Students in an undergraduate geomorphology course used tablet computers equipped with Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) software to map the current location of a stream that crosses the Vassar College campus in Dutchess County, New York. They also digitized the position of the stream on aerial photographs taken in 1959 to determine meander migration rates over the last ~45 years of ~0.2 m/yr. The purpose of the exercise was to introduce basic GIS skills, such as georeferencing of air photos, digitization, acquisition of GPS data points, data projection, and creation of maps. Students were evaluated on the quality of their maps and on an accompanying short scientific article. Here we discuss the exercise and the pros and cons of the tablet PC technology.
Full Text available on the JGE website.
