|
Plotting a course for the future
|
|
Indiana youths are learning the skills necessary to work with two fast-growing agricultural technologies— Global Positioning Systems (GPS) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) —that may be commonplace by the time they're adults.
GPS is a satellite navigation system used for precise position measurements on Earth, while GIS provides geographic data for specific locations. Purdue Extension educators in northern Indiana are teaching 4-Hers the basics of the technologies through a series of hand-on activities.
For the past two years, workshops have been held at the Indiana Dunes State Park on the shore of Lake Michigan. Youths become skilled at navigating their way through the park and are able to load their recorded GPS readings into a GIS program to view the trails.
“The use of computers and related hand-held instrumentation provides youths practical, real-world experiences with this rapidly changing technology,” says Scott Foster, 4-H youth educator in LaPorte County. “Now, they have a better understanding of how GPS and GIS can be integrated to locate specific spatial features on the Earth's surface.”
Related link:
Indiana 4-H Youth
|
