Exercise Assessments

Field Activity #12: GPS Navigation

1.    Prior to this activity, how would you rank yourself in knowledge about the topic. (1-No Knowledge at all, 2-Very Little Knowledge, 3-Some knowledge, 4-A good amount of knowledge, 5-I knew all about this)

1 - No knowledge at all

This was an entirely new process for me.

2.    Following this activity, how would you rate the amount of knowledge you have on the topic (1- I don’t really know enough to talk about the topic, 2- I know enough to explain what I did, 3-I know enough to repeat what I did, 4-I know enough to teach someone else, 5- I am an expert)

3 - I know enough to explain what I did

Unfortunately, do to some technical difficulties and trouble getting the whole group to pull in one direction, our group did not get the full experience necessary to to do much more than explain what we did.

3.    Did the hands-on approach to this activity add to how much you were able to learn (1-Strongly Disagree, 2-Disagree, 3-No real opinion, 4-Agree, 5-Strongly Agree)

4 -  Agree

The hands-on approach was integral to the exercise. However, some difficulty with GPS technology and the added pressure of tagging with group members who didn't care for it that much limited our ability to learn all of the elements of GPS navigation.

4.    What types of learning strategies would you recommend to make the activity even better?

It would be helpful if we understood some of the potential difficulties with technology in the woods. We simply could not get things straightened out, so we never were able to record our points. I really like the idea of tagging during the exercise, but it might be useful to undergo a small exercise on campus before the actual activity. That way, if certain people melt under the stress of tagging, they still are familiar enough with navigation to carry it out effectively.

Field Activity #11: Map and Compass Navigation

1.    Prior to this activity, how would you rank yourself in knowledge about the topic. (1-No Knowledge at all, 2-Very Little Knowledge, 3-Some knowledge, 4-A good amount of knowledge, 5-I knew all about this)

2 - Very little knowledge

Because we had undergone training with this method previously, I knew a little bit about it.

2.    Following this activity, how would you rate the amount of knowledge you have on the topic (1- I don’t really know enough to talk about the topic, 2- I know enough to explain what I did, 3-I know enough to repeat what I did, 4-I know enough to teach someone else, 5- I am an expert)

3 - I know enough to repeat what I did

I feel confident that I could operate with a map and compass on my own. I do not feel I understand all of the details well enough to actually teach someone how to do it.

3.    Did the hands-on approach to this activity add to how much you were able to learn (1-Strongly Disagree, 2-Disagree, 3-No real opinion, 4-Agree, 5-Strongly Agree)

5 -  Strongly Agree

I had some growing pains with remembering how to navigate. I learned a lot in the field because I paid for my mistakes with wasted time. I also was able to ask questions of my teammate to really nail down what I needed to be doing.

4.    What types of learning strategies would you recommend to make the activity even better?

Of the exercises we went through, this one seemed the most ideal for learning. I really can't think of a way to improve it. I liked this exercise a lot.

Field Activity #10: Unmanned Aerial Systems

1.    Prior to this activity, how would you rank yourself in knowledge about the topic. (1-No Knowledge at all, 2-Very Little Knowledge, 3-Some knowledge, 4-A good amount of knowledge, 5-I knew all about this)

2 - Very little knowledge

We had discussed UAVs in a previous exercise so I had gained a little bit of knowledge at this point

2.    Following this activity, how would you rate the amount of knowledge you have on the topic (1- I don’t really know enough to talk about the topic, 2- I know enough to explain what I did, 3-I know enough to repeat what I did, 4-I know enough to teach someone else, 5- I am an expert)

3 - I know enough to repeat what I did

The actual process of conducting the UAV exercise is something I feel that I could repeat and explain to others. However, the mosaicking portion of this exercise was a bit of a blur to me. I would rely heavily on my blog to carry out this part.

3.    Did the hands-on approach to this activity add to how much you were able to learn (1-Strongly Disagree, 2-Disagree, 3-No real opinion, 4-Agree, 5-Strongly Agree)

5 -  Strongly Agree

There just isn't a better way to try to teach this experiment. We should have worked together on the mosaicking portion as a group, but that was our fault, not yours.

4.    What types of learning strategies would you recommend to make the activity even better?

I would require a meeting of the entire group to do the mosaicking where if you didn't attend, you couldn't use the images. That way if one meeting didn't work you could get different groups to split off together. But this one got away from us, because it was too open-ended. The typical group dynamic developed where a couple people end up doing all the work.

Field Activity #9: Topcon Land Survey

1.    Prior to this activity, how would you rank yourself in knowledge about the topic. (1-No Knowledge at all, 2-Very Little Knowledge, 3-Some knowledge, 4-A good amount of knowledge, 5-I knew all about this)

1 - No knowledge at all

I had never done any work with a Topcon Total Station. 

2.    Following this activity, how would you rate the amount of knowledge you have on the topic (1- I don’t really know enough to talk about the topic, 2- I know enough to explain what I did, 3-I know enough to repeat what I did, 4-I know enough to teach someone else, 5- I am an expert)

3 - I know enough to repeat what I did

After going through our lesson on using the Topcon Total Station, I was completely lost. Once we worked as a group, and I got the chance to operate in each position, things got better. I know I would need to be refreshed on this before doing it again. Therefore, I do not think I am ready to teach someone. But I could slowly work my way through it enough to operate the system on my own or with others.

3.    Did the hands-on approach to this activity add to how much you were able to learn (1-Strongly Disagree, 2-Disagree, 3-No real opinion, 4-Agree, 5-Strongly Agree)

5 -  Strongly Agree

Once I was actually out collecting data, I could ask questions of my team members to really understand what we needed to be doing. I actually felt pretty good about everything once I had that opportunity.

4.    What types of learning strategies would you recommend to make the activity even better?

When you go through your lesson on using the Topcon Total Station, could you try to make sure each group gets up to try everything? You only got through about 1.5 of the groups. It was impossible to get 15-20 students crowded around the station in order to actually see what needed to be seen. As a result, many students were pretty lost until they talked to those who had been called up with their groups to see how things actually worked.

Field Activity #8: ArcPad Data Collection

1.    Prior to this activity, how would you rank yourself in knowledge about the topic. (1-No Knowledge at all, 2-Very Little Knowledge, 3-Some knowledge, 4-A good amount of knowledge, 5-I knew all about this)

1 - No knowledge at all

My Geography 335 class did not conduct this type of experiment until after we did. 

2.    Following this activity, how would you rate the amount of knowledge you have on the topic (1- I don’t really know enough to talk about the topic, 2- I know enough to explain what I did, 3-I know enough to repeat what I did, 4-I know enough to teach someone else, 5- I am an expert)

3 - I know enough to repeat what I did

I just can't say I have enough experience to teach someone because I am still not sure about the data collection methods. So many of the variables such as temperature and wind speed never came to a definitive answer while we were collecting. As a result, I was not confident at all with the data we collected. Students wanted to move through this quickly because of the extreme cold, so not enough time was taken to do this assignment very well.

3.    Did the hands-on approach to this activity add to how much you were able to learn (1-Strongly Disagree, 2-Disagree, 3-No real opinion, 4-Agree, 5-Strongly Agree)

4-  Agree

Regardless of my dissatisfaction with the data we collected, going through the process of collecting it was still very helpful. Also, producing a microclimate was a useful experience that allowed me to compare my experience with what I was seeing on the map using the various techniques available to me. 

4.    What types of learning strategies would you recommend to make the activity even better?

I would love to see you collect all of the data for one point. I need to see when it is reasonable to say the value being recorded is accurate enough to move on to the next variable. Especially for the kestrel readings. Perhaps if there was some information for us to familiarize ourselves with about microclimates, it would be helpful to compare to the results we find in the field. This would help us understand if what we had collected makes sense or not.

Field Activity #7: Visual Introduction to Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

1.    Prior to this activity, how would you rank yourself in knowledge about the topic. (1-No Knowledge at all, 2-Very Little Knowledge, 3-Some knowledge, 4-A good amount of knowledge, 5-I knew all about this)

1 - No knowledge at all

I have never done any work with UAVs. We discussed them a little in Geography 200, but I have never seen them in operation

2.    Following this activity, how would you rate the amount of knowledge you have on the topic (1- I don’t really know enough to talk about the topic, 2- I know enough to explain what I did, 3-I know enough to repeat what I did, 4-I know enough to teach someone else, 5- I am an expert)

3 - I know enough to repeat what I did

This was a difficult exercise to assess in this manner. If I were asked to carry out the UAV tests, I could probably jimmy-rig something together. But, I would not consider my knowledge of how to prepare the UAVs or the things to consider strong enough to teach someone else. I would need to carry out a couple supervised experiments before I would truly feel confident to do that.I could certainly talk about some things to remember but not in a very full way.

3.    Did the hands-on approach to this activity add to how much you were able to learn (1-Strongly Disagree, 2-Disagree, 3-No real opinion, 4-Agree, 5-Strongly Agree)

5- Strongly Agree

It was definitely important for me to be able to watch you get the UAVs ready and see how you handled the aircrafts while in flight. Still, this experiment was not hands-on enough for us to truly become confident with how to carry out UAV missions. Your ability to provide that is definitely inhibited by the cost of the equipment you are working with. 

4.    What types of learning strategies would you recommend to make the activity even better?

If there would be a way to take each UAV up several times and have groups of students work with either getting a UAV ready, monitoring the screen, or actually controlling the UAV in flight, it would be a more a hands-on experiment with experiences that would get stuck in our minds. Maybe you could work this out over the course of 2-3 weeks where you could take 30 minute sessions (6 per day for 3 hours total) and show these smaller groups how to operate the rotocopter one week, the kite another, and the ballon another. We could have our own digital imagery that out group would then be responsible for rather than just having one set of imagery for the entire class. I understand this might be too difficult, but would be much more helpful for learning, I think.

Field Activity #6: Microclimate Geodatabase Construction for Deployment to ArcPad

1.    Prior to this activity, how would you rank yourself in knowledge about the topic. (1-No Knowledge at all, 2-Very Little Knowledge, 3-Some knowledge, 4-A good amount of knowledge, 5-I knew all about this)

2 - Very little knowledge

I had just a little bit of experience with constructing geodatabases from Geography 200, but I had not completed much of Geography 335 at the time. Most of the concepts were new to me other than the basic general form. This definitely put me behind most students.

2.    Following this activity, how would you rate the amount of knowledge you have on the topic (1- I don’t really know enough to talk about the topic, 2- I know enough to explain what I did, 3-I know enough to repeat what I did, 4-I know enough to teach someone else, 5- I am an expert)

3 - I know enough to repeat what I did

If I were to go back and look at my blog, I would be able to quickly recall the process. I have the general understanding of what I would want to produce, and the variables I would want. But, I would need to a quick refresher on where exactly to go and which commands to select. As a result, I don't think I am ready to actually teach someone the process. However, with access to my blog, I could easily teach it as well. 

3.    Did the hands-on approach to this activity add to how much you were able to learn (1-Strongly Disagree, 2-Disagree, 3-No real opinion, 4-Agree, 5-Strongly Agree)

5- Strongly Agree

This activity would be awful without the hands-on approach. Working with other students was crucial for me because of my relative inexperience compared to others. It really helped me grasp the purposes behind creating databases a certain way. I understand why you need to change your data type, etc. This activity needs to be a hands-on one.

4.    What types of learning strategies would you recommend to make the activity even better?

Perhaps a list of questions to consider and general principles to guide us would be helpful. I am not talking about detailed instructions but just a general framework to refer to. Maybe even having a very small example to walk through. For instance, make a fake scenario and go through the things you would think of that you need to consider and carry it out by creating a geodatabase. Obviously, this would need to be a much smaller version of what we are actually doing for our exercise.

Field Activity #5: Development of a Field Navigation Map/Learning Distance-Bearing Navigation

1.    Prior to this activity, how would you rank yourself in knowledge about the topic. (1-No Knowledge at all, 2-Very Little Knowledge, 3-Some knowledge, 4-A good amount of knowledge, 5-I knew all about this)

1 - No knowledge at all

All of the tools used in this experiment were completely new to me. I had no idea what things to include when making a navigation map, and I knew even less about how to navigate in the field when using a map and compass.

2.    Following this activity, how would you rate the amount of knowledge you have on the topic (1- I don’t really know enough to talk about the topic, 2- I know enough to explain what I did, 3-I know enough to repeat what I did, 4-I know enough to teach someone else, 5- I am an expert)

3 - I know enough to repeat what I did

I now know what things I would like to include in a navigation map. I would be able to teach someone how to do this part of the activity. However, I think I would need a refresher course before being able to teach someone exactly how to navigate in the field. I could manage the process myself, but would not be able to answer every question about why to do certain things and fully explain the process.

3.    Did the hands-on approach to this activity add to how much you were able to learn (1-Strongly Disagree, 2-Disagree, 3-No real opinion, 4-Agree, 5-Strongly Agree)

4-  Agree

Because we were not able to practice navigating in the field during this exercise due to weather, it was somewhat difficult to conceptualize. Obviously, we received this practice at a later date, but it was harder to remember everything at that point. I had to ask Drew a lot of questions to really grasp navigating again. Also, for making a navigation map, the hands-on portion was integral to the exercise. I had to take time to ask Dr. Hupy his thoughts on what to include and why. Later, while conducting the exercise and realizing more of what I would have wanted, having made the map myself allowed me to compare what I had done and make mental notes about what I should have done differently.

4.    What types of learning strategies would you recommend to make the activity even better?

       The one thing that would have helped the most would be actually being able to go outside and practice on the day we learned how to navigate. This was completely out of your control, though. The other thing I might recommend is seeing some examples of navigation maps and having you go through them and describe some of the features and why they are good or bad when it comes to navigating.

Field Activity #4: Conducting a Distance-Azimuth Survey

1.    Prior to this activity, how would you rank yourself in knowledge about the topic. (1-No Knowledge at all, 2-Very Little Knowledge, 3-Some knowledge, 4-A good amount of knowledge, 5-I knew all about this)

1 - No knowledge at all

All of the tools used in this experiment were completely new to me.

2.    Following this activity, how would you rate the amount of knowledge you have on the topic (1- I don’t really know enough to talk about the topic, 2- I know enough to explain what I did, 3-I know enough to repeat what I did, 4-I know enough to teach someone else, 5- I am an expert)

4 - I know enough to teach someone else

While it was relatively simple, this was still a fun and helpful exercise. I am very happy to say, I could
teach this method to someone now.

3.    Did the hands-on approach to this activity add to how much you were able to learn (1-Strongly Disagree, 2-Disagree, 3-No real opinion, 4-Agree, 5-Strongly Agree)

5- Strongly Agree

There really was so much more to be gained by taking the time to carry out an entire distance
azimuth survey rather than just being taught the steps. Seeing it through to a GIS model was
a very enabling process.

4.    What types of learning strategies would you recommend to make the activity even better?

       Because missions rarely have a lack of purpose, perhaps establishing some other criteria to the 100 points
      would be helpful. Also, some teaching after the class to discuss why some points are so far off
     and how to resolve that would be nice.

Field Activity #3: Unmanned Aerial Systems Mission Planning

1.    Prior to this activity, how would you rank yourself in knowledge about the topic. (1-No Knowledge at all, 2-Very Little Knowledge, 3-Some knowledge, 4-A good amount of knowledge, 5-I knew all about this)

I have great interest in planning, and have some experience with this in other fields. However, in the field
of geography, I had no experience whatsoever

2.    Following this activity, how would you rate the amount of knowledge you have on the topic (1- I don’t really know enough to talk about the topic, 2- I know enough to explain what I did, 3-I know enough to repeat what I did, 4-I know enough to teach someone else, 5- I am an expert)

4 - I know enough to teach someone else

I spent extensive time thinking through each mission and feel that I have a good grasp of the areas that
need to be considered when thinking about how to solve a problem with UAS equipment.

3.    Did the hands-on approach to this activity add to how much you were able to learn (1-Strongly Disagree, 2-Disagree, 3-No real opinion, 4-Agree, 5-Strongly Agree)

5- Strongly Agree

This exercise was really helpful as a hands-on experience. It really helped visualize what the
mission planning process is like.

4.    What types of learning strategies would you recommend to make the activity even better?

       If some more specification could be provided on what to plan for, it would be helpful. based on the
      open-ended instructions, I tried to think about every facet. Maybe having each group do one
       or two missions and then present the results in class would be cool. I actually liked going way
      more in-depth on the mission plans. By doing fewer, you could encourage students to think
      about EVERYTHING. Then, they could still get the idea of how to do other projects by hearing
      how other groups planned their missions in the presentations.

 Field Activity #2: Creation of a Digital Elevation Survey

1.    Prior to this activity, how would you rank yourself in knowledge about the topic. (1-No Knowledge at all, 2-Very Little Knowledge, 3-Some knowledge, 4-A good amount of knowledge, 5-I knew all about this)

1 - No knowledge at all

This was a GIS heavy activity, and I was definitely lagging behind in the knowledge department.

2.    Following this activity, how would you rate the amount of knowledge you have on the topic (1- I don’t really know enough to talk about the topic, 2- I know enough to explain what I did, 3-I know enough to repeat what I did, 4-I know enough to teach someone else, 5- I am an expert)

2 - It was a real struggle to get a good grasp on the entire process almost entirely due to inexperience. I will need to re-run this exercise before feeling confident enough to replicate or teach this activity.

I am very comfortable with the actual field work portion of this exercise. There are very few things I could

claim to be an expert at.

3.    Did the hands-on approach to this activity add to how much you were able to learn (1-Strongly Disagree, 2-Disagree, 3-No real opinion, 4-Agree, 5-Strongly Agree)

2 - Strongly Agree

My inexperience really hindered me for this exercise. I would have benefited from some previous
knowledge. As a result, a lot of time was spent trying to make the models work that could have been
otherwise avoided. This was not a fault of the exercise but the participant.

4.    What types of learning strategies would you recommend to make the activity even better?

        Perhaps some time spent on how geographers use the different models in their report. Which ones are
       good for certain circumstances, etc. I also had a hard time envisioning how this activity plays out in
       actual field work. I'm not questioning that it does, merely stating that I wasn't able to make the
       connection.

Field Activity #1: Creation of a Digital Elevation Survey

1.    Prior to this activity, how would you rank yourself in knowledge about the topic. (1-No Knowledge at all, 2-Very Little Knowledge, 3-Some knowledge, 4-A good amount of knowledge, 5-I knew all about this)

1 - No knowledge at all

Because I am just now taking many of the basic technical geography course, this will often be a standard

answer for me in subsequent activity assessments.

2.    Following this activity, how would you rate the amount of knowledge you have on the topic (1- I don’t really know enough to talk about the topic, 2- I know enough to explain what I did, 3-I know enough to repeat what I did, 4-I know enough to teach someone else, 5- I am an expert)

4 - I know enough to teach someone else

I am very comfortable with the actual field work portion of this exercise. There are very few things I could

claim to be an expert at.

3.    Did the hands-on approach to this activity add to how much you were able to learn (1-Strongly Disagree, 2-Disagree, 3-No real opinion, 4-Agree, 5-Strongly Agree)

5 - Strongly Agree

The only way to learn this kind of information is through a hands-on experience.

4.    What types of learning strategies would you recommend to make the activity even better?

       Personally, I would recommend some teaching on planning ahead for your mission. While I planned to  

       and carried out pre-planning, others did not. Because it is such an integral part of every field mission, it

       would make sense to drive this home before the first mission.