444
Chapter 15 What’s Next for Geospatial Technology?
Among OhioView’s initiatives is SATELLITES (Students and Teachers
Exploring Local Landscapes to Interpret the Earth from Space), a program
designed to instruct K–12 teachers about geospatial technologies and aid
them in incorporating it into their classrooms. SATELLITES hosts week-long
“Teachers’ Institutes” during the summer (in locations in Ohio). These institutes are free for teachers to attend (and teachers can earn free graduate
credits, when available, through successful participation). During the week,
teachers receive introductory instruction in several of this book’s topics (including GIS, GPS, remote sensing, landscapes, and remotely sensed environment or climate data) and hands-on work with the technology. Teachers also
receive free equipment to take back to their classrooms, including a GPS receiver and an infrared thermometer. The goal is for the teachers to develop an
inquiry-based research project incorporating geospatial technologies and an
environmental theme (such as previous SATELLITES institutes that involved
the International Polar Year).
An example of a SATELLITES success story is the “Satellite Girls” (a group
of four middle school students from Akron, Ohio). Their teacher attended the
SATELLITES program in the summer of 2007 and involved a group of his students with data collection and analysis through GLOBE. The girls competed
with their project at the state and national levels and were selected to be one
of five teams of students to represent the United States at the international
GLOBE Learning Expedition in Cape Town, South Africa, in 2008.
SATELLITES Students
and Teachers Exploring
Local Landscapes to
Interpret the Earth from
Space—an OhioView
initiative involving K–12
teachers and students
with geospatial
technologies.
The widespread nature of geospatial technologies
and the availability and access to geospatial software have allowed educators to integrate GIS, GPS,
and remote sensing into lesson plans in multiple
ways. Examine some of the following examples to
see how geospatial technology is being incorporated into K–12 curricula. What kinds of activities are
teachers using in the classroom that involve geospatial technology?
1. Educaching - GPS lesson plans: http://www.
educaching.com
2. GIS 2 GPS - GIS and GPS lesson plans: http://
gis2gps.com
3. Google for Educators - Using Google Earth,
Maps, and SketchUp in the classroom: http://
www.google.com/educators/geo.html
4. Juicy Geography - Lesson plans and ideas
related to geospatial technology: http://www.
juicygeography.co.uk
5. NASA’s Teacher’s Kit - For use with Landsat
7 imagery: http://landsat.gsfc.nasa.gov/
education/teacherkit
6. Sciencespot - GPS lesson plans: http://
sciencespot.net/Pages/classgpslsn.html
7. NASA Teacher’s Guide - Using the Image
Composite Explorer in the classroom:
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/
Experiments/ICE/ice_teacher_guide.php
When you’ve examined these examples, fire up
a search engine and locate some other examples of
how geospatial technologies are being applied in
the classroom.
Hands-on Application 15.3
Educational Resources and Lesson Plans
Chapter 15 What’s Next for Geospatial Technology?
Among OhioView’s initiatives is SATELLITES (Students and Teachers
Exploring Local Landscapes to Interpret the Earth from Space), a program
designed to instruct K–12 teachers about geospatial technologies and aid
them in incorporating it into their classrooms. SATELLITES hosts week-long
“Teachers’ Institutes” during the summer (in locations in Ohio). These institutes are free for teachers to attend (and teachers can earn free graduate
credits, when available, through successful participation). During the week,
teachers receive introductory instruction in several of this book’s topics (including GIS, GPS, remote sensing, landscapes, and remotely sensed environment or climate data) and hands-on work with the technology. Teachers also
receive free equipment to take back to their classrooms, including a GPS receiver and an infrared thermometer. The goal is for the teachers to develop an
inquiry-based research project incorporating geospatial technologies and an
environmental theme (such as previous SATELLITES institutes that involved
the International Polar Year).
An example of a SATELLITES success story is the “Satellite Girls” (a group
of four middle school students from Akron, Ohio). Their teacher attended the
SATELLITES program in the summer of 2007 and involved a group of his students with data collection and analysis through GLOBE. The girls competed
with their project at the state and national levels and were selected to be one
of five teams of students to represent the United States at the international
GLOBE Learning Expedition in Cape Town, South Africa, in 2008.
SATELLITES Students
and Teachers Exploring
Local Landscapes to
Interpret the Earth from
Space—an OhioView
initiative involving K–12
teachers and students
with geospatial
technologies.
The widespread nature of geospatial technologies
and the availability and access to geospatial software have allowed educators to integrate GIS, GPS,
and remote sensing into lesson plans in multiple
ways. Examine some of the following examples to
see how geospatial technology is being incorporated into K–12 curricula. What kinds of activities are
teachers using in the classroom that involve geospatial technology?
1. Educaching - GPS lesson plans: http://www.
educaching.com
2. GIS 2 GPS - GIS and GPS lesson plans: http://
gis2gps.com
3. Google for Educators - Using Google Earth,
Maps, and SketchUp in the classroom: http://
www.google.com/educators/geo.html
4. Juicy Geography - Lesson plans and ideas
related to geospatial technology: http://www.
juicygeography.co.uk
5. NASA’s Teacher’s Kit - For use with Landsat
7 imagery: http://landsat.gsfc.nasa.gov/
education/teacherkit
6. Sciencespot - GPS lesson plans: http://
sciencespot.net/Pages/classgpslsn.html
7. NASA Teacher’s Guide - Using the Image
Composite Explorer in the classroom:
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/
Experiments/ICE/ice_teacher_guide.php
When you’ve examined these examples, fire up
a search engine and locate some other examples of
how geospatial technologies are being applied in
the classroom.
Hands-on Application 15.3
Educational Resources and Lesson Plans