By:
Carole L. Jaworski

Source:
Mickie Swisher (352) 392-1869

GAINESVILLE – There is still time to register for the University of Florida’s &quotFood and the Environment” Internet course being offered this spring. But the Dec. 24 deadline is rapidly approaching.

&quotFood and the Environment” is open to graduate and upper-class students. The course is designed for working teachers in both formal and nonformal educational settings. It examines the scientific merit of the various arguments about the impact of food production and consumption on the environment.

Course participants meet twice in Gainesville and throughout the semester on the Internet using &quotlive chat” technology. The two Gainesville meetings are on Saturday, Jan. 3 and Saturday, March 21.

Instructor of the three credit hour course is Mickie Swisher, UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences family youth and community science associate professor. Swisher heads extension programs in sustainable agriculture and sustainable development statewide. She has worked with limited resource farmers in the United States as well as internationally in Zaire, Honduras and Costa Rica.

&quotThis course is one of the first truly interactive courses taught on the Internet,” Swisher said. &quotWe meet in cyberspace, do mini-experiments, work on team projects and share all of our results. Students seem to enjoy it a great deal.”

Course prerequisites are two college-level courses in the natural sciences. Requirements for the course include an Internet-ready computer, World Wide Web access and an e-mail account.

For more information on this and other UF/IFAS distance education spring semester courses, contact UF/IFAS Communication Services by phone at (352) 392-3893; by fax at (352) 392-3896; or by e-mail at DistanceEd@gnv.ifas.ufl.edu. Course descriptions and catalog information can also be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.ifas.ufl.eduwww.ifas.ufl.edu/~newsifas/courses.htm.

Spring classes begin in January.

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