Keeping Safe from Tsunamis: A 4th Grade Mini-Online Class

Hawaii is a beautiful island chain often thought of as a tropical paradise, however, it’s location in the center of the Pacific Ocean makes it vulnerable to one of natures most dangerous natural disasters, the tsunami. While tsunamis are quite rare, happening on average only about once a year throughout the world, when a large tsunami does strike a populated area it can cause not only millions of dollars in damages, but will also often take the lives of those who do not evacuate. Even though tsunamis are not preventable there are now many systems in place to detect and warn people when one is coming. When individuals are educated in not only when and where to evacuate, but in how and why tsunamis are so powerful and dangerous, lives will be saved. In this presentation we will cover our use of Google Apps, Blendspace and Articulate Storyline to design an interactive and educational mini-online course designed to turn 4th graders into Tsunami Superheros.

• Dana Ishii, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
• Leon Geschwind, University of Hawaii- Manoa, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
• Edmond Lee, University of Hawaii- Manoa, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA