GeoPad: New tool for field education
ANN
ARBOR, Mich.—Notebook, rock hammer, compass, clipboard,
topographic maps and aerial photographs—these are the tools
that generations of geology students have used to learn the science
and hone their mapping and observation skills in the field.
Now
add GeoPad, a mobile computer application developed at the University
of Michigan to enhance field education.
Combining
newly available TabletPC computers designed to withstand outdoor
conditions, integrated Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) receivers,
digital datasets, Geographic Information System (GIS) software
and 3-D visualization software, the GeoPad allows students to
record, manipulate, integrate and view their observations and
mapping data in ways that never were possible with traditional
paper-based methods.
"With
the GeoPad, we're doing the digital equivalent of that, but with
much better and more complete ability to manipulate the information
and images." For example, students can rotate the maps to
get different views and switch from 2-D to 3-D representations
of whatever they're looking at in the real world.
That's
a big advantage in helping students understand how a 2-D map corresponds
to the 3-D landscape, a skill that many find difficult to master,
said Ben van der Pluijm, U-M professor of geological sciences.Students
can also incorporate other information for the area, such as soil
characteristics, vegetation patterns or land-use data. "By
providing more information than we could give them in the field
in the past, we're significantly adding to the learning experience
rather than just replacing the old fashioned way of doing it,"
said van der Pluijm.
For
further information:
http://spatialnews.geocomm.com/dailynews/2003/dec/04/news5.html
Excerpted
from SpatialNews.com Press
Release by GeoCommunity™