Combining GIS, GPS, and Electronic Total Stations (EDM) in Field and Environmental Sciences for the Undergraduate Science Curriculum

全球定位系统(GPS)和电子全站仪(EDM)是为地理信息系统(GIS)分析收集空间数据所必需的野外设备。这些工具越来越多地应用于地球、环境和地理科学家的各种研究和专业活动中，但目前很少有测量学专业以外的本科生接触到这些技术。制造商开发的培训材料和应用程序仅为满足专业受众的需求而设计。我们的目标是使用Geometronics Spectra Precision EDMS、Trimble GPS和IBM笔记本电脑来开发一系列课程模块，这些模块将显著增强我们现有的基于现场的多学科地理信息系统课程。因此，这代表着在NSF的支持下，其他人的努力得到了适应和扩大，以及为大学生使用的工业和研究应用程序的适应。该项目的四个创新特点是：1)将该设备整合到现有的多学科科学课程中，教会学生使用当前技术收集现场高质量的数据；2)为本科生受众改编制造商发布的培训材料和辅助技术文献；3)设计一种可适应的现场数据记录方法和文件系统，将GPS和EDM集成在一起，为特定学科的实验室分析生成数据；4)开发软件扩展和操作程序，将数据直接导入我们的地理信息系统实验室目前使用的地理信息系统软件。定期在我们的网站上发布公告，其中包括进度报告、在我们的四节地理信息系统课程中每节课产生的学生项目精选，以及我们在开发过程中整合EDM、GPS和GIS的全套教材。目标受众是地球、环境和地理科学的本科生，在州地理联盟工作的K-12教师，以及来自当地专业社区的非录取学生。

Global positioning systems (GPS) and electronic total stations (EDM) are essential field equipment for gathering spatial data for geographic information system (GIS) analysis. These tools are increasingly applied in a variety of research and professional activities by earth, environmental, and geographical scientists, but at present few undergraduate students outside surveying programs are exposed to the technologies. Training materials and applications developed by manufacturers are designed only to meet the needs of this specialist audience. Our objective is to employ Geometronics Spectra Precision EDMs, Trimble GPSs, and IBM laptops, in the development of a series of course modules that will significantly augment our existing multi-disciplinary field-based GIS curriculum. As such, this represents an adaptation and expansion of the efforts of others with NSF support as well as the adaptation of industrial and research applications for use by college students. The four innovative features of this project are: 1) integrating this equipment into the existing multi disciplinary science curriculum, teaching students to gather high quality data in the field using current technologies; 2) adapting manufacturer's published training materials and supporting technical literature for an undergraduate audience; 3) designing an adaptable field data recording methodology and documentation system integrating GPS and EDM to generate data for discipline-specific laboratory analysis; 4) developing software extensions and operational procedures to import data directly into the GIS software currently in use in our GIS laboratory. Regular bulletins are posted on our website, which include progress reports, a selection of the student projects produced in each of our four GIS classes, and a full set of our teaching materials for integrating EDM, GPS, and GIS as they are developed. Target audiences are undergraduates in the earth, environmental and geographic sciences, K-12 teachers working with the state geographic alliance, and non-matriculated students from the local professional communities.