GPS In Education

For more information, contact:  Joseph Kerski, Geographer, USGS, jjkerski@usgs.gov

I've done some work with GPS in the following ways. It is an excellent tool applicable to many disciplines, including mathematics, geography, earth science, environmental studies, and more.  

1]  Begin the GPS discussion with a base of familiar objects and 
concepts: Ask the students, "if I were to tell you that I was 10 feet 
from the far wall in the room, where could I be?" The answer is anywhere 
on a straight line that is 10 feet from the wall. Next, "if I were 10 
feet from this wall and 5 feet from this wall, now where could I be?" The 
answer is a single point, at the intersection of the 2 lines. Next, "if I 
were 10 feet from [Maria]" - answer - circle with a radius of 10 feet, 
from Maria. Next, "if I were 10 feet from [Maria] and I could be floating 
in space?" Answer: a sphere with a radius of 10 feet, centered on 
Maria. If they understand THAT, then it is not a big leap to the 
following: We can determine that we are 11,002 miles from GPS satellite 
A, 10,887 miles from satellite B, and so on. The intersection of all 
those spheres is our current location.

2] Base the discussion on mathematics. GPS is one of the best real-world 
examples of how distance=rate * time works. The time is the critical 
component, that's why GPS was made possible by accurate time pieces, since 
the time from the satellite to the receiver is miniscule and needed to be 
accurately measured. The rate is the speed of light. So the distance is 
computed by the time diff between the receiver and the satellite. I would 
print some of the pages from http://www.howstuffworks.com/gps1.htm or the 
Geographer's Craft pages at 
http://www.Colorado.EDU/geography/gcraft/notes/gps/gps_f.html to aid your 
discussion and diagrams.

3] Use GPS coordinates to help explain the lat-long and the UTM 
coordinates on any USGS topographic map of the area you're collecting the 
points in. Walk with the GPS and pose questions such as, "why do the 
northings on UTM decrease as you're walking south?"

4] Have students, in teams, determine the location of the school grounds 
[or wherever you're collecting] on a USGS 24K topo map, via manual 
interpolation, in both lat-long and UTM.  Then go out and collect 
coordinates. Which team was closest? What about the vertical elevation? Don't be 
too hasty on dropping the manual interpolation for the GPS reading, especially
on the vertical.

5] Discuss the vertical and horizontal datums in conjunction with GPS.

6] Import the GPS coordinates into a geographic information system 
(GIS). Overlay the points on a digital orthophoto of the area or a 
scanned digital raster graphic (topographic map). Then you could hotlink 
ground photos to the GPS coordinates.

There are 2 methods to do this: 

1. Collect points, write them down, and manually enter via a text editor.
2. Collect points, store inside GPS unit, and with cable, do an upload into computer.

Method 1: 

Collect points and attributes.
In text editor, line 1 should be the header line, such as "lat, long, pH, groundcover, O2, etc"
Line 2 begins your data, separated by commas, such as "site1, 39.7022, -107.4832, 5.7, grassland, 38"
Save as Text such as "gps.txt"
Access ArcView.
Tables.
Add.
Add your table gps.txt as comma-delimited TXT.
View.
Add event theme.
Bring in your table as a point theme.
Click on theme to make visible. 
Change legend to make graduated symbol map based on attributes you collected.

Method 2 uses a few extensions. 

7] You could go on a geocaching expedition!   www.geocaching.com

Also have a look at my Degree Confluence Project educational ideas - fascinating! 

8] Anton Ninno in New York is one of the foremost experts on GPS in education.  

Anton Ninno, Systems Consultant Center for Learning Technologies
CNYRIC, OCM-BOCES
6820 Thompson Rd.
Syracuse  NY  13221
Email: aninno@cnyric.org 

Voice: 315-431-8407 

Having Fun with GPS - by A. Ninno, OCM-BOCES & J. Kuhl, Central Square Middle School http://www.monitoringtimes.com/html/gps.html 

NYGPS -- A Community of Teachers Using GPS for Math, Science & Social Studies Instruction http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nygps/

GPS & GIS Books & Videos for Educators

A Comprehensive Guide to Land Navigation with GPS, 3rd Edition with CD-ROM
Noel J. Hotchkiss ISBN 1-892688-00-X $24.95

All About GPS: Sherlock Holmes’ Guide to the Global Positioning System
Jerry Huang ISBN 957-97389-7-1 $13.00

ArcView Geography Student Workbook & Teacher’s Guide – written by teachers!
John Nicolucci & Nick Taylor, with assistance from ESRI Canada, 1999 
$100.

Explore Your World: GIS in K-12 Education (video)
ESRI – Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc.
1-800-447-9778 Free to Educators
http://www.esri.com

Getting to Know Desktop GIS with CD-ROM
ESRI – Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc. ISBN 1-879102-42-0
1-800-447-9778

GIS for Everyone with CD-ROM
David E. Davis ISBN 1-879102-49-8 $19.95

GIS in Schools with CD-ROM
ESRI – Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc.
Richard Audet & Gail Ludwig ISBN 1-879102-85-4
1-800-447-9778

GPS for Everyone
L. Casey Larijani ISBN 0-9659667-5-5 $24.95

GPS Land Navigation
Michael Ferguson ISBN 0-9652202-5-7 $19.95

GPS Made Simple
Lawrence Letham ISBN 0-89886-592-1 $14.95

The World in a Box – New Video & PBS Show on GIS
GITA -- Geospatial Information & Technology Association
14456 East Evans Avenue, Aurora, CO 80014
Phone: (303) 337-0513 Fax: (303) 337-1001 E-Mail: staff@gita.org
http://spatialnews.geocomm.com/dailynews/2001/mar/27/news2.html

Using GPS
Bruce Grubbs ISBN 1-56044-821-0 $6.95

Using GPS with Maps (video)
ISBN 0-9663800-0-2 $20

Zeroing In
Andy Mitchell
ISBN 1-879102-50-1 $19.95