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GPS In Education

GPS is an excellent, multidisciplinary, inquiry-driven, field-based, standards-based tool applicable to many subjects, including mathematics, geography, earth science, environmental studies, and more.  Ideas for using it in the educational curriculum follow.

Begin the GPS discussion with a base of familiar objects and concepts: Ask the students, "if I were to tell you that I was 10 feet from the far wall in the room, where could I be?" The answer is anywhere on a straight line that is 10 feet from the wall.

Next, "If I were 10 feet from this wall and 5 feet from this wall, now where could I be?" The answer is a single point, at the intersection of the 2 lines. Next, "If I were 10 feet from [Maria]" - answer - circle with a radius of 10 feet, from Maria. Next, "If I were 10 feet from [Maria] and I could be floating in space?" Answer: a sphere with a radius of 10 feet, centered on Maria. If they understand THAT, then it is not a big leap to the following: We can determine that we are 11,002 miles from GPS satellite A, 10,887 miles from satellite B, and so on. The intersection of all those spheres is our current location.

Base the discussion on mathematics. GPS is one of the best real-world examples of how distance=rate * time works. The time is the critical component, that's why GPS was made possible by accurate time pieces, since 
the time from the satellite to the receiver is miniscule and needed to be accurately measured. The rate is the speed of light. So the distance is computed by the time diff between the receiver and the satellite. I would 
print some of the pages from http://www.howstuffworks.com/gps1.htm or the Geographer's Craft pages at 
http://www.Colorado.EDU/geography/gcraft/notes/gps/gps_f.html to aid your discussion and diagrams.

Use GPS coordinates to help explain the lat-long and the UTM coordinates on any USGS topographic map of the area you're collecting the points in. Walk with the GPS and pose questions such as, "why do the 
northings on UTM decrease as you're walking south?"

Have students, in teams, determine the location of the school grounds [or wherever you're collecting] on a USGS 24K topo map, via manual interpolation, in both lat-long and UTM.  Then go out and collect coordinates. Which team was closest? What about the vertical elevation? Don't be too hasty on dropping the manual interpolation for the GPS reading, especially on the vertical. This is because GPS readings for elevation may be less accurate than what students can interpolate from the topographic map. It lends itself for a good discussion on being critical of the data you are working with; know where it came from, and know its benefits and limitations.

Discuss the vertical and horizontal datums in conjunction with GPS and tie the lesson to the mathematics standards.

Set up a virtual geocaching course around the campus or off campus.  Make the geocaches virtual so that (1) you are not littering the landscape with boxes; (2) there is no danger that someone else could take your geocache, and (3) students find things that exist permanently on the landscape - reading a number off of a sign, visiting trees, bicycle racks, buildings, wetlands, and so on. Build the whole activity into a fun and educational cohesive theme. I have some samples of geocaching courses with themes of historical transportation, the Revolutionary War, aliens, and more, on these USGS Education web pages.

Examine Anton Ninno's Fun With GPS article on:

http://www.monitoringtimes.com/html/gps.pdf

Buy the ESRI Press book by Don Cooke entitled "Fun With GPS", that is full of these and other activities.

Load the ArcExplorer Java Edition for Education from ESRI on your laptops (or ArcGIS / ArcView or other GIS or mapping software) with an aerial and topo map of the neighborhood where you are conducting the activity.  Then have the students upload the points they collect on the ground. You might have them WRITE their names on the ground with GPS waypoints (with 100 meter high letters, for example) and then upload them on top of the aerials/topos.  Then in your GIS session, have a contest:  Whose name is the most legible?

Go on a geocaching expedition!   www.geocaching.com

Even more applicable to education, create and examine some Earthcaches.

Have a look at my Degree Confluence Project educational ideas - fascinating! 

NYGPS -- A Community of Teachers Using GPS for Math, Science & Social Studies Instruction http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nygps/

Import the GPS coordinates into a geographic information system (GIS). Overlay the points on a digital orthophoto of the area or a scanned digital raster graphic (topographic map). Then hyperlink ground photos to the GPS coordinates.

There are 2 methods to do this: 

1. Collect points, write them down, and manually enter via a text editor.
2. Collect points, store inside GPS unit, and with cable, do an upload into computer.

Method 1: 

Collect points and attributes.
In text editor, line 1 should be the header line, such as "lat, long, pH, groundcover, O2, etc"
Line 2 begins your data, separated by commas, such as "site1, 39.7022, -107.4832, 5.7, grassland, 38"
Save as Text such as "gps.txt" OR use Excel and save as DBF.
Access ArcGIS or other GIS software.
Tools --> Add XY Data.
Find your tabular data; TXT or DBF.
Click on layer to make visible. 
Change legend to make graduated symbol map based on attributes you collected.

Method 2:

Use the Minnesota Garmin DNR Utility or another utility to bring in the coordinates automatically from your GPS receiver into your computer. Once you have it stored on your computer, you can map it as above.

GPS and GIS Books and Videos for Educators

A Comprehensive Guide to Land Navigation with GPS, 3rd Edition with CD-ROM
Noel J. Hotchkiss ISBN 1-892688-00-X $24.95

All About GPS: Sherlock Holmes’ Guide to the Global Positioning System
Jerry Huang ISBN 957-97389-7-1 $13.00

ArcView Geography Student Workbook & Teacher’s Guide – written by teachers!
John Nicolucci & Nick Taylor, with assistance from ESRI Canada, 1999 
$100.

Explore Your World: GIS in K-12 Education (video)
ESRI – Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc.
1-800-447-9778 Free to Educators
http://www.esri.com

Fun With GPS
Donald Cooke
2005, ESRI Press
ISBN: 1-58948-087-2   152 pages   $19.95

Getting to Know Desktop GIS with CD-ROM
ESRI – Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc. ISBN 1-879102-42-0
1-800-447-9778

GIS for Everyone with CD-ROM
David E. Davis ISBN 1-879102-49-8 $19.95

GIS in Schools with CD-ROM
ESRI – Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc.
Richard Audet & Gail Ludwig ISBN 1-879102-85-4
1-800-447-9778

GPS for Everyone
L. Casey Larijani ISBN 0-9659667-5-5 $24.95

GPS Land Navigation
Michael Ferguson ISBN 0-9652202-5-7 $19.95

GPS Made Simple
Lawrence Letham ISBN 0-89886-592-1 $14.95

The World in a Box – Video
GITA -- Geospatial Information & Technology Association
www.gita.org

Using GPS
Bruce Grubbs ISBN 1-56044-821-0 $6.95

Using GPS with Maps (video)
GPS Outfitters
ISBN 0-9663800-0-2 $20

Zeroing In
Andy Mitchell
ESRI Press
ISBN 1-879102-50-1 $19.95

For more information, contact Joseph Kerski, Geographer, at jjkerski@usgs.gov