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Team Members: Pat Maloney, Ken Laustsen, Michael Urban, Don Sprangers, Gerry Saunders
Meeting Room: 218 (Peabody), Worner Center
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Pre-meeting Sharing Space
Please introduce yourself to your team members. Give a brief description of your role in facilitating the use of data in education. You can also post links, files, or images.
Add Pre-meeting notes here:
Session 1 - Thursday Morning
Meet your team members. Learn about the data, tools, and expertise represented on your team. Review DataSheet(s) and explore data and tools.Team members meet each other and share their experiences and viewpoints on using data in education. Review and discuss DataSheet(s) begun by the data representative(s) for your team. Explore datasets and tools and consider how the expertise on the team can complement them. If you haven't already done so, narrow down the range of datasets the team is considering using to a manageable number.
Add Session 1 Notes here:
a. Discuss who will be the note-taker and who will begin filling in the "datasheet."
A) http://ncasi.uml.edu/SOLE/datfiles/70445586010538.html Ken demonstrates gforest/ncasi data layers from UF Forest Inventory Data using Google Earth across continental US and Alaska (needs own map)
Use scale bar to zoom in going into Washington County. Looking at plots - pop ups with tree species icons - can determine primary species
Use tutorials to understand color coding
Know lat/long of Don Sprangers FIG plot - now know relative location of surrounding FIA plots (hidden for management bias)
Click for density; volume - stems per acre formula; math; cursor shows correct spatial orietnation of plots & trees using azimuth an distance - view with 360 degree perspective; click on data - with data sheet for specific plot
Explanation of data sheets from the FIA site - clicked on icons. Use Jenkins et al (2003) - verification of data sources
COMMENTS- less flashy than MyWorld. MyWorld has more layers available to it. gForest has a true forest - we cannot add new layers.
B) MyWorld GIS sharing from Michael Urban
Letter "i" - forest; climate; dominant veetation from Terrestrial Biomes; Maine
Can bring up temperature; can look at more than truths - where the trees sit in the natural environment; can bring in FIG data; can creata a climatogram
Meta data describing each biome
Depends on where we want to go with this
Questions/comments: creating scatter plots; bar charts with species; compare regions - species and biomass
How long will it take me as a teacher with zero knowledge of FIG & MyWorld? Need to go over/teach applications - identify minimal minimal entry level key strokes; provide entry level scenario to have a reason for creating data; what can we provide clean entry pt for person with minimal knowledge who is willing to try; we can create a walk through scenario - coming up with cleaner training using GForest
By using MyWorld - all ME teachers have them on their laptops. Use a simple tuturial to MYWorl; a simple intro to GForest, then here is scenario putting gforest as an existing abrstract data - close to my data. GForest has real application. MyWorld makes the stronger connection to FIG data - no built in tools for management.
Mike - gforest appeals to a smaller audience. I would look at MyWorld to look at forest habitat.
Don - scenario - go to gforest for looking at management. Create a classroom comparison - if you don't have your own data - go to gforest.
Gerry - this is a two year project. Two step (needs funding); Step One - pick either gforest or MyWorld. Come back with year two with the other; both have generalizability with general questions; pick one and go; puts science into a context - in terms of decison making - using data to make decisions.
Can gforest be used as a sidebar. Take a data set out of gforest and imbed it in MyWorld - use dataset for Don's forest - use large dataset and Don's - every teacher can access those two datasets. How can the teacher then build a FIG site found on MyWorld.
Pick 4 research regions from FIA - Pacific NW, etc NE is 20 states; pick a set of plots from each of the regions. gforest does not have lat/long - use estimation and rounding error; go out to get a data set and bring it in - packaged and ready to go dowload.
C.) What to do thought and ideas
Get plots with in 20K. Import data sets witout huge amt of work getting lat/long. FIA plots can remeasured every five years. Teacher notes:
State a most current data qualifier.
Agreed: Year One (year two - forest management focus) - use MyWorld. Use FIA & FIA data sets scenario to include 4 represenation of research station regions. Research applicability in chapter. Tchr notes may include ways for specific and up to date data and how to collect their own data. Referencing FIG protocol. Our goal is to have a chapter step by step mechanism on how to do this. Scenario will cross all regions. to Develop scenario next stop.
Session 2 - Thursday Afternoon
Brainstorm data-use storylinesBrainstorm a set of possible storylines for valid investigations of the dataset(s) you have selected. Come up with at least one compelling scenario that will give users a reason to work through the technological steps necessary to perform an analysis of the data.
The Activity Outline Guide provides an outline for the minimum information needed for the team's activity outline.
Add session 2 Notes here:
Scenario Ideas: Timber Harvest; Forest Management; urban sprawl; fire; composition - what's in a forest - species, bioversity; succession; trees & x Env. variable; forest health; invasive; biophysical scales; tolerance ranges; groundtruth general maps; watershed health; ozone layers
(http://www.nationalatlas.gov/natlas/natlasstart.asp) use as a reference
http://www.fs.fed.us reference density and growth projections; housing density next to national forests
Look at correlations between tree species. Look at composition as it relates to rainfall. Use climate and patterns.
What is there? Is there a relationship between rainfall. Moves into tree health, intolerance ranges.
Urban sprawl is a reason for Social Studies teachers to use.
Base technology - analyze existing website data sets - look at your own. Bring data in to analyze; define some need to relate forest composition to some value. Look at precipitation with forest health and forest composition. Relationship with temperature, percipitation and forest type.
Data sets: FIA data, FIG data - Regional examples
Selected climate data: Percipitation, temperature; soils (NRCS); elevation; aspect
Parts:Download MyWorld
FIA - IMPORTING DATA, Import percipitation layer - look at relationship between two. Analyzing data sets.
Case study does not have to be as involved as the scenario. Gets you hooked.
MyWorld percipitation data - 30 years. Drought severity index
What would we look at with - drought and invasive species connections - to forests.
What if average percipitation of your region changes by so many degrees?
Looking at biodiversity - both urban and rural applications.
Regional data sets matches where it was drawn from. Step A - collect your own data; Step B - importing FIA data
Outline for a scenario/activity chapter?
Tree Biodiversity - Essential questions: What is the biodiversity in your backyard? What is the relationship of biodiversity & selective envirornmental factors. Does elevation effect biodiversity? What is a forest?
A. Collect personal data - FIG with 10th acre plot or trees on campus
1) closest FIA data
B. Closest FIA compared with closest 10 to 20 FIA plots
C. Compare plurality/most frequently occuring species to percipitation & min/max temps - total and seasonality, elevation, soil
D. Analysis
E. Communication
Suggestion - create stand alone scenario; set up template where to find data sets then choose their own data.
Sessions 3 and 4 - Friday Morning
Select a data-use scenario and perform a proof-of-concept checkUse the complementary expertise on the team to check that the task you are envisioning can actually be completed in an educational setting. Identify a target grade level for the activity and choose a working title.
Please limit the scope of the activity to tasks that can be accomplished by accessing existing data and tools. Discuss and agree upon the content limits of the activity as well. Consider that the major goal of these activities is to develop user familiarity with the data and tools.
Add Session 3 and 4 Notes here:
GForest - looking at 1000 pieces of data gives you steps for bldg complexity.What are the limits of looking at 5 plots? Values change as you increase sample.
Don - wants students to see complete data records, decide fields and they create their own sheets. Another teacher will choose less "messy" sheets, they'll choose sheets 2 & 3. Build options into the activity - teacher has to make decisions on what data they want. Be sure to teach about the value of increased sample sizes. Excel sheets with formulas -
Gerry - why are we having kids doing this work? What is the hook/engagement. I've lost the forest management and biodiversity is becoming more ambiguous.
Ken - scenario I visualize: What's in My Woods? Look at your local environment comparing it with scientific data/plots from real science. Or mathematically - look at 20 plots and where does my data take me for different ranges. Where is my plot?
Don - land management is very complex - look at data to make suggestions.
Gerry - Start out with species, size (maybe age), classes. Are there other aspects of genetic and habitat diversity? Mixes of species together, how do they grow together/
Habitat - softwood, hardwood, mixed. Where am "I" in that gradient. Soils, moisture, elevation, successional. Reasons why trees grow where they grow.
Handling data - 3 sheets on Excel; next piece is all spatial - need to map, compare data to climate.
Take FIG to look at biodiverstiy
Look at larger plots
Larger scale - bring to state and regional levels - making comparisons
Asking questions - what are the environtmatnl or limiting factors that define biodiversity.
Gerry - Regional - different entry point. We need a stand alone Maine model. We'll supply 5 data sets.
Look at contributing envirornemtanl factors locally - begin with Maine
Regions - teachers pick local regional level
Ken pulled up Data Sheet sample as he revised. Structured 5 regional data sets - take one where your state is in - commonality. Look at other data sets. Entry pt. should be your local forest whether urban or rural.
Stepping in pt is your local/regional data. Find 5 regional data sets at PLT website
Measure of control -what are the questions for students to ask of the sites/data. Provide consistent framework. Make a 2 pt comparison.
Teacher notes - find their own local data; compare ME (using FIG example) - provides a model for other teachers to find local data
Focus on developing a Maine model. Go through the activity and easily localize it. Provide regional data sets. Reigns us in with questions we ask - more concise.
Comparison questions: 1) How do plots differ in species composition, # of trees, most abundant (dominant) tree?
2) What environmental factors influence differences?
http://www.state.me/us//doc/mfs/fpm/plt/fig/fig.htm FIG WEBSITE
Build the concept of biodiversity - species and size diversity - both aspects; what is the average tree size in each plot; need guiding questions to understand important differences
Have guiding early guiding questions - how to compare in size, density, species, range in diameters & other statistics - look at "means" and distinctions. Now leaning toward management which is Step Two.
Species is step one; step two is dbh; live and dead - biodiversity.
Summary from Mike U.
Essential Question - what is the forest in my backyard?
Part One: Import FIG data and dowload my world
Part Two: Species type, dbh, make some plots. Learn how to get FIG data and where to go. My back yard
Part Three: Compare my back yard with others.
See Mike's notes that he imported that summarize Parts & Steps!
MyWorld- tables for plots based on lat/long. Discussion of color - need a point and link other data files to that point. Color for hardwood and softwood. Red for hardwood; blue for softwood. Info button could be used to bring up data.
Excel as a tool. Once you teach them how to use tools, then teachers can explore.
Reference http://www.maine.gov - maine forest service Trees of Maine book.
Gerry - shared use of Inquiry worksheet from highly structured to more open ended. Asking the questions to sharing information.
Sessions 5 and 6 - Friday Afternoon
Develop your case study storyline and outline the procedures for data access and analysis Case Study DevelopmentRecord ideas, bullet points, or actual text that will become part of the case study to introduce users to the issues and concepts of the activity. Gather links for appropriate images, diagrams, and background text.
Record the name and URL of all datasets and access/analysis software tools to be used. List the major tasks users will complete, then perform a deliberate walk-through of each task to capture the full sequence of procedures. Give special attention to the most difficult or least intuitive steps, and note points in the sequence where additional information will be helpful.
Add Session 5 and 6 Notes here:
Continuing a.m. discussion:
Soil type maps -compare plots with soil data: http://websoilsurvey.nrcs.usda.gov
REference PLT as a case study/storyline - Pat to talk with National PLT
Part I:
Five E model
See Mike's Activity Outline
http://ncasi.uml.edu/google/gforest/shtml for gforest data
FIG website: http://www.state.me.us/doc/mfs/fpm/plt/fig/fig.htm
To login: Username=plt and password=fig)
Hallaluelia (spelling?) - we entered a plot on MyWorld and viewed it! Great work guys!
Session 7 - Saturday Morning
Enhance your step-by-step procedures by adding "About" sections that provide extra information; List several ideas for "Going Further" with the data or toolsFill in any gaps in your activity outline and add sections that can help users make meaning of the data. Suggest several ideas for the "Going Further" section that challenge users to work with the data and/or tools in other investigations. These suggestions provide launching points for scientific inquiry which is facilitated by the skills learned in the activity.
Add Session 7 Notes here:
Session 8 - Final Team Breakout
Finalize your Activity outline and DataSheet, Generate PowerPoint slides for the report out session, Upload all resources to this pageCreate a 2- or 3-slide ppt file for the report out session.
- Slide 1: Team name, names of team members, and a brief phrase to describe each individual's contribution
- Slide 2: Working title for your activity, names of dataset(s) and tool(s) utilized
- Slide 3: Your choice of something to illustrate your team's vision of the completed activity
Attach the file plus any other documents produced by the team to this page. Include final versions of the team's DataSheet.
Add Session 8 Notes here: See Mike's Chapter summary dated 6/6/09
Mike Urban demonstrates FIA data to MyWorld - analyzing data converting to graphs of tree species. Analysis to take place on MyWorld.
Tab 3 is a pivot plot
Take our initial plot (FIG) and compare to other plots
What's the advantage of 20 samples vs one sample?
Need biophysical regions from ME GIS website:
http://www.fs.fed.us/ne/fia/states/me/2003text_tables.pdf
http://megis.maine.gov/catalog/catalog.asp?state=2&extent=cover
Biodiverstiy, sprawl - see Smart Growth & US Forest Service information and connections.
Team effort to summarize chapter parts - draft completed. GREAT TEAM WORK!
Gerry prepared power pt presentation. Thanks Gerry!
