Building the Technical Architecture to Support K-12 GIS Research

The Data Access and Support Center (DASC) was created by the State of Kansas Geographic Information Systems Policy Board. This board was established by the governor in 1989 to develop Kansas GIS technology management policies and direct the Kansas GIS Initiative. The GIS Policy Board consists of directors of the major state, federal, county, local, and private agencies that are utilizing GIS technology.

One of the issues this Board faced was access policy for the growing core database being developed by the Kansas GIS Initiative. The ‘Core GIS Database’ is a collection of various digital spatial information that is necessary to conduct spatial analysis. The GIS Policy Board realized that a central delivery and distribution center for core GIS databases was "essential to ensure the effective and efficient development and implementation of GIS technology in state government". The Data Access and Support Center was established in 1991, and was charged to administer the access to the Core Database.

DASC services were intended primarily for the member agencies of the Policy Board, but are provided to all other governmental and public organizations as a state service. DASC is located at the Kansas Geological Survey (KGS) in Lawrence, Kansas. Below are the five basic services DASC offers:

• Receive, archive, and catalog all core databases. Maintain associated documentation and information.
• Check and verify integrity of data to ensure it meets GIS Policy Board’s database standards.
• Convert and transform databases to various software formats and computer architectures.
• Distribute databases as requested and handle inquiries for DASC services.
• Promote and assist the use of the core database and GIS technologies and produce the State of Kansas GIS Newsletter.

In 1998, DASC became a cooperating member of the Kansas Collaborative Research Network. The KanCRN project is a five-year grant that will last through April 2002. The primary responsibilities of DASC are to provide technical assistance, software and hardware support, and develop online interactive GIS applications derived from the data that the KanCRN participants create.

1. Software

The backbone of the KanCRN project is the RDBMS. DASC currently houses a majority of the KanCRN databases in Oracle 8.04. DASC uses SequeLink for ODBC connections and SQL Plus to access the Oracle database. The remaining Oracle databases are housed at the Kansas City, Kansas (KCK) Public School District.

DASC develops and serves the KanCRN Internet applications using Netscape Enterprise server. The final applications are served off of the KanCRN web site using Microsoft IIS.

DASC utilizes Esri’s ArcView and ArcInfo GIS software to analyze, maintain, and develop spatial data from the Oracle databases. To present this information to the audience via the internet, DASC develops internet mapping applications (IMS) using ArcView and ArcView IMS and Esri’s MapObjects and MapObjects IMS. The MapObjects development environment is Visual Basic.

To enhance the functionality of some IMS applications, Allaire’s ColdFusion development environment has been used. ColdFusion is a rapid application development system that enables the integration of browsers, servers, and database technologies into web applications. ColdFusion has also been utilized to develop data collection forms over the Internet. Together with KanCRN, DASC design and supported a wide variety of ColdFusion forms that allow students and teachers to enter data into the database, and see their results immediately on the IMS applications.

2. Hardware

The Oracle database at the KGS is currently sitting on a Sun Ultra 2 workstation with a gigabyte of RAM. The KanCRN KCK Oracle databases are running off an NT Alpha workstation. Web servers are all running on an NT platform. Map servers are running on an NT PII 400, dual processor, 256MB RAM, 12-GB RAID server.

3. Technical Skills

The success and benefit of the KanCRN program is directly related to the structure of the program. All projects are a combination of team effort technical skills. Implementation and maintenance of a program like KanCRN relies on the following technical skills:

• Oracle administration; including ODBC connections and SQL
• Web development experience; including, but not limited to HTML
• ColdFusion application development
• Visual Basic and MapObjects programming
• ArcView and Avenue

1. Applications

Some of the first applications that were developed for KanCRN were data collection forms. These applications were written in ColdFusion

DASC staff created or assisted in the creation of KanCRN Teacher/Mentor Registration and Evaluation forms as well as the Student Evaluation form. These forms were developed with a standard HTML forms interface and use Cold Fusion tags to store and retrieve information from an Oracle database.

The first IMS application was developed to support the KanCRN Teacher/School registration process and allows the user to verify their school location when registering as a KanCRN participant. The second application allows the user to view all schools that are registered with KanCRN. Both applications involve dynamic map generation and support pan, zoom, and identify functionality in an easy to use browser based format.

A third application was developed in conjunction with the Kansas Winter Bird Survey. This application allows the user to create a map of Kansas classified by county based upon bird survey information. For example, one could create a map showing the average number of Red-winged Blackbirds observed in 1998. Dropdown menus allow the user to specify "Species", "Seed Type", "Average # per feeder or Total # for all feeders", and "Year". Additionally, the application provides a table below the map window showing the number of feeders in each County matching the year and seed type selections of the map.

A fourth MOIMS application is based on stream monitoring sites. Version 1 of this application will allow the user to dynamically display a variety of base map information such as Major River Basins, Hydrologic Unit Code (HUC) 8, 11, and 14 digit boundaries, 1:100,000 Hydrology (stream network). Version 2 of this application, which is under construction, will allow the user to create classified maps based on stream/watershed health information contained in the KanCRN stream monitoring tables.

ArcView IMS projects were also developed to compliment the online GIS applications. Three projects were developed and one is currently in development. The first project map lichens, tardigrades, and their relationship to SO₂ using features such as environmental monitoring sites, environmental risk sites, and hydrography. The second and third applications are related to ozone monitoring. One application monitors ozone levels through milkweed observations, and the other monitors the ozone through prefabricated badge kits. The ArcView IMS application that is under construction will allow students to quantify African-American immigration into the United States by mapping which state and county they emigrated from and which state and county the immigrated to.

Many additional IMS projects are in the beginning stages. There will be a tremendous amount of data that can be spatially represented by the end of the KanCRN project.

2. Additional Initiatives

In addition to developing IMS applications, providing technical assistance, and software/hardware support, DASC has taken on additional initiatives with the KanCRN project.

One aspect of providing additional assistance to KanCRN is assisting in educating teachers about GIS. One class was taught last summer, and two more are in the works to be taught this summer. These courses will teach teachers about the fundamentals of geography, GIS, and GPS.