Web Use in Geographical and Environmental Education: An International Survey at the Primary and Secondary Level

This article aims to study Web use and Web-based co-operation and collaboration in geographical and environmental education at the primary and secondary level around the world. Recent trends and future opportunities and challenges are taken into account. The theoretical part of the study considers Web use and different forms of Web-based co-operation. Web use and co-operation in education are classified as co-operative learning, collaborative learning or communal learning. Web use in geographical and environmental education is noted to be growing in significance. Web-based co-operation at any level of intensity is associated with many opportunities and challenges. The empirical part of this study involves a survey of geographical and environmental education researchers in various countries about their views of Web use in education. The results of this survey indicate that the Web in general finds minimal use in geographical and environmental education. As access to the Web is limited and only some pupils can use it, co-operation, particularly collaborative learning on the Web, is still rare in geographical and environmental education. The most often used application is e-mail. Researchers recognise the potential of the Web to enhance local, national and international co-operation, and to facilitate a better understanding of geographical and environmental issues at the grass-root level. Web-based learning can also help to increase and deepen the pupils' cultural understanding. Before that, however, problems in access, costs and teacher training must be solved. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

基于网络资源的“大地测量学基础”教学创新模式探索

针对“大地测量学基础”课程的特点和教学目标,对基于网络资源的教学创新模式进行探索和实践,有效地规范网络教学秩序,较好地保证网络教学效果,促进信息技术与教学活动的整合,并为个性化、研究式教学方法在网络教学领域内的具体实践提供环境依托。     

基于ASP.NET的地理信息系统网络课程的设计与实现

文章以ASP.NET技术为核心,结合使用SQL Server数据库、Visual C#语言,开发和构建了基于Web平台的地理信息系统(GIS)网络课程,实现了GIS专业知识与网站的融合;同时在外观设计上,系统运用DIV+CSS进行布局,并注重界面的友好性,方便了用户的操作。系统的实现对B/S结构系统的开发及如何将地理信息系统专业知识应用于网络课程具有借鉴意义。     

Does scientific conjecture accurately describe restoration practice? Insight from an international river restoration survey

Few sources exist to draw generalizations about the incredibly diverse international river restoration community. Generalizations in the restoration literature tend to be grounded on individual experiences or logical conjecture. To fill this perceived gap, an international web-based survey was launched. Over 500 respondents from 37 different countries participated. The results, posted on the web, act as a database of perceptions and individual experiences, from which the restoration community can make their own interpretations. With three examples, we contrast scientific conjecture with the perceptions of the restoration community who participated in this survey.     

An open web-based module developed to advance data-driven hydrologic process learning

The era of ‘big data’ promises to provide new hydrologic insights, and open web-based platforms are being developed and adopted by the hydrologic science community to harness these datasets and data services. This shift accompanies advances in hydrology education and the growth of web-based hydrology learning modules, but their capacity to utilize emerging open platforms and data services to enhance student learning through data-driven activities remains largely untapped. Given that generic equations may not easily translate into local or regional solutions, teaching students to explore how well models or equations work in particular settings or to answer specific problems using real data is essential. This article introduces an open web-based module developed to advance data-driven hydrologic process learning, targeting upper level undergraduate and early graduate students in hydrology and engineering. The module was developed and deployed on the HydroLearn open educational platform, which provides a formal pedagogical structure for developing effective problem-based learning activities. We found that data-driven learning activities utilizing collaborative open web platforms like CUAHSI HydroShare and JupyterHub to store and run computational notebooks allowed students to access and work with datasets for systems of personal interest and promoted critical evaluation of results and assumptions. Initial student feedback was generally positive, but also highlighted challenges including trouble-shooting and future-proofing difficulties and some resistance to programming and new software. Opportunities to further enhance hydrology learning include better articulating the benefits of coding and open web platforms upfront, incorporating additional user-support tools, and focusing methods and questions on implementing and adapting notebooks to explore fundamental processes rather than tools and syntax. The profound shift in the field of hydrology toward big data, open data services and reproducible research practices requires hydrology instructors to rethink traditional content delivery and focus instruction on harnessing these datasets and practices in the preparation of future hydrologists and engineers.     

高效率的WebGIS气象观测和数值预报数据可视化方法

观测数据和数值预报产品在当代的气象研究和服务中扮演了越来越重要的角色。针对具有大量时间相关气象数据的WebGIS平台,本文提出了改进其服务效率的方法,并根据这一方法构建了原形系统。这一系统包括以下主要模块:网络和本地数据获取,数据解析和处理,地图服务以及点击查询服务。与基于ArcGIS平台实现相同功能的系统相比,本文所述方案在响应时间上降低了39.6%。     

Design of service-oriented architecture for spatial data integration and its application in building web-based GIS systems

In this paper we propose a service-oriented architecture for spatial data integration (SOA-SDI) in the context of a large number of available spatial data sources that are physically sitting at different places, and develop web-based GIS systems based on SOA-SDI, allowing client applications to pull in, analyze and present spatial data from those available spatial data sources. The proposed architecture logically includes 4 layers or components; they are layer of multiple data provider services, layer of da...     

Teaching and Assessing Information Literacy in a Geography Program

Abstract

In the technological world of the Twenty-first Century, students must be information literate. They must have the skills to access, evaluate, and utilize information needed in their undergraduate experience and in their future endeavors. It is important for Geography majors to acquire these skills as part of their undergraduate education. At one institution of higher learning, information literacy learning is embedded in the Geography curriculum. An online instrument to assess information literacy skills is used to evaluate seniors. In this article, goals for information literacy, the creation of the information literacy assessment instrument and the results of assessment testing are discussed.     

A prototype web-based analysis platform for drought monitoring and early warning

ABSTRACT

It has long been recognized that an effective drought monitoring and early warning system, which provides functions for real-time condition monitoring and prediction, risk assessment, information dissemination and response recommendation, is very important for the preparedness for and mitigation of drought impacts. In this article, we review the currently existing drought monitor and early warning systems, discuss applicable remote sensing datasets and drought indicators and present the development of a web-based quasi-real-time Global Drought Monitoring & Analysis Platform (Web-GDMAP). The Web-GDMAP is built upon a series of indicators derived from multi-source satellite remote sensing data and various other sources of data. From a technical perspective, the Web-GDMAP system includes a series of components from data storage, model implementation and distribution, to client-side visualization and user intuitive interaction. From a theoretical perspective, the Web-GDMAP system integrates multi-indicators on different aspects of drought, including anomalies in precipitation, anomalies in land surface thermal and vegetation conditions, water deficit of soil and plants, etc. Several case studies on applying the developed Web-GDMAP in the Asian region are demonstrated. Further improvements and perspectives are discussed.     

基于Java3D的城市三维景观的网络可视化

在网络环境下实现城市三维景观可视化，具有重要的研究意义和广泛的应用价值。本文利用Java3D技术实现基于Web的城市三维景观可视化技术方案，并成功实现了原型系统。实验表明。在三层B／S结构下采用Java3D进行场景建模和交互，是在网络环境下实现城市三维景观可视化的有效途径。