The Precision Farming Systems course AST333 offers a mix of discussion, theory, and hands-on laboratory work, and includes topics such as technologies of precision agriculture, issues (legal, economic, social) in the adoption and implementation of precision agriculture, data analysis and data warehousing, and emerging and future trends in precision agriculture. The course has gained in popularity each fall term it has been offered, growing from 19 students in 1996 to 42 students in 1998.

Because of the course's popularity, a web-based version is being offered for the first time this spring. About half of the 11 students live in Iowa and the other half are located in Minnesota and South Carolina. Students "meet" with instructor Sunday Tim once a week on-line, attend three Saturday on-campus laboratories, and complete the rest of their course work independently on the Web. E-mail, chat rooms, and bulletin-board discussions are incorporated into the course structure.

Tim anticipates that the Web-based course will continue, perhaps with a few changes to enhance students' learning. Basing the course on a CD-ROM would open up the potential for those in countries limited by computing and telecommunication technologies to handle the current graphics-intensive resource materials. Videos, "virtual" field trips, and other on-line learning resources may be woven into future classes. For more information on this course, contact Sunday Tim at (phone) 515-294-0466 or (e-mail) tim@iastate.edu.