Several members of the Range Science Education Council (RSEC) are in rangeland programs that are being challenged by their administration to broaden the scope of courses to attract a wider audience, thus increasing enrollment, and to alter how the courses are taught (e.g., traditional face-to-face on campus, online, distance education). The challenges we face have been brought about by a couple of major issues. First, too few students are seeking degrees in rangeland science/management, resulting in a severe shortage of well-trained rangeland professionals available for current and future positions. Second, in the past decade or so, lower enrollment in many of the traditional, strictly rangeland classes put rangeland science/management programs at several universities in danger of elimination or absorption by other programs, ultimately reducing the number of graduates available to fill the growing demand. In addition, many programs no longer hire faculty with primarily teaching appointments. Because of this, our programs have fewer teaching faculty with backgrounds in rangelands, and both new and current rangeland faculty are compelled to increase class sizes, course loads, and the number of program graduates. Given these pressures, we are faced with larger classes filled with students representing a wider audience, with sometimes drastically different backgrounds and views. Although these limited resources are challenging, they also provide an opportunity to make innovative advances in curricula and produce well-rounded students that can fill rangeland employment needs. Two primary approaches to meeting the current challenges of range programs are to teach across disciplines and across institutional boundaries. 

The world is becoming more connected and integrated with technology by the minute, and the academic world is no exception. Students are of the Digital Age, and faculty struggle to keep up. Despite the technological literacy of students, schools and universities still provide the scientific background and applicable tools for rangeland ecology and management careers. Thus, instructors can use technology and online resources as learning tools to develop students’ understanding of scientific fundamentals, core competences, and practical skills necessary for the workplace. Here, we discuss the reasons to use technology and online resources, provide examples applicable to rangeland ecology and management, and discuss considerations when employing technology in teaching. 

If you ask teachers what they feel is most rewarding about their work, nearly all will say it’s the joy that comes when students “get it,” and when students are motivated to learn, enjoy learning, and find it a rewarding experience. When asked about which tasks are most disagreeable, grading usually ranks quite highly. Similarly, students generally rate engaging learning activities highly and, with a few exceptions, don’t relish taking exams. We typically use exams to assess student learning, and grades provide a means of recognizing specific levels of achievement or mastery. But can we effectively assess the diverse competencies and real-world skills that we want our students to develop with exams alone? 

Outreach has taken on various forms during the past 10 years, and because technology has become such an integral part of teaching, changes continue to occur at an even greater speed. The pace of life for educators has us reaching for the newest technology and calling ourselves innovative if we embed a YouTube video or a couple of iClicker (a participant response system that allows you to poll the participants and display the results; Macmillan, New York, NY ) questions into our existing PowerPoint presentation. We plan our programs and entice participants to attend with food and Continuing Education Units (CEUs), the perpetual carrot on a string for most education programs, and hope the weather prohibits our clientele from doing something they view as more valuable. But what if our programs were viewed by people as the most valuable use of their time? How can we make that transition from a boring necessity to an investment in their future? 

Rangeland professionals are passionate about rangelands, and they want people in their communities to know what rangelands are and the many resources rangelands offer. Teachers are equally passionate about helping their students become good citizens who will make productive contributions to the world in which they live. For many teachers, this endeavor includes helping their students understand the landscapes that surround them. There are many opportunities for those who care about rangelands to partner with educators to help students gain appreciation, understanding, and fascination with the wild open spaces we know as rangelands. 

Education for the first colonists to become Americans did not exist in Europe. New skills had to be developed for living off the land—and sharing that land with, or taking it from, a people who occupied it. Survival was the prime objective. Just staying alive depended on understanding and adapting to a new environment. Those who wrote our Constitution and installed our new Republic had few books and fewer rules. They read Greek, Roman, French, and English classics containing concepts and philosophy of democracy, freedom, and what it means to be human. Thomas Jefferson’s personal library became our national Library of Congress.