Introducing Digital Maps and Image Analysis to Undergraduates in the Field and in the Classroom

Albion学院正在使用地理信息系统/计算机辅助绘图实验室，该实验室位于地质科学系，将数字绘图和图像分析纳入学院的课程。阿尔比恩有一个强大的地质学项目，包括一个全国公认的夏季地质学实地项目。GIS/CAM实验室包括使用现代GIS和CAM技术创建，操作，分析和显示数字图像所需的设备。该实验室使学院能够在我们的地质学领域计划和校园地质学和环境科学课程中做出实质性的，前瞻性的改进。夏季地质实地项目增加了对数字实地测绘的介绍;在项目结束时，学生返回阿尔比恩校园进行为期一周的关于创建和使用数字地图的强化课程。第二，正在编制关于地理信息系统和数字地图的两个新课程。入门级课程向包括非科学专业的广泛学生介绍GIS和CAM的基础知识。第二门课程允许高年级学生将他们的GIS/CAM技能应用于自己的地质和环境研究项目。最后，新的实验室允许修改传统的地质实验室绘图练习和项目，包括介绍定量空间分析，在多达九个现有的地质课程。这包括高入学率的地质学入门课程，学生可以将GIS/CAM技术应用于现有的绘图项目。 这个项目是一个更广泛的努力，以开发一个更吸引人的研究为导向的课程，使用最新的设备和技术的一个组成部分。

Albion College is using a Geographic Information Systems (GIS)/Computer Aided Mapping (CAM) laboratory, located in the Department of Geological Sciences, to incorporate digital mapping and image analysis into the College's curriculum. Albion has a strong program in geology, including a nationally recognized summer geology field program. The GIS/CAM laboratory includes the equipment necessary for the creation, manipulation, analysis, and display of digital images using modern GIS and CAM techniques. This laboratory allows the College to make substantial, forward-looking improvements in both our geology field program and the on-campus geology and environmental science curriculum. The summer geology field program is adding an introduction to digital field mapping; at the end of the program students return to the Albion campus for a week-long intensive course on the creation and use of digital maps. Secondly, two new courses on GIS and digital maps are being developed. An introductory level course introduces the fundamentals of GIS and CAM to a broad spectrum of students including non-science majors. The second course allows upper-level students to apply their GIS/CAM skills to their own geological and environmental research projects. Finally, the new laboratory allows the revision of traditional geology laboratory mapping exercises and projects, including an introduction to quantitative spatial analysis, in as many as nine existing geology courses. This includes the high-enrollment Introductory Geology course, in which students can apply GIS/CAM techniques to existing mapping projects. This project is an integral part of a broader effort to develop a more engaging research-oriented curriculum using up-to-date equipment and techniques.