AbstractGeoPad: Modern Field-Based Science Education Track: Teaching with GIS in Higher Education Author(s): Peter Knoop, Ben van der Pluijm Field-based courses are a core degree requirement in many scientific disciplines such as geology and biology, and in-the-field access to data collection, analysis, visualization, and interpretation greatly enhances these educational practices. Continuing innovation in information technology, especially in the form of increasing portability and new haptic interfaces, offers students access to enriched interactions and learning through field-based data analysis and hypothesis testing. Since summer 2003, we have successfully integrated field computing in courses taught at the University of Michigan's Camp Davis Field Station, near Jackson, Wyoming. Our focus has been on the incorporation of GeoPads (http://geopad.org)—the generic concept of a rugged Tablet PC equipped with digital notebook, ArcGIS, GPS, and wireless networking, complemented by camera, microphone headset, and voice recognition—into field-mapping exercises and field trips. This application of mobile computing particularly strengthens the development of students’ spatial reasoning skills and augments other aspects of learning in field-based settings. Peter Knoop University of Michigan School of Information 1075 Beal Ave. Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2112 US Phone: 734-647-8042 E-mail: knoop@umich.edu Ben van der Pluijm Univeristy of Michigan Dept. of Geological Sciences 1100 N. University Ave. Ann Arbor, MI 48109 US Phone: 734-764-1435 E-mail: vdpluijm@umich.edu |