HR: 12:05h
AN: ED32A-08    [Abstracts]
TI: Examples of Information Technology in Field-based Educational Settings
AU: * Knoop, P
EM: knoop@umich.edu
AF: University of Michigan, Department of Geological Scienes, 1100 N. University Ave., Ann Arbor, MI 48109,
AU: * Knoop, P
EM: knoop@umich.edu
AF: University of Michigan, School of Information, 1075 Beal Ave., Ann Arbor, MI 48109,
AU: van der Pluijm, B
EM: vdpluijm@umich.edu
AF: University of Michigan, Department of Geological Scienes, 1100 N. University Ave., Ann Arbor, MI 48109,
AU: Dey, E
EM: dey@umich.edu
AF: University of Michigan, School of Education, 610 E. University Ave., Ann Arbor, MI 48109,
AU: Burn, H
EM: hburn@highline.edu
AF: University of Michigan, School of Education, 610 E. University Ave., Ann Arbor, MI 48109,
AU: Burn, H
EM: hburn@highline.edu
AF: Highline Community College, Department of Mathematics, 2400 S. 240th St., Des Moines, WA 98198,
AB: Over the last five years we have utilized ruggedized Tablet PCs and Pocket PCs in a variety of summer field courses at our Camp Davis Rocky Mountain Field Station, near Jackson, WY, as well as during departmental field trips. The courses involved range from upper-level field geology to lower-level introductory geology, as well as a mid-level environmental science course. During this period we gained a lot of experience with how to integrate information technology in field courses and field trips, as we experimented with a range of hardware and software combinations as well as different teaching approaches, some more successful than others. During much of this time we have also collaborated with external educational researchers to help us assess and understand the impact of this evolving approach to field-based instruction. Presented here are some example cases of how information technology can be used in the field for educational purposes, such as mapping projects in field courses, as a digital field notebook and reference library on field trips, and to support a mobile classroom while students are dispersed among vehicles or across a field area. We also present results from the educational evaluation of this work, which indicate that students see information technology as an important tool for their work, rather than as a novelty, and that it provides them with important visualization capabilities to enhance their understand that are not available with traditional paper mapping techniques.
UR: http://geopad.org
DE: 0820 Curriculum and laboratory design
DE: 0825 Teaching methods
DE: 0840 Evaluation and assessment
DE: 0845 Instructional tools
DE: 0850 Geoscience education research
SC: Education and Human Resources [ED]
MN: 2007 Fall Meeting