazine format. We are also hoping to release a series of online tutorials at some point in the near future.

Objectives

We have created these resources to: (1) raise the profile of the discipline of Soil Science; (2) show how Soil Science is or can be integrated with other disciplines in Earth System Science; (3) set a global educational standard which would aid in the evaluation and transfer of credits for Introductory Soil Science courses among different institutions around the world; (4) help instructors deliver Soil Science courses using a systems approach to address current issues in agriculture, forestry, ecology and environmental sciences; and (5) generate a global awareness of the importance of Soil Science to humanity.