New Directions in Remote Sensing EducationNew Directions in Remote Sensing Education

Michael F. Goodchild

University of California

Santa Barbara

An educator’s perspectiveAn educator’s perspective

New technologies in the classroom Sharing of instructional resources Vertical integration in K-16 Education vs training Lecture vs hands-on Motivating students

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Education for whom?

Technology-centric

Application-centric

QuestionsQuestions

Which level of the pyramid?– and what are the associated educational

goals?– what principles are relevant at what levels?– what are the characteristics of the culture

at each level? How to move people higher?

– if the lowest level is the point of entry and the most strongly motivated?

Stages of problem solvingStages of problem solving

Formulate the question

Formulate the question

Observe, acquire data

Observe, acquire data

AnalyzeAnalyze

Seek solutions

Seek solutions

Intervene and change

Intervene and change

Elements of a problem-centric perspectiveElements of a problem-centric perspective

There are many potential sources of data– how to evaluate fitness for use– how to find, access, and retrieve– how to integrate– how to deal with misalignment– how to assess the effects of uncertainty

There is potentially too much to learn– what are the essential concepts and principles that

will still be true in 20 years?

A model of traditional education

Information sources: books, journals, …

Instructor’s office

Classroom

Metaphors for the officeMetaphors for the office

The filing cabinet– fixed and linear ordering of class materials

The bookshelf– random ordering

The pile– last in first out

The hard drive– folder tree

New technologies in educationNew technologies in education

The geolibrary– the Alexandria Digital Library– putting a map and imagery library online– generalizing to any data with a footprint– www.alexandria.ucsb.edu– many similar projects– terabytes of data

Persistent issuesPersistent issues

Vertical integration Interoperability Collection-level metadata Misregistration

CLM of the Alexandria Digital Library

ADEPT: The Alexandria Digital Earth PrototypeADEPT: The Alexandria Digital Earth Prototype

Value of a geolibrary in the classroom? Other information types

– curriculum– class notes– learning modules– readings– annotation – simulation models– decision support systems

Concepts as an organizing principle

SimulationsSimulations

1.8 vehicles per driveway Driver behavior influenced by:

– lane width– slope– view distances– traffic control mechanisms– information feedback– driver aggressiveness

770 homes– clearing times > 30 minutes

2D clip

3D clip

Policy implicationsPolicy implications

Addition of new outlets Better deployment of traffic control

resources Understanding the risk Reduce cars used per household Problems of shut-ins, elderly, latch-key

kids

Towards an infrastructure for dynamic modelsTowards an infrastructure for dynamic models

Infrastructure for sharing– search– discovery– evaluation of fitness for use– acquisition– execution

Falling through the cracksFalling through the cracks

Text-sharing infrastructure– libraries, bookstores, books, journals, WWW,

search engines

Data-sharing infrastructure– metadata schema, archives, clearinghouses, data

centers

Model-sharing infrastructure– models are the highest form of sharable

knowledge of the Earth system

Current statusCurrent status

Some archives– some pre-WWW

No standards No clearinghouses www.ncgia.ucsb.edu/~scott

Building a metadata standard for describing models

Building a metadata standard for describing models

A model is a transformation– characterized by metadata for inputs and

outputs Write down the key elements

– compare FGDC CSDGM How do humans do it?

– we’ve been doing it for decades A first-draft standard

DLESE: Digital Library for Earth System EducationDLESE: Digital Library for Earth System Education

www.dlese.org A digital archive of learning resources Directed by the community Library metaphor

– accession process– gatekeeper– IP at the object level

Peer to peer resource sharingPeer to peer resource sharing

In the style of Napster Registration of object by contributor No management of IP Grass roots

Challenges in RS education (1)Challenges in RS education (1)

Identify the fundamental and persistent principles of the field

– that will still be true in 20 years– that can frame any technological

innovation

Challenges in RS education (2)Challenges in RS education (2)

Reinvent traditional instruction– to take advantage of new instructional

technologies– to better integrate K-16– to reach new types of students– to share resources better between peers– to accommodate individual learning styles

Challenges in RS education (3)Challenges in RS education (3)

Focus on the solution of problems as the primary motivation– whether in science or in society– data integration– spatial decision support– simulation modeling– accuracy assessment