Purposes for using these materials
- This segment of VISIT provides a collection of hands-on
instructional materials and data sets that you can
use in several different ways:
- Teachers who are new to GIs can take the exercises
and lessons to become familiar with some functions
of GIs software, some examples of geo-referenced data,
some methods for applying GIs functions, and some
of the ways these tools, data, and methods might be
used in the curriculum and in real-world projects.
- Teachers who have some familiarity with the tools
may further develop their skills and concepts by learning
additional techniques and applications.
- Teachers or curriculum specialists may tailor some
of these materials for use in their own classrooms
and curriculum and teaching methods.
- Teachers who are developing their own lessons or
GIs-based projects may use the data and techniques
from these materials as part of their own lessons.
- Teachers who are requesting graduate credit from
EMU or CSM for their work in VISIT, can submit the
results of their work on these lessons in the Collaboratory.
This is explained in "GIs for Teachers: Activities"
in this segment's Table of Contents.
Exercises vs lessons Vs technical procedures
An "exercise" is a set of instructions
for how to perform certain tasks using particular software
and data. An exercise should be designed to be pedagogically
effective in teaching you how to do something or how
to understand a concept. It is usually for the purpose
of introducing a particular software function or operation,
and does not necessarily connect directly to an educational
or curricular purpose.
A "lesson" should have some curricular
or project purpose, and illustrate the application of
tools and techniques in the context of that purpose.
A "technical procedure" is a set of
steps for accomplishing some particular task. It is
not designed to be instructional but rather serves as
a reference to be used when needed.
In VISIT, we have tried to label these three different
kinds of instructional materials in this way. However,
the materials were developed or adapted by many different
individuals and groups. Therefore the labels may not
always be applied consistently.
Software to use
In the table of links to GIs exercises and lessons,
the materials are organized by the type of software
to use with the exercise or lesson.
ArcVoyager is the software package that all
VISIT teachers have at hand because they receive it
on CD as part of their registration packet. Therefore,
if you are a VISIT teacher, you can use any of the ArcVoyager
materials. ArcVoyager is free for use by anyone in your
school.
ArcView is the commercial version of ArcVoyager.
It is the same as ArcVoyager, except that it has some
additional functions - most importantly the ability
to save a project. Some school districts and schools
have site licenses for ArcView. If you are using ArcView,
you can use any of the lesson materials for either ArcView
or ArcVoyager.
Web-based interactive mapping services do not
require you to have any special software on your computer
except your web browser. However, you do need a reasonably
fast and reliable Internet connection in order to use
these effectively.
Idrisi is a raster-based software package with
powerful analysis capabilities. We have just a few lessons
that use Idrisi, on environmental science topics.
Location or sources of the materials
Exercises and lessons are available from several sources,
as indicated in the "Table of Available Exercises
& Lessons" in this segment's Table of Contents.
There are also other sources, such as the book "Mapping
Our World" published by ESRI. For purposes of EMU
credit, you may use lessons or exercises from any sources
available to you.
Rubric for Evaluation of Lessons
The VISIT Rubric for evaluating exercises and lessons
is available from Tech Tips in the Course Menu. Teachers
have already filled in rubrics for some of the lessons
and exercises. When you are choosing which lesson to
take, you may want to check to see whether there are
evaluations available for certain lessons, and see what
other teachers have said about the lessons.
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