Exemplary GIS Projects
A number of associated projects
have grown over the past several years and have proven successful. These
included a non-formal project, projects for schools, a graduate curriculum,
and a world-wide web-based project. Current projects have been selected
to illustrate the various approaches to using GIS in classrooms and non-formal
locations. All of the educators mentioned here have participated in summer
GIS workshops. Teachers Nain Singh and DeeDee Whitaker, and non-formal
educators
Jason uses a handheld computer, GIS, and GPS to collect
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Kris Fowler and Jessica Ball
have envisioned and developed projects for and with their students. These
teachers have been mentored by Rita Hagevik, local GIS users, and Dr.
Hugh Devine of the Center for Earth Observation. These GIS projects are
all interdisciplinary, focus on environmental problems, and are aligned
with the National Standards for Science Education (NRC, 1996), National
Council of Teachers of Mathematics Standards (NCTM,1986), Technology Education
Standards (ISTE, 2000), EPA’s Guidelines for Excellence in Environmental
Education, and North Carolina’s educational requirements. Most importantly,
each project is adapted to a specific audience and each project has captured
the imagination of involved students. The educators are positive about
the projects, adding components to the overall project each time it is
taught, with the vision of disseminating the improved project. These projects
are examples of the GIS Leadership Model in progress and are highlighted
below. The educators, who present and describe the case studies below,
have developed these projects as a result of their participation in the
5-Step GIS Leadership Model Program.
1. Learning
After School GIS & CITYgreen Project
(American Forests, 2000)
by Kris Fowler, NC State University,
and Jessica Ball, NC Wildlife Resources
Commission (NCWRC)
Kris Fowler
and Jessica Ball have developed and implemented a hands-on inquiry-based
learning project for students in the Girls
Club of Raleigh,
NC. The project uses Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology
and provides students with an opportunity to explore and map real-world
phenomenon. Using ArcView 3.2 and CITYgreen,
a software extension, students in the project learned to map their club
site and to use GIS software.
Kris measures the diameter breast height of the trees
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Student
participants ranged from 10-12 years old. During the 2002–2003 academic
year, approximately 15 students
participated. These students became familiar with natural resources (trees,
ground cover, wildlife) on their club grounds, technology, and GIS-related
career opportunities. GIS enables students to directly participate in
the scientific method: ask a question, form a hypothesis, and test the
hypothesis. Students collect real-world data outdoors, enter the data
into the GIS software program, manipulate the data, then create maps and
view the data in map form. Doing, seeing, and analyzing, are powerful
learning activities. Using GIS, students move from being passive learners
to being active learners. They create their own lessons, and learn from
them. The project provided student participants and Girls Club staff with
a relevant, on-going connection with NCSU and the NCWRC. Goals of the
project include: enrollment of students at NCSU after graduation and involvement
of students in the new NCWRC Wildlife Education Center on Centennial Campus.
Heather K. Brosz White, Director of Education Programs for the Wake
County Boys and Girls Clubs says,
Our partnership with
NC State University through GIS has fit very nicely into the Project
Learn Strategy, and into the core program area of Education and Career
Development. Members who belong to the GIS group have become competent
in a number of academic and technical skills through this program,
and have had a growing bond with NCSU. It has been a fantastic experience
for these members who have been able to learn new skills while finding
real-world applications to things they learned in school.
In May 2003, Kris Fowler and
Jessica Ball, together with Rita Hagevik, taught an ArcVoyager workshop
to staff members from each of the five Wake County Boys and Girls Clubs.
The goal was to provide staff members with the ability to initiate and
facilitate GIS projects at their clubs, thereby widening the educational
opportunities for students in all Wake
County Boys and Girls Clubs.
For more information on this project contact Kris
Fowler and Jessica
Ball
2. What Are Nematodes?
Developed by Dr.
Nain Singh, from Carrington Middle School in Durham.
 A
handful of soil contains thousands of microscopic worms, known as nematodes.
Some live symbiotically with plants and
animals serving as nitrogen fixers and gut microbes. Others play an important
role in the decomposition of dead organic matter and the cycling of plant
nutrients. However, many species of nematodes are parasitic to plants,
animals, and even insects. This project includes methods of collection
and extraction of nematodes from garden soil samples, nematode basic anatomy
as a tool for identification, nematode feeding, plant disease symptoms,
and the importance of nematodes in agriculture. To investigate such an
unknown organism that has such an impact in our world today and for students
to show such interest is a plus for this project.Students used GIS to
examine  10
meter by 10 meter plots and to investigate the relationships between plants,
soil, temperature, moisture, trees, and cover to the number and type of
nematodes found in the soil. The MOSS curriculum was used and modified
to focus on nematodes in the soil instead of other types of animals. Students
were able to relate abiotic and biotic factors to species diversity and
numbers of nematodes found. GIS allowed the students to digitize the study
area, analyze the data, and create a site map. GIS also provided a quantitative
analysis as to the benefits of trees in the study site. It compared more
than one modeling option at a time and manipulated the existing data to
suit the new models. No other technology does it better than GIS.
For more information on the nematode project, contact Dr.
Nain Singh
3.
GIS at Southwest Guilford High School
by DeeDee Whitaker
As a result
of several workshops presented by SCI-LINK, NC State University, and
the NC Department of Public Instruction, and
NC Department of Environment and Natural Resources, a GIS component
to the Earth Science and Chemistry curricula has been added at Southwest
Guilford High. The Earth Science classes use ArcVoyager, a free CD provided
by ESRI, which includes United States and world files for many of the
objectives covered by the course outline. Students use the computer
lab to investigate such topics as earthquakes and volcanoes, cloud coverage,
climate change, and plate tectonics. The great thing about ArcVoyager
is that students can visualize individual concepts as well as develop
relationships among concepts that are presented visually on a map. The
map layers are interactive so students can see how rainfall affects
vegetation, how average July high temperature is related to latitude,
or how the locations of earthquakes and volcanoes relate to plate boundaries,
for examples. The students take to the program quickly, almost instinctively.
They say the ArcVoyager lessons make learning the concepts easier. As
the course progresses, students compete with each other for the best,
most attractive map.  There
is never a discipline problem during computer time and all students
experience success. But this is not the only way GIS has been incorporated
into the classroom. As part of the Chemistry I program, a GIS project
has been added that gives students a chance to practice their chemistry
skills while completing an environmental assessment study. For seven
years, we have completed water quality analysis on the Deep River, a
river close to campus that feeds into the local drinking water reservoir.
The water is tested monthly for pollutants as well as other indicators
of water quality. The results are added to a spreadsheet kept by the
students and then added to a GIS project. With the help of High Point
City data layers found on-line, a map is generated showing test sites
and development along the river. Students are asked to provide a written
environmental assessment of river health with justification based on
data they collected. They must also hypothesize possible reasons as
to why river health declined or improved based on the previous year’s
data and support their hypotheses. The assessments are shared in class
and the class makes a final decision on the health of the river and
then brainstorms possible solutions if problems are found.In addition
to water quality studies, a study-site has been added on campus that
includes a pond, grassy area, and tree stand.
The study site is a 30 meter
by 30 meter site, within a larger fenced-in area. Students break into
groups for the duration of the class and conduct water quality tests,
soil analysis, collect weather and air data, and take topological measurements.
They record their data, map it, and provide a detailed assessment of
the plot. Again, the data is stored so that future classes have an archive
with which to make informed decisions. The students enjoy being involved
in a real-world problem. It gives them the opportunity to apply their
chemistry knowledge and skills to something tangible. They get an idea
of what it is like to conduct science research in the field. Often they
must improvise on short notice. They must analyze and synthesize data.
They know the entire class is depending on the quality of each group’s
work. Communication sometimes get heated, but each student and each
group quickly become very proficient at their appointed tasks. The addition
of GIS to the science class has improved students’ thinking skills
and the way they connect science, math, and technology. They see the
way concepts fit together. They use what they learn in a practical and
meaningful way. Their attitude toward chemistry improves greatly and
some students even develop an interest in pursuing a chemistry or GIS-related
career. The rewards for incorporating GIS into the classroom are bountiful
and the possible ways to incorporate GIS are limited only by students’
and teachers’ imaginations.
For more information about
these projects, contact DeeDee
Whitaker
Projects
in Development
There are many more projects
in process that deserve mention and attention. Several other individuals
who have contributed to the use of new technologies include:
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