Assessment

Assessment: Processing UAS Data in Pix4D

1. Prior to this activity, how would I rank myself in knowledge about the topic:

    1 - No knowledge at all

    I have never used, nor have I ever heard of Pix4D prior to this assignment. This was a completely new learning experience for me.

2. Following this activity, how would I rate the amount of knowledge I have on this topic:

    2 - I know enough to explain what I did

    I could explain the basics of what I did and how to do it, and I could possibly repeat it too, but I would probably be finding myself using the online help liberally.

3. Did the hands-on approach to this activity add to how much I was able to learn:

    5 - Strongly agree

    For me, when it comes to learning anything new, a hands-on approach is the best way I learn. I ran into some problems during this assignment, but used the online help and kept pushing through, and this helped me immensely in learning how to use Pix4D.

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

    Although I'm sure there are some learning strategies that could be added, I cannot think of any at this time.


Assessment: GPS Topographic Survey 

1. Prior to this activity, how would I rank myself in knowledge about the topic:

    4 - A good amount of knowledge

    I was pretty familiar with just about all aspects of this activity before this week. We had used the survey grade GPS in week 1 for the Hadleyville Cemetery project and imported lat, long, and elevation data into ArcMap and ran interpolations similar to that for the sandbox activity. 

2. Following this activity, how would I rate the amount of knowledge I have on this topic:

    4 - I know enough to teach someone else

    I could definitely teach someone the methods on what I did on this assignment, and actually helped a fellow student out on how to bring the collected data into ArcMap and have it displayed as a layer. However, I wouldn't be able to teach someone how to set up the survey GPS since the instructor did that for us. I could only show someone how to use it once it was set up.

3. Did the hands-on approach to this activity add to how much I was able to learn:

    4 - Agree

    Even though I was fairly familiar with the methods that were utilized in this activity, repeating methods previously used helps to reinforce them better in my mind.

4. What type of learning strategies would I recommend to make the activity even better?

    The weather wasn't cooperating with us on the day we collected data, so the instructor was not able to show us exactly how to set up the GPS, but in the future if the weather is nice, I think it would be beneficial for the instructor to show the students how to set up the GPS and prepare it for data collection.

    
Assessment: Arc Collector - Part 2

1. Prior to this activity, how would I rank myself in knowledge about the topic:

    3 - Some knowledge

    From the previous week's activity, I had gained knowledge on how to collect data on my phone using Arc Collector, but this week was my first time setting up my map to be used in Arc Collector, so that was new experience that I gained.

2. Following this activity, how would I rate the amount of knowledge I have on this topic:

    2 - I know enough to explain what I did

    While I could more easily explain and repeat how I collected the data on my phone, I would probably need to consult the tutorial again on how to set up my map to be used with Arc Collector.

3. Did the hands-on approach to this activity add to how much I was able to learn:

    4 - Agree

    Setting up the map myself in ArcMap and reading through the tutorial on how to prepare the map for Arc Collector and then using it in the field really helped my learning of Arc Collector.

4. What type of learning strategies would I recommend to make the activity even better? 

    I would perhaps recommend that the instructor strongly encourage students ahead of time to, after coming up with their project idea, try setting up their maps before class so that things would run a little more smoothly in class in case problems arise (which they always do). Obviously not all students will work ahead of time, but for those that do I think it would be beneficial. 


Assessment: Arc Collector - Part 1

1. Prior to this activity, how would I rank myself in knowledge about the topic:

    2 - Very little knowledge

    I have never previously used Arc Collector to collect data before, so that was a first for me. I have however used the instruments and devices (handheld weather meter, compass, my smartphone) that were utilized in this activity.

2. Following this activity, how would I rate the amount of knowledge I have on this topic:

    2 - I know enough to explain what I did

    Although I became more familiar with Arc Collector, the instructor, step by step, walked students through the process of setting up Arc Collector on their phones and how to prepare the application for data collection (and there were several steps). I don't know if I'd be able to repeat this steps by memory or not. Once everything was set up, however, data collection with Arc Collector seemed fairly straight forward, and this I could repeat.

3. Did the hands-on approach to this activity add to how much I was able to learn: 

    4 - Agree

    Walking through the steps of setting up Arc Collector and transferring that data into ArcMap helped my learning of it, although I'd like some more hands-on practice.

4. What type of learning strategies would I recommend to make the activity even better? 

    Perhaps have students download Arc Collector onto their phones/tablets prior to class and give them a friendly reminder to have these devices fully charged before the activity.

  
Assessment: Navigation with a Map and Compass - Week 1

1. Prior to this activity, how would I rank myself in knowledge about the topic: 

    2 - Very little knowledge

    I had very little, if any, experience with using a map and compass for navigating prior to this week's activity. While I was familiar with the concept, I was not aware of the specific tips and techniques used in navigation.

2. Following this activity, how would I rate the amount of knowledge I have on this topic:

    3 - I know enough to repeat what I did

    I would be able to go out and navigate to GPS coordinates using a compass and map again, although I would want to employ better navigation techniques, and until I became good at it, I wouldn't want to teach someone how to do it.

3. Did the hands-on approach to this activity add to how much I was able to learn:

    4 - Agree

    Using the compass, plotting out the bearings from point to point, and physically navigating through the woods contributed to how much I was able to learn and how much I have yet to learn as far as navigating goes.

4. What type of learning strategies would I recommend to make the activity even better?

    I think having some material to read beforehand about navigation would be beneficial (it was posted after the activity) and having the ribbons at each coordinate point labeled would help as well. There were a couple instances where we thought we found the right ribbon, but comparing our tracks to the xy data of the points in ArcMap reveals that we were off on a few of the points.


Assessment: Distance Azimuth Survey - Week 1

1. Prior to this activity, how would I rank myself in knowledge about the topic:
   
    2 - Very little knowledge

    I gained experience in the previous exercise on how to conduct a geospatial survey, but this was a different type of survey with different methods, one that I have not had experience with previously. I was familiar with how to transfer data from Excel into ArcMap, but have never run the tools in ArcMap that I used in this exercise.

2. Following this activity, how would I rate the amount of knowledge I have on this topic:

    3/4 - I know enough to repeat what I did/I know enough to teach someone else

    I feel confident I would be able to conduct this type of survey again in the future, especially with collecting the data in the field and would be able to show someone else how to do it.

3. Did the hands-on approach to this activity add to how much I was able to learn:

    4 - Agree

    Physically going out to Putnam Park, taking distance measurements, tree diameter measurement, and using the compass to gauge the azimuth of the trees went a long way in helping me learn how to conduct this type of survey.

4. What type of learning strategies would I recommend to make the activity even better?

    I think having some sort of tree identification chart on hand would help students, who aren't familiar with various tree species, identify the tree types.



Assessment: Creating a Digital Elevation Surface - Week 2

1. Prior to this activity, how would I rank myself in knowledge about the topic: 

    3 - Some knowledge
   
    I have worked with ArcMap before on bringing in an Excel spreadsheet to be able to use the XY data as a shapefile, but have never done interpolation or used ArcScene to create a 3D image so these were new concepts for me.

2. Following this activity, how would I rate the amount of knowledge I have on this topic: 

    3/4 - I know enough to repeat what I did/I know enough to teach someone else

    I was able to repeat what I did outside of class and was able to show one of my group members, who was unable to attend the previous class period, how to bring the Excel table into ArcMap and set up the images in ArcScene.

3. Did the hands-on approach to this activity add to how much I was able to learn: 

    4 - Agree

    Even though I could have read instructions on how to complete the interpolation steps in ArcMap and the image rendering in ArcScene, actually going through the process interactively went a long way in helping me to learn this part of the process.

4. What type of learning strategies would I recommend to make the activity even better?

    I think having more detailed instructions on how to render the images in ArcScene would help make this activity better so that students would not have to as heavily rely on the instructor for assistance and in case students were not able to find directions in the Help section.


Assessment: Creating a Digital Elevation Surface - Week 1

1. Prior to this activity, how would I rank myself in knowledge about the topic:

    2 - Very little knowledge

    I have never created a digital elevation surface using data points that I personally surveyed on a terrain. I haven't even surveyed a terrain before by hand and did not have any previous knowledge on what methods are used to accomplish this task.

2. Following this activity, how would I rate the amount of knowledge I have on this topic:

    3/4 - I know enough to repeat what I did/I know enough to teach someone else

    I thought my group was quite successful in setting up our grid and developing a good method on how to record the elevation points of our terrain and have enough points to develop a suitable digital elevation surface. I could definitely repeat it again (if I must) and show someone else how to do it as well.

3. Did the hands-on approach to this activity add to how much I was able to learn:

    4 - Agree

    This part of the assignment was almost exclusively hands-on, so being able to set it up the terrain, grid, and make the measurements by hand really added to how much I was able to learn about sampling a terrain.

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

    I would set up the sand boxes on top of some plywood so that if students wanted to use the bottom of the sand pit as their "sea level" then they would not have uneven ground possibly affecting the accuracy of their elevation measurements (if their technique for measurement is similar to ours). Giving students a short amount of time in class to get together with their groups and come up with a strategy before going outside and setting up the sandboxes may be useful too.


Assessment: Hadleyville Cemetery Mapping - Week 3

1. Prior to this activity, how would I rank myself in knowledge about the topic:

    4 - A good amount of knowledge

    Having taken two GIS courses prior to this class, creating the GIS for this assignment was pretty straightfoward, although I've never done a lot of creating feature classes and attribute table from scratch before. Even though I've spent a lot of time using ArcMap, I still learned some things concerning GIS map creation.

2. Following this activity, how would I rate the amount of knowledge I have on this topic:

    4 - I know enough to teach someone else

    I think I would be able to help someone else get through a project similar to this one if I had to do it again in the near future.

3. Did the hands-on approach to this activity add to how much I was able to learn:

    4 - Agree

    Any time I get to practice using ArcMap and creating a GIS, it always helps me to learn how to do it and it sticks with me better and I'm able to more easily apply what I've learned in the future.

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

    I think coming up with a method on how to go about plotting the grave markers before conducting the actual survey would have made this activity run a lot smoother. I also think going through more ArcMap examples in class would be helpful to those who have not used ArcMap very much, if at all, prior to this activity.


Assessment: Hadleyville Cemetery Mapping - Week 2

1. Prior to this activity, how would I rank myself in knowledge about the topic:

    3 - Some knowledge

    I've taken GIS courses previously and remember discussing what it means to normalize a table and spent some time actually doing it. However, I have never created a table for a cemetery from scratch before, or collaborated with multiple students on creating a uniform, normalized table so this was a new experience.

2. Following this activity, how would I rate the amount of knowledge I have on this topic: 

    3/4 - I know enough to repeat it/I know enough to teach someone else

    I have a good understanding of how to normalize a table and what it takes to actually do it, and I would be able to help someone else understand how to tackle this task as well. I was also shown a great way on how to create a normalized attribute table that multiple people can work on simultaneously. This was done by setting up an online spreadsheet that everyone was able to access and edit and as it was edited, it was automatically saving. This proved to be a very useful and effective tool.

3. Did the hands-on approach to this activity add to how much I was able to learn:

    4 - Agree

    Although I've normalized tables before, I've only done it once and individually. So, to have come together as a class and figure out how to normalize the table and organize the data, it was easily a useful learning experience. 

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

    I think spending a short amount of time as a class (maybe 10-15 minutes) on what normalization is and how to normalize a table to be used in ArcMap would be beneficial to those who haven't learned this and as a review for those who have.
           


Assessment: Hadleyville Cemetery Mapping - Week 1

1. Prior to this activity, how would I rank myself in knowledge about the topic:

    3 - Some knowledge

    I had a good idea of how to approach the task at hand as far as using a GPS unit to plot out points and tracks and how to upload the GPS and attribute table into ArcMap, but I have never mapped out a cemetery before and had no previous knowledge about what attributes to record.

2. Following this activity, how would I rate the amount of knowledge I have on this topic:

    2/3 - I know enough to explain what I did/I know enough to repeat what I did

    Collecting the attribute data from and taking photographs of the tombstones was fairly straight forward and I could easily repeat these steps and explain the methodology I implemented in obtaining this data. However, I am not knowledgeable or experienced enough yet to set up and use the UAV or the survey-grade GPS unit although I did get some brief practice with the GPS unit.  

3. Did the hands-on approach to this activity add to how much I was able to learn: 

    4 - Agree

    I'm more of a hands-on learner, so being able to go out the the cemetery and practice with the GPS, figure out how I would approach collecting the data, and then collecting the data itself assisted my learning in this activity.

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

    Explaining to and showing the class how to operate the survey-grade GPS unit as a group, rather than showing a couple students then having them show the next group and so on, I think would help make this activity better.