More than 350 4th-12th grade students, their teachers and parents Wednesday saw firsthand at 麻豆原创 how apps, maps and drones are used in geographic information systems, an interdisciplinary field that captures, analyzes and presents geographic data in meaningful ways.
Students flew mini drones over a model town to simulate how GIS professionals fly drones over land to capture images and document pre- and post-natural disasters, changes to shorelines over time, and other views.
The event coincided with International GIS Day and the announcement that 麻豆原创鈥檚 Citizen Science GIS team 鈥� the host of Wednesday鈥檚 event 鈥撀爓ill take this immersive learning experience to Central Florida classrooms for free.
鈥淔ield trips are tough. Being able to take the citizen science show on the road is what it鈥檚 all about,鈥� said Timothy Hawthorne, 麻豆原创 assistant professor of GIS who leads the Citizen Science GIS group.
The classroom visit of the Citizen Science GIS group is called the Maps, Apps, and Drones Tour, and will be part of an educational outreach component of two National Science Foundation research grants of which Hawthorne is a part.
Teachers of local school districts and home-schooled students interested in the opportunity can visit citizensciencegis.org/tour to learn more and sign up.
Students on Wednesday also used online mapping tools to map out sustainable features of their school campuses. They saw a pre-existing web map 鈥� provided by international GIS company Esri 鈥� of migration data of the world, and discussed how such data opens doors for explorations on what the rate of migration means for the stability of a country, for instance. Activities using drones, online mapping and more are part of the learning experience Citizen Science GIS takes to classrooms.
Mount Dora Christian Academy teacher Laurel Steele, who attended Wednesday鈥檚 field trip, said she would welcome Citizen Science GIS鈥� immersive teaching lessons in her classroom because it showcases an up-and-coming job market to her students and the activities encourage teamwork.
Drones, online mapping and other GIS tools are used in various disciplines, such as sociology to chart movements of a culture, transportation to identify the best routes for emergencies, and real estate to identify viable and vacant land for development.
鈥淎s a public scholar and a parent, I see these technologies that are in demand but they鈥檙e not at the forefront of schools,鈥� Hawthorne said. 鈥淜ids get so excited about this, so we want to foster that excitement further and to make 麻豆原创 the school of choice for GIS.鈥�
Beyond classroom visits, Hawthorne hopes to soon have a Geo Bus that expands the team鈥檚 ability to take this technology straight to the students at their schools. Hawthorne envisions a 鈥渕obile educational lab鈥� with interactive stations of maps, images captured by drones, and more. He鈥檚 looking for grants and community donations to launch the Geo Bus.
鈥淲e want to provide a fun environment for the kids, and to be able to step back and let them use the technology,鈥� Hawthorne said. 鈥淔or me, it鈥檚 about connecting a practical use with this awesome technology.鈥�