During each of the four 1-hour VASTcasts, shipboard scientists will narrate the live streaming video from the seafloor, and field questions from students and others who send Tweets to InteractiveOceans. Science updates for the VISIONS '11 Expedition will also be provided by the Co-Chief Scientists, Drs. John Delaney and Deborah Kelley.
In addition to live broadcasts, undergraduate students at the College of Charleston in South Carolina will pilot using a full suite of online resources as the first segment of their Marine Geology course. Dr. Leslie Sautter – who is onboard the R/V Thompson as a VISIONS '11 scientist — is the course's instructor and will be teaching remotely from the ship.
Several new VAST Lectures have been produced, each of which provides significant content related to the OOI-RSN, the science being conducted, and the emergent technologies. In addition to VAST Lectures, the online resources include links to VISIONS '11 Stories, articles, and short Feature Videos. Several quizzes will also be generated during the cruise for assessing student understanding.