Engaging Introductory Students with Data Discovery and Visualizations Using GeoMapApp

Thursday 1:30pm-4:00pm Slawson: G177
Afternoon Mini Workshop

Convener

Andrew Goodwillie, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory
Bringing research-grade geoscience data into the classroom empowers students and enriches understanding. In this hands-on workshop, we use GeoMapApp, a free map-based data discovery and visualisation tool from Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, to highlight meaningful ways to engage students with the many seamlessly integrated built-in geoscience data sets. Tips for effectively using GeoMapApp in the classroom will be given, and examples of teaching activities will be drawn from the SERC and InTeGrate collections and will include seafloor spreading, earthquakes and volcanoes, geodetic applications, and geomorphology. The emphasis will be on educators gaining hands-on experience and on sharing ideas. GeoMapApp is widely used for teaching and research and is developed with funding from the National Science Foundation.

Goals

During this session, participants will:

  • Gain hands-on experience of GeoMapApp
  • Explore the built-in data sets and functions
  • Cover various ready-to-use teaching activities
  • Have time to import their own data and share ideas

What to bring and what to do before you come...

The workshop will be held in a computer lab to ensure that we have good internet access. You can either use one of the computers in the lab (they are all Windows machines) or you can bring your own laptop. Any type of laptop is fine (Mac, Windows, or Linux). Please make sure to install GeoMapApp on it beforehand - doing so will save time in the workshop. GeoMapApp takes just a couple of clicks to install. Visit the main GeoMapApp web page (http://www.geomapapp.org/) and look at the Download Links on the left for your particular machine. Once installed, try opening GeoMapApp to check that it installed correctly. If you have your own data sets (example: spreadsheet or data table which include lat/lon columns, netCDF grid, shapefile) please bring them to see how they can be imported and manipulated/analysed in GeoMapApp.

Program

1:30 Welcome and introductions

1:45 Hands-on introduction to GeoMapApp (functions, built-in data sets, saving a session, importing your own data)

2:45 Break

2:55 Exploration of classroom activities: Topography, earthquakes and volcanoes data, seafloor spreading, GPS data, geology maps.

3:45 Wrap-up and workshop evaluation

4:00 Adjourn

Resources

GeoMapApp home page: http://www.geomapapp.org/index.htm

GeoMapApp education modules: http://www.geomapapp.org/education/index.html

GeoMapApp seafloor spreading activity: https://serc.carleton.edu/geomapapp/activities/seafloor_spreading.html

GeoMapApp landscape/geology activity: https://serc.carleton.edu/geomapapp/activities/landscape_regio.html

GeoMapApp short video tutorials (on YouTube): https://www.youtube.com/user/GeoMapApp/videos

GeoMapApp What's New in version 3.6.6 (YouTube video): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RC5MTTNx7hI

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