Evaluation

Exercise 1: Creating a Surface Model using Survey Techniques

1.       Prior to this activity, how would you rank yourself in knowledge about the topic.
3, I definately had some knowledge how to set up a coordinate system and collect data at regular intervals.


2.       Following this activity, how would you rate the amount of knowledge you have on the topic
2, I could recreate what we did in this project, but a real surey project is a lot more complex than this exercise. With that said, I'm sure there are some things that would be extremely difficult that I would not necessarily understand how to do.

3.       Did the hands-on approach to this activity add to how much you were able to learn
4, Actually setting up the coordinate grid did help understand how to do it, but it was on such a small scale that it didnt necessarily represent a real world application.

What types of learning strategies would you recommend to make the activity even better?
I think having a more complex landscape would benefit students. Our landscape was pretty plain, so we really only had to collect elevation at regular 10 cm intervals. If the landscape was more complex we may have had to collect more data points in certain areas and less in flatter areas.

Exercise 2: Visualizing and Refining Terrain Surface

1.       Prior to this activity, how would you rank yourself in knowledge about the topic.
3. I knew that I was going to have to resample some of the areas. I also knew how to use the interpolation methods. I did not actually know how they worked before this lab.


2.       Following this activity, how would you rate the amount of knowledge you have on the topic
I'm still not totally sure how each of the interpolation methods works. Other than than I think I would be able to teach someone how to do something similar.


3.       Did the hands-on approach to this activity add to how much you were able to learn
4, Yes, I feel that running each of the interpolation methods to see where more sampling points were required was really helpful. It was also cool to actually see how resampling the landscape increased the accuracy of the 3D terrain model.

What types of learning strategies would you recommend to make the activity even better?
I think combining exercise 1 and 2 together would have been good to do. I feel like we could have done both of these exercises in 1 week.

Exercise 3: Development of a Field Navigation Map

1.       Prior to this activity, how would you rank yourself in knowledge about the topic.
4, we discussed a lot of this stuff in pretty good detail in the couple GIS courses that I have previously taken.

2.       Following this activity, how would you rate the amount of knowledge you have on the topic
5, it was nice to actually make some maps instead of just talking about what kind of maps would be beneficial in certain situations.

3.       Did the hands-on approach to this activity add to how much you were able to learn
4, yes, similarly to any geospatial technology I find that it is easier to learn by actually going and doing it.

What types of learning strategies would you recommend to make the activity even better?
I feel that doing this exercise right before we actually went out and did the navigation exercise would kind be more beneficial than creating the maps and then waiting a long time before we actually use them.

 

Exercise 4: UAS Planning Mission

1.       Prior to this activity, how would you rank yourself in knowledge about the topic.
3, I had an idea about a few of the different platforms and what their best uses are. I was not aware of all the different parts that turn an RC plane into a UAS.


2.       Following this activity, how would you rate the amount of knowledge you have on the topic
4, when I went to AUVSI in Iowa I was actually able to have conversations with people about the different uses which impressed a few people.

3.       Did the hands-on approach to this activity add to how much you were able to learn
3, flying the multirotors for an hour in the flight simulator got a little repetive after a while. But it did give us a good example of some of the limitations of different platforms.

What types of learning strategies would you recommend to make the activity even better?
I'm a big fan of actually going outside and flying the things myself and actually collecting some data that can be used for analysis. I feel like going out and collecting some data with each platform would be a much better way to hammer home the need to choose the right platform. That way you can see how much selecting the wrong platform can make the data unuseable.

Exercise 5: Creating A Geodatabase with Domains

1.       Prior to this activity, how would you rank yourself in knowledge about the topic.
4, We talked about the importance of setting domains and ranges in GIS 1 and 2. I don't think we actually created a geodatabase and set them up though.


2.       Following this activity, how would you rate the amount of knowledge you have on the topic
5, I could definately walk somebody through the process and help them determine which attributes would need to be collected for the individual feature classes.

3.       Did the hands-on approach to this activity add to how much you were able to learn
3, I feel that the process of setting up the geodatabase and domains is a pretty simple process. I do think choosing the correct attribututes and ranges is very important, which depends entirely on what task you are trying to accomplish with the project.

What types of learning strategies would you recommend to make the activity even better?
I feel like setting up multiple feature classes with different domains would have helped out quite a bit. I also feel like this exercise could have been combined with the following exercise.

 

Exercise 6: ArcPad Data Collection Part 1

1.       Prior to this activity, how would you rank yourself in knowledge about the topic.
3, I didin't really know how to deploy the data onto the GPS unit. I was familiar with actually going out and collecting the data though.


2.       Following this activity, how would you rate the amount of knowledge you have on the topic
5, I had no difficulty getting the data onto the ArcPad with the instructions and I feel that I could easily explain how to do it to somebody else.

3.       Did the hands-on approach to this activity add to how much you were able to learn
5, the hands on approach definately helped with this exercise. Stuff that requires a lot of button pushing to get to the final product needs a hands on approach.

What types of learning strategies would you recommend to make the activity even better?

Exercise 7: ArcPad Data Collection II

1.       Prior to this activity, how would you rank yourself in knowledge about the topic.
5, we did the same thing last week so I knew exactly how to get everything set up and get into the field quickly. I also had no problem collecting needed variables. I also knew how to create the different surface interpolations to show the microclimate patterns around campus.


2.       Following this activity, how would you rate the amount of knowledge you have on the topic
5, I could easily help somebody through the process of deploying the data onto the ArcPad, collecting the data in the field, importing the data back into ArcMap, and creating the interpolated surfaces.

3.       Did the hands-on approach to this activity add to how much you were able to learn
3, deploying the data for a second time made some of the odds and ends stick a little better.

What types of learning strategies would you recommend to make the activity even better?
I dont think last weeks trial run was entirely necessary. I had no problem deploying the data to the ArcPad and collecting the variables in the field. Therefore, I feel that last weeks trial run was a little unnecessary.
I also feel that having a compass would have allowed us to collect wind direction. I feel that wind direction is a very important microclimate variable in areas that have a lot of buildings that can alter wind direction.

 

Exercise 8: Conducting a Distance Azimuth Survey

1.       Prior to this activity, how would you rank yourself in knowledge about the topic.
4. I would have been able to explain how to do this to somebody else. I didn't know what specific tools were used in the process, but the overall data gathering was pretty straight forward.

2.       Following this activity, how would you rate the amount of knowledge you have on the topic
5, I could easily help somebody through the of using distance and azimuth to conduct a survey. I could also lead them through the process of importing the data into ArcMap and mapping it.

3.       Did the hands-on approach to this activity add to how much you were able to learn
2. I feel I could have learned how to do this without using the hands on approach. Simply looking over an example online would have probably been enough for me to understand how to complete the survey.

What types of learning strategies would you recommend to make the activity even better?
I feel that we could incorporate other labs into this lab as well. For instance, we could have gotten the location of the TruPulse by using the Topcon RTK or something similar.

Exercise 9/10: Topographic Survey

1.       Prior to this activity, how would you rank yourself in knowledge about the topic.
2. The technology used in this exercise was completely new to me.  Once the data was collected I had no problem getting the data in ArcMap and a dem surface created.

2.       Following this activity, how would you rate the amount of knowledge you have on the topic
3. Some of the data collection techniques are pretty difficult to understand after using them once. I have the basics behind how to get the jobs set up, but if something goes wrong I would have no idea how to fix it. So i don't think I'd be able to explain the process to somebody else.

3.       Did the hands-on approach to this activity add to how much you were able to learn
5. Yes, in order how to learn some of this technology it is imperative to get your hands on the devices and actually go through the process of what buttons to push to get everything set up properly.

What types of learning strategies would you recommend to make the activity even better?

I think looking at a tutorial video would have help a lot, which was my fault that I didn't. With something like a new piece of technology the only way to become more familiar with it is by using it more, so the first time is always going to be difficult with a lot of problems.

Exercise 11: Field Navigation with Compass

1.       Prior to this activity, how would you rank yourself in knowledge about the topic.
5. I learned how to do this in boy scouts when I was in 4th grade. Anybody who has ever gone hiking through the woods for any reason should have used a technique similar.

2.       Following this activity, how would you rate the amount of knowledge you have on the topic
5.

3.       Did the hands-on approach to this activity add to how much you were able to learn
5, I suppose if somebody didn't understand how to do this already the hands on approach would have helped.

What types of learning strategies would you recommend to make the activity even better?

Less obvious point markers and more points to navigate over a much larger area would have beneficial, but I understand that the Priory has to get used for something.

GPS Navigation

1.       Prior to this activity, how would you rank yourself in knowledge about the topic.
5. I knew how to locate the points we were trying to locate and how to input them into the GPS unit.

2.       Following this activity, how would you rate the amount of knowledge you have on the topic
5.

3.       Did the hands-on approach to this activity add to how much you were able to learn
3. 

What types of learning strategies would you recommend to make the activity even better?

Possibly combining this lab and last weeks lab together.

 

UAS Mission Planning

1.       Prior to this activity, how would you rank yourself in knowledge about the topic.
2. I was unfamiliar with the UAS software and how to process the data.

2.       Following this activity, how would you rate the amount of knowledge you have on the topic
2. I never really got to use the software so I would not be able to set up a project in a timely manner.

3.       Did the hands-on approach to this activity add to how much you were able to learn
0. N/A

What types of learning strategies would you recommend to make the activity even better?

I'm a big fan of actually collecting data and doing analysis on it so I feel that getting some images and running an NDVI to determine where the healthiest vegetation was occuring would have been fun.