G.P.SG.P.S

Alex BrashearBraundon Soper

IntroductionIntroductionNorthwest Arkansas Community College has a forested area north of the school that has been used as a living laboratory. The area is a primary source of laboratory experiences for Plant Biology, Environmental Science, Environmental Geology, Intro to GIS as well as many other science courses.

As part of the phase III expansion and reclamation projects, a learning community of science students collected GPS coordinates in the area over the Fall 2008 semester.

OverviewOverview

Students in the Environmental Geology course collected GPS coordinates in the Learning Laboratory. Data collected was combined with soil, plant and geospatial data to generate an interactive map using GIS applications. Students from Environmental Geology, Plant Biology and Introduction to GIS collaborated to produce a final map showing all data collected from the area.

ObjectivesObjectives

• Through EAST/EMPACTS (Educationally-Managed Projects Advancing Curriculum, Technology and Service) our objective was to get an understanding of what GPS is and collect and map out GPS coordinates for future use.

CommunityCommunity

• Using GPS in the community helps inject a level of awareness of the surrounding locations and habitats that could be greatly affected by disruption.

CurriculumCurriculum

• The course objective was followed by teaching us how to use our hands on experiences with the GPS technologies and out of classroom experiences as a learning tool to accomplish our pre-existing goals and class obligations.

TechnologyTechnology

• We used GPS handheld receivers to collect data points.

• We used Google Earth to map out points• We used Microsoft Excel to

record data on spreadsheets.

Skills DevelopedSkills Developed

• Team- Effective teamwork• Individual- How to work proficiently in a

restricted amount of time.• Technology- Learning how to use GPS handheld

devices and the programs used to map them.• Communication- How to speak effectively with

partners and instructors.• Organizational- How to keep on task and focused

through a lengthy process.

MethodologyMethodology

• We went on Google Earth map out locations that we would collect data from. Copied to word and printed a map.

• Using the map we located the areas and collected the data using the handheld device.

• We used Microsoft Excel to calculate the points onto a spreadsheet.

Project ResultsProject Results

Latitude Longitude Conversion Latitude Longitude

GPS1 36°21'37.43"N 94°10'26.92"W 36.360397 94.174144

GPS2 36°21'44.48"N 94°10'27.21"W 36.362356 94.174225

GPS3 36°21'46.85"N 94°10'21.63"W 36.363014 94.172675

GPS4 36°21'42.16"N 94°10'16.47"W 36.361711 94.171242

GPS5 36°21'34.69"N 94°10'12.51"W 36.359636 94.170142

Future Project IdeasFuture Project Ideas

• A future group could expand on our research by using it for research projects for other classes. To combine it with soil samples taken to create a location of flower beds.

AcknowledgementsAcknowledgements

• Albrecht, Sarah Luedecke, Brian • Beal, Andrew Martinez, Bernardo • Brashear, Alexander Parrish, Levi • Cooley, Christine Phillips, Capitola • Cooper, Mitchell Soper, Braundon • Eiler, Christopher Walker, Natasha • Herbert, Lauren Yeakley, John• Lowe, Daniel

AppendicesAppendices

http://gps.gov/ (gps)http://www.arkansashighways.com/Info/Answers/answers.htm?

Record_Number=83#Where%20can%20I%20obtain%20information%20regarding%20upcoming%20highway%20construction

mailto:info@arkansashighways.com (Concerns about NWACC road construction)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_6i8Lb9MnY (GPS- GARMIN HANDHELD INSTRUCTIONAL VIDEO)

http://www.fcc.gov/mb/audio/bickel/DDDMMSS-decimal.html (GPS- CONVERSION)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEpqGlIY04s&feature=related (Google earth- plotting latitude and longitude points)