Interactive Computer Tools to Clarify the Role of Nitrogen in Agriculture and the Environment.

Nitrogen (N) is essential for most plant and animal life, but it can also cause problems when present in excess in the environment. Students in agronomic and environmental sciences need to know how to calculate N amounts for a variety of uses, but are often confused by its various organic and inorganic forms. Faculty lose valuable time in the classroom when they must review chemistry pre-requisite concepts such as oxidation state, molecular composition and mass, all needed to calculate N ratios for contamination, fertilization or animal feeding. There is tremendous potential for digital and interactive instruction in agriculture education to help students visualize key chemical concepts invisible to the naked eye, practice calculations, as well as providing tools useful in distance education. Faculty worked with instructional designers to help college students understand how the various forms of N are calculated for protein, pollutants, and fertilizers. The design team created three interactive educational tools for use in or outside of class which present these concepts. The goal is to introduce these calculations and concepts early in a student’s education so that students will be less intimidated by, and more engaged in, learning the chemistry and math - knowing how useful these topics will be in their future agricultural and environmental careers. The learning tools will be integrated into introductory and upper level courses and will be evaluated using pre- and post-testing. All modules are freely available at ScienceofAgriculture.org