Learning Modules in Remote Sensing, Global Positioning Systems, and GIS

Funded by the NWACC project proposal

Geospatial technologies are vastly increasing our ability to gather environmental information and to place it into context, and are revolutionizing the way we view the world around us. The three related technologies of Remote Sensing (RS), Global Positioning Systems (GPS), and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) combine the sciences of cartography and spatial analysis with new techniques to support a wide range of applications.

Advancements in these geospatial technologies have led to a phenomenal increase in the amount of spatial data, and to new analysis methods to turn this data into information. These tools allow researchers to ask question about where things are, what their unique characteristics are, and how these are distributed or related to other features. Answering these questions aids in managing, conserving, or developing the real-world environment, and helps us to understand how present environmental conditions have developed.

Changing Students' View Of The World: Using New Geographic Information Science Technologies For Visualizing Real World Phenomenon is a proof of concept project generously funded by the Northwest Academic Computing Consortium. The work is being conducted at the University of Oregon under the direction of principle investigator is Aileen Buckley, Assistant Professor of Geography and co-PI Cathleen Leue', Director of the Social Science Instructional Lab. They are receiving assistance from Nicholas Kohler, a PhD. candidate in Geography and the Social Science Instructional Lab.

The project allows for the production of a series of web-based teaching and exercise modules that introduce students to various geographic information science concepts, including remote sensing and image processing, global positioning systems (GPS), and geographic information systems (GIS). The audience for the modules is any student in a course or faculty teaching a course in any discipline that has an interest in introducing these spatial data related concepts into their field of study. Interest in GIScience on the UO campus spans the disciplines of geography, archaeology, history, biology, geology, public planning, anthropology, sociology, and landscape architecture. The modules are designed to be self-contained and self-paced. Technical assistance in using the modules and related resources, including GIS and remote sensing software and hand-held GPS units, is provided by the Social Science Instructional Lab.

A summary and preview of what modules contain appears on this page. The modules are near completion, and we are in the final phase of testing them. As a result, the links below are inaccessible at this time. Once testing is complete, the modules will be made available in their entirety.

Remote Sensing and Image Interpretation
(RS) is the process of collecting data without making direct contact, and analysing this data to provide information about the physical world -- usually in the form of photographs or digital images. Remote sensing data from satellites and aircraft are used to monitor the biosphere, atmosphere, and hydrosphere.

RS is used to monitor changing land cover; locate, protect, and manage natural resources; track human-environmental interactions; study hydrologic and bathymetric phenomena; study atmospheric and biotic indicators of global environmental change; improve agricultural efficiency; and monitor political agreements.

Global Positioning Systems
(GPS) are an electronic method of recording precise absolute position (to within a few meters or even centimeters) using time and position information from ground data receivers and a constellation of earth-orbiting satellites.

GPS is used for a variety of navigational and surveying related tasks. Recreational GPS units are designed for uses such as hiking, hunting, driving, and marine naviagation. Advanced GPS units desinged for surveying and resource management have higher accuracies and allow descriptive information to be recorded during the collection of location points.

Geographic Information Systems
(GIS) harnesses the power of the computer to locate, manage, create, analyze, and display spatial data. Using GIS, spatial information from maps, remote sensing, and GPS can be integrated into a single system. This allows for the analysis of environmental and social information placed into the context of other relevant data.

GIS is used by large natural resource development agencies and by small conservation groups. The ability to overlay and model spatial information has been utilized in tasks ranging from transportation planning to habitat modeling to archeological analyis.

 

Remote Sensing Basics

RS Learning Exercise

Remote Sensing Resources

 

GPS Basics

GPS Learning Exercise

GPS Resources

 

GIS Basics

GIS Learning Exercise

GIS Resources

Presented by the Social Science Instructional Lab (SSIL) and Geography Department at the University of Oregon. Draft by Nicholas Kohler -- Oct. 8, 2001