Title:

The Denali Project

Authors:

Scott A. Jordan, Zachary Rowitsch

Abstract:

The Denali Project is an interactive K-12 Math, Science, Technology, GIS, GPS and remote sensing Internet module that utilizes satellite telemetry to track large mammals in Denali National Park, Alaska. Arcview GIS, 3D Analyst, Vistapro, and QTVR allow the computer visitor to not only follow the animals movements and study their behavior, but to also reproduce a three dimensional view of the landscape around them. Users can follow the animal’s daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly movements and recreate their traveled topography. Teachers can then incorporate student centered scientific research to bring these new technologies into the classroom.

Body:

The Denali Project was intended to be a hands-on adventure designed to meet and exceed State and National Standards with major applications in Science, Math and Technology. This project was also designed to meet the needs of both teachers and students being adaptable to any grade or ability level. Teachers need educational programs that are flexible. Students need realization, relevancy and ownership in their learning experiences. The Denali Project can involve students in actual scientific research. This can only serve to motivate students to become more actively involved in the learning process. "Commitment is the key to real learning. If there is no commitment, learning will be shallow as students feel no value in reflecting on the meaning of what they hear or read. The implication for the curriculum is that it must be specified in terms of useful images and experiences as well as in facts," (White, 1992, p. 159). The Denali Project can then create the doorway to lead students into more complex and detailed technological topics like GIS. Therefore, to bring GIS into the classroom, we must create exposure to this topic at a much earlier age, find something both familiar and fun, and utilize some type of educational "hook" to lure students in.

The Denali Project addresses these issues by utilizing animals as the educational and motivational "hook". The challenge for educators is to capitalize on the interest that students have in living things while gradually moving them toward the concepts that make sense of nature. "Familiarity with the phenomenon should precede its’ explanation, and attention to the concrete object should precede abstract theory," (Benchmarks for Science Literacy, 1993, p. 103). Students prefer beginning new endeavors with a sense of having prior knowledge about a particular topic. What better way to integrate Math, Science, and Technology than by peering into the daily elusive lives of awe inspiring animals without disturbing their normal behaviors or adversely interfering with their natural environments. Animals are familiar and motivating to students. The Discovery Channel, National Geographic, Animal Planet, National Wildlife and Ranger Rick Magazine can all attest to that. Walt Disney has capitalized on this idea worldwide for decades! The familiarity and emotional impact that animals bring makes them the ideal subject of any story or scientific study. Whether a student has a pet or has simply been to a zoo, their background and interest are genuinely peaked.

The project was also designed with the idea of utilizing some of this countries great natural resources-our park system. The National Park Service provides availability of animals, in their natural habitats, to the general public. Secondly, the parks provide a secure location for animals so that human interaction is minimized. Thirdly, the predator prey interactions and relationships along with severe weather and awesome scenery provide for some of the best visual imagery and emotional impact to stimulate and motivate student interest. Fourth, Denali National Park is an isolated island with its own unique and varied ecosystem, which has the resources in place for an interactive project of this magnitude. Staff cooperation is also an integral part to the success of this project. Once this technology is mastered it can be brought closer to home with interactive projects of local design. Students can work with regional agencies to possibly collar and track wild animals in similar situations that would add interest and familiarity to their own student centered scientific research. This may also warrant occasional visits to parks thus creating a network of new innovative and motivational options to environmental education. This may also stimulate a growth in educational ecotourism. Environmental projects, of this nature, can provide a means of taking real world situations and applying them to the classroom.

The Denali Park Project Proposal:

The proposal consists of collaring at least one of each of the following large mammals: Moose, Grizzly Bear, Caribou, and Wolf with satellite telemetry transmitters within the Denali National Park boundary.

Collar tracking and data collection will be accomplished with the help of co-operating agencies including the University of Alaska-Fairbanks’ Geophysical Institute and possibly System ARGOS which offers the potential for collecting locational and biological information on freely roaming, wild animals. Wildlife fitted with the appropriate transmitting devices can be tracked by the polar-orbiting series of weather satellites operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Data is collected at three major sites including France, Wallops Island, Virginia and Fairbanks, Alaska. Although the ARGOS data is an integral part of the NOAA data stream, distribution and use of the data is limited to users with the appropriate licenses and agreements made with System ARGOS.

The Geophysical Institute of the University of Alaska Fairbanks has been operating one of these real-time reception stations since 1993. Due to the high latitude at Fairbanks and the converging orbits of polar-orbiting satellites including the NOAA series, the GI/UAF station receives 15-20 passes per day of this data. The station covers an area within a 100km radius of Fairbanks.

The GI/UAF station provides near real-time, time-delayed and archived data to researchers and operational users around the world. Custom processing and locations are often selected by users to reduce data volumes. The data may be delivered to the users via the world wide web, file transfer protocol (FTP) or hard media.

Elementary students may simply want to track a given animal on a particular day. They can choose an animal species, then choose an individual animal and begin tracking its’ movements. However, upperclassman may not be satisfied with just the visual, topographic and geographic data. They may want to investigate why an animal is in a given region during a particular time period. This is where GIS databases will be utilized. The student can then formulate a research project and make use of the collared data to not only locate the animal but calculate home range, territory, seasonal migration, seasonal habitat zones, resource requirements, food resources, rearing areas, etc. The student may then utilize historical tracking data or GIS information to focus on what food resources are available in that area during that time of year. However, the real advantage to The Denali Project is the users’ ability to "see through the eyes of the animals." To actually view a specific place on earth at any time created with Arcview GIS and Vistapro.

ArcView GIS, Vistapro, Tracking Analyst, and 3D Analyst are then used to follow the animals movements and recreate visually what is happening in their environment. Furthermore, GIS databases can be accessed with information on vegetation, soil and rock types, topography, and animal habitats. To create a topographic animation of the animal’s location a student would simply use ArcView to locate and plot the animal’s position and then enter their data into VistaPro. A script for VistaPro then opens a three-dimensional map of the area of that particular animal and can render a fly through movie. To create a QuickTime Panorama, the student can follow the same procedure, but use a different script. This time the script renders a panoramic series of images in which the camera is rotated a full 360 degrees. These images are then imported into Apple’s QuickTime VR Authoring Studio, which stitches the images into a complete QuickTime VR Panorama and can be viewed on an Apple or IBM-compatible computer. CD’s may provide a combination of these programs or even a shortcut to the procedures required making this operation easier to utilize in the future.

These programs allow the computer visitor to walk a mile in their "paws". This interactive visualization will allow teachers to compete with the computerized technological advances students are exposed to outside the classroom. This type of program will enable students to utilize the "Scientific Method" at a much earlier age - hopefully inspiring and peaking their individual interests. Students can further their research by collaborating with other students, schools, park staff, park visitors, and possibly even visiting the park themselves. Richardson (1994) said that "educational research can form the glue that unites and atomizes students, teachers, parents, and communities. Science education research can then be viewed as an investment and an asset rather than an outside project." The Denali Project in turn can open doors for students regarding environmental awareness, scientific literacy, and possibly creating career interests after involvement in developing part of the "big picture".

Educators need to have access to programs that are flexible without extensive time constraints or commitments. The new state and national standards leave little time to cover anything but the core curriculum and required material. The Denali Project allows users to work at their own pace, their own level, and when time allows. Thus the utilization of this project would be beneficial to both the student and the teacher.

The Denali Project will also provide the expertise in utilizing this new technology to bring this type of interactive learning closer to home. "The Deer Project" may be on the horizon. Almost every state in the country has some type of deer species population. It is hoped that the successes from The Denali Project can be translated into similar smaller scale projects around the country. Thus utilizing various parks and agencies variations of The Denali Project can bring this type of research closer to where students actually live and learn.

In conclusion, the key to success in education is to be able to stimulate the students imagination and try to get them to explore new boundaries, while at the same time creating something familiar to their own background or emotional past. If this attempt is successful, they will feel comfortable taking the associated risk that comes with trying to learn something new. The Denali Project can create this new learning experience and introduce GIS into the classroom!

Acknowledgments:

Mr. Charlie Fitzpatrick (Esri), Mrs. Sally A. Jordan (Inspiration), Ms. Shari George (University of Alaska-Fairbanks), Dr. Robert Myers (NASA’s Classroom of the Future), Mr. Gordon Olson and Mr. Jerry Balant (National Park Service, Denali National Park, Alaska), Mrs. Joanne Guild (Technology), Dr. Steve DeGloria (Cornell University), Dr. Steven Brown (University of Texas), Mr. Robert Hunter and Mr. Herman Griese (Alaska Department of Fish and Game), Mrs. Jody Jordan & Mrs. Barbara Funk (Editing).

References:

American Association for the Advancement of Science. (1993). Benchmarks; for Scientific Literacy. AAAS. Project 2061. Washington, D.C. 20005.

Richardson, L. (1994). Comments and Criticism. Comments: The Maturity of Science Education Research. Journal-of-Research-in-Science-Teaching; Vol. 31, n3, p319-20.

White, Richard. (March 1992). Implications of Recent Research on Learning for Curriculum and Assessment. Journal-of Curriculum-Studies. Vol. 24, n2, p153-64.

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