The Virtual Geography Department: assessing an agent of change in geography education

Recent curriculum development projects have introduced geographers to the theory and practice of online instruction. One of these projects, the Virtual Geography Department (VGD) at the University of Texas at Austin, seeks to promote the development of high-quality instructional materials on the Web. Twenty-nine participants in the VGD project were interviewed for the purpose of learning what effects the VGD had on their educational practice. The results show that the VGD is diffusing innovative practice in geography by training faculty members in Web pedagogy and online curriculum development.