Eyes in the Sky Survey

Hello former Eyes in the Sky participant!

Would you please assist us in our efforts to document the impact that the Eyes in the Sky program has had on your teaching and learning experiences? We value your input as it will help shape future professional development programs sponsored by the National Science Foundation.

As with all of our previous surveys, the results of this survey will be kept confidential. Unless, we ask your permission, you will not be identified by name or school affiliation in any reports or publications resulting from this survey.

This survey should take approximately 25 to 30 minutes to complete.

For taking the time to complete the survey, you will receive a Barnes and Noble e-card good for $25 worth of merchandise. We will also enter you in a drawing for a chance to win additional GPS units and digital cameras.

Introduction

During the National Science Foundation-funded Eyes in the Sky Professional Development Program, you learned how to use three geospatial information technologies (GIT):

image analysis software (ImageJ)
geographic information system (GIS) software (ArcView) and
handheld global positioning system (GPS) units

It has been either been one, two, or three years since you participated in the Eyes in the Sky program. Recall that the program began with a distance learning course, followed by a summer institute, during which students attended. During the school year, we asked you to carry out a GIT-based research project with your students. Some of you carried out a research project during that year, while others of you carried out GIT-based activities, but did not complete a research project. Through individual emails, phone calls, and meeting you at professional conferences, we know that some of you have repeated and refined your research projects and some of you have incorporated GIT-based activities into your teaching in other ways. This survey will help us measure the spectrum of geospatial technology implementation that has occurred in your classroom. Thanks so much for your time!

The Survey

First Name:

Last Name:

1. How many years have you been teaching?

2. What subjects are you currently teaching?

3. What if anything has changed about your teaching practice since you participated in the Eyes in the Sky program? (e.g. different uses of technologies, reliability of Internet access, more/less use of online resources, more/less use of textbooks, enrollment changes, student preparedness, impact of state testing on your curriculum, etc.)

4. During the time you participated in the Eyes in the Sky program, did you engage students in a GIT-based research project?

yes
no

5. If so, please identify all the technologies incorporated: (check all that apply)
Image Analysis
GIS
GPS

6. If so, please briefly describe the project.

7. If not, please identify the challenges you faced or barriers that prevented you from carrying out a project: (check all that apply)
time constraints
I couldn't fit it into my curriculum
technology reliability at school
technology access at school
technology support at school
I wasn't comfortable enough with the tools
I was comfortable with the tools but didn't develop a complete project
My students weren't ready for this kind of work
Other: [please describe]

8. During the time you participated in the Eyes in the Sky program, did you engage students in GIT-based activities? (These may have been similar to ones we used in the distance learning course or summer workshop, or ones that you made up yourself).

yes
no

9. If so, please briefly describe a few of the activities:

10. If not, please identify the challenges you faced or barriers that prevented you from carrying out GIT-based activities: (check all that apply)
time constraints
I couldn't fit them into my curriculum
technology reliability at school
technology access at school
technology support at school
I wasn't comfortable enough with the tools
My students weren't ready for this kind of work
Other: [please describe]

In the time since you participated in the Eyes in the Sky program (that is, in the past one, two, or three years) please estimate how often you use the following technologies in your teaching and learning:

11. Internet

12. Spreadsheet application (e.g. Excel or similar software)

13. Probeware

14. Image analysis software (i.e. ImageJ, Multispec or similar software)

15. GIS software (e.g. ArcView, ArcExplorer Java Edition for Education, MyWorld or similar software)

16. GPS units

17. Google Earth

18. In addition to those listed above, what other technologies do you use on a regular basis in your teaching and learning?

19. How often do you use Web-based scientific data in your teaching? (e.g. earthquake data, image data such as remotely sensed images, weather data, etc.)

Rate your proficiency in each of the following areas:

20. Using image analysis software (e.g. ImageJ)

1---I know nothing/am not able
2---I am aware, but need assistance
3---I know it for my own use
4---I know it pretty well and could teach it to someone else if I had time to review
5---I could teach it to somebody else right now

21. Using geographic information system (GIS) software (e.g. ArcView, ArcExplorer Java Edition for Education, MyWorld or similar software)

22. Using global positioning system (GPS) receivers to record locations

23. Conducting scientific research

24. Facilitating student research projects

25. Estimate the frequency with which you engage in professional development.

26. What kinds of professional development programs have you participated in since the Eyes in the Sky program? (check all that apply)
Professional society conferences (such as ASTA or NSTA)
online courses
Face-to-face courses at universities
Face-to-face workshops
Web-based workshops and Webinars
Field immersion experiences (such as working in a research lab or assisting on a research vessel)
Guest or co-teaching with a colleague
Professional reading groups
Email exchanges over a research project
Other: [please describe]

27. In which content areas have you participated in professional development since the Eyes in the Sky program? (check all that apply)
Science
Mathematics
Technology
Pedagogical methods
Assessment
Career development for students
Other: [please describe]

28. What types of professional development activities have you provided for other teachers?

29. What challenges or barriers have you faced when trying to incorporate technology into your teaching?

30. What positive results or pleasant surprises have occurred when incorporating technology into your teaching?

31. What impact has the use of GIT-based projects and activities had on the students you teach? (For example, we have seen ESL and ELL students sometimes excel in these types of situations. Have you noticed similar instances with your students?)

32. If a professional development program similar to the Eyes in the Sky program were available today, would you participate?

yes
no

33. Why or why not?

34. The National Science Foundation (NSF) is always interested in feedback from Teachers. Eyes in the Sky was an 18 month- long program. It had a mix of online and face-to-face components. What comments or suggestions do you have for NSF about these types of long-term professional development programs?

35. Please add any additional comments or feedback you would like to offer.

Name Email