Mustafa M. Hariri

Effective Use of LMS (Learning Management System) in Teaching Graduate Geology Course at KFUPM, Saudi Arabia

Utilization of the LMS in teaching is very crucial and reflects on the students learning. The current practices of student-centered learning (where students contribute to the subject and get involved in the learning process) can be applied very effectively through using the LMS. This paper summarizes an experiment of using the LMS (Blackboard CE8) in teaching a graduate course (Advanced Structural Geology) in Earth Sciences Department, at KFUPM. The paper demonstrates the types of tasks and assignments given to students and their involvements and contributions. Additionally, learning measurement through the satisfaction level of students and how the experiment added to their learning are also addressed in the paper.

Types and nature of fracture associated with Late Ordovician paleochannels of glaciofluvial Sarah Formation, Qasim region, Central Saudi Arabia

This study evaluates the Late Ordovician glaciofluvial deposits of the Sarah Formation and equivalent outcroppings in north, central, and southwestern Saudi Arabia. The Sarah Formation also covers a wide area in the subsurface and is considered as an important target for unconventional tight gas reservoir. Defining the fracture types, nature, and distribution in outcrop scale might help to establish a successful fracture simulation model and behavior for the Sarah tight gas reservoir in the subsurface. This study investigates fracture characteristics for the Sarah Formation at Sarah paleochannel outcrops. The study revealed three sets of fractures, which have EW, NS, and SE-NW directions, and these fractures vary from open, resistive, and filled to resistive fractures. The closed fractures are filled with ferruginated iron oxides and gypsum. The filled fractures (the thrust boundary) are found in the study area at the SE-NW strike fracture set, while open and resistive fractures are found mainly at S-N and E-W fracture sets, respectively. The syn-depositional filled fractures (iron oxides) are considered as the younger fracture sets while the open and resistive fractures are post-depositional fractures which may have resulted from uplift or tectonic movement. A general model representing the fracture pattern and the thrusting boundaries due to glacial movement was constructed. It has been noticed that the systematic occurrence of filled fractures (thrust boundaries) described the boundaries between different glacial events, which act as a fluid barrier (filled fractures) and decrease the reservoir quality. The finding of this study might be utilized as a guide and lead for exploration in the subsurface Sarah glacial deposits. It will also help to understand and speculate the nature pattern and distribution of fractures with the Sarah Formation.

Standards and Process Applied in Development of Comprehensive Online Courses at KFUPM, Saudi Arabia

Development of comprehensive online courses has to consider several aspects to enable them to be a useful and usable resource. The well-developed online-course should contain, course information, both course and modules objectives, interactions, animations and self-tests. Moreover, the course subject and contents should be completed and designed according to a well-developed and systematic blue-print. Quality-assurance processes should also be practiced in all levels of course development and even should start from the stage of the content preparation. This paper explains the development procedure and steps followed at KFUPM in producing comprehensive online courses in engineering, sciences and humanities subjects. The paper also explains what resources and man-power are needed in the development in-order to produce a well-developed online course. Furthermore, what measures and issues need to be applied after the course development and use.