Tasa Graphic Arts, Inc. - Plate Tectonics and How the Earth Works CD-ROM Review

From California Geology: July/August 1998
Reviewed by Chris Higgins and Jeff Tolhurst.

Back to Plate Tectonics and How the Earth Works

This CD-ROM is designed as an educational supplement for upper division and graduate students in geology, although there is much of interest to non-geoscientists. In order to get the most out of this CD-ROM though, it is recommended that it supplement a good textbook on plate tectonics and crustal evolution.

Four main topics make up the CD-ROM: Plate Tectonics, The Earth's Crust, Tectonic Settings, and The Earth's Mantle and Core. An extensive glossary defines hundreds of technical terms; an important feature to aid viewers with less background in geology.

The greatest strength of this CD-ROM is its excellent graphic display of the dynamics of the earth's processes and features. Emphasis is on visualization through color maps, diagrams, graphs and photographs. Text is designed to complement the graphics, but its role is subordinate. Many of the graphics are animated, which is especially effective. This product will be most useful for people who favor visual learning.

Several tools help the viewer interact with the graphics, including select, drag, pan, zoom, and rotation. These tools sustain the viewer's interest longer than if the presentation consisted only of static images and text.

Another strength of this CD-ROM is the amount and breadth of information presented. One highlight is an animated presentation of global plate movement over the last 600 million years. Nonetheless, viewers may want to consult a textbook for additional details and explanations of concepts.

Review questions are challenging interactive questions and activate at the end of each of the four main topics. For example, most of the multiple-choice questions have more than one correct answer. A sound card is needed, however, to determine if selected answers are correct. If the viewer needs more help on a specific question, a key can be pushed to return to the pertinent sections covering that material.

The CD-ROM runs in Macintosh and Windows environments, with no installation on the hard disk necessary. A brochure describing system requirements and products is available from Tasa Graphic Arts.

-- Chris Higgins and Jeff Tolhurst