Activity Evaluation

Digital Elevation Surface Creation Part 1 Activity Evaluation

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)

• 3) Some knowledge. This was not an overly difficult concept to grasp when we were given our initial, basic instructions.

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 cannot say that I am an "expert" on the matter, but I do feel that I could appropriately and efficiently inform someone on the means to conduct such an experiment.

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 engaging and fun to complete. It definitely helped to teach the subject matter.

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

• I have no suggestions to make this better. It is a very straightforward exercise and one that helps to teach terrain analysis and critical thinking skills. I also would like to add that it is a very fitting exercise to start off with, as it helps to get the mind running again!

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Digital Elevation Surface Creation Part 2 Activity Evaluation

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)

• 3) Some knowledge. This was not an overly difficult concept to grasp when we were given our initial, basic instructions.

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 teach someone else. I cannot say that I am an "expert" on the matter, but I do feel that I could appropriately and efficiently inform someone on the means to conduct such an experiment. Interpolation methods are not new to me, though I am still working to familiarize myself with the basic methods.

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 engaging and fun to complete. It definitely helped to teach the subject matter. Teaching ourselves about the various methods of interpolation was a good way to better understand what they are and give us more of a introduction to them if we were unfamiliar before.

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

• I have no suggestions to make this better. It is a very straightforward exercise and one that helps to teach terrain analysis and critical thinking skills. Having us assess and determine where our model and data collection needs to be improved is a great way to help us think more critically when we are in progress with data collection. This will potentially help to prevent further issues of the sort.

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Field Navigation Map Development Activity Evaluation

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)

• 3) Some knowledge. This was not an overly difficult concept to grasp when we were given our initial, basic instructions. The grid setups were the most difficult part for me to work with.

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) I know enough to explain what I did. I can honestly say that I struggled a bit with the creation and setup of these maps with the grids listed on them. I can explain what I did, though I cannot say I could teach someone else. I needed enough help to do it myself.

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)

• 3) No Real Opinion. I cannot really say one way or another whether or not the hands on approach helped me. I can do it, but I definitely struggled with it.

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

• Definitely slower going on the setup of the grids. I know a lot of us were pretty lost and it took a lot of work to set them up in the end.

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Geodatabases, Attributes, and Domains Activity Evaluation

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)

• 4) A good amount of knowledge. This was not an overly difficult exercise. I had had plenty of exposure to geodatabases and enough exposure to domain use that this was a relatively easy lab to complete. 

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)

• 5) I'm an expert. Even though I would not personally use the word "expert," I could definitely teach someone else this concept without even having to look at the computer. 

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 think the hands on approach was especially helpful in this lab because it helped to reinforce the practical application of domain setup to me, and I can imagine it helped to easily teach the basics to those with less experience.

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

• I have no suggestions to make this better. As more and more of us take GIS II prior to Field Methods, this concept will become all the easier. As I have had plenty of experience within the realm of geodatabase work, this was a rather easy exercise.

_________________________________________________________________________________Unmanned Aerial Systems Mission Planning Activity Evaluation

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 my first exposure to the world of unmanned aerial systems.

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) I know enough to explain what I did. I am still very green when it comes to the UAS, but I know more now than when I started.

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. I knew nothing about UAS before I did this exercise, so this taught me pretty much everything I know!

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

• I really like the flight simulation stuff we did prior to learning about the different practical applications. I think that in the future, maybe an introduction into the various types of technology used for UAS would be beneficial to the students.

_________________________________________________________________________________ArcPad Data Collection Part 1 Activity Evaluation

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)

• 4) A good amount of knowledge. I have utilized ArcPad data collection on more than one occasion, and to a great extent along the Lower Chippewa River to monitor and log the presence of reed canary grass, an invasive riparian vegetation. I am very familiar with the interface, but I felt that it was beneficial to better acquaint myself with data preparation and deployment for the unit.

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. Like usual, I would not refer to myself as an expert, however I do feel that I have a sufficient amount of knowledge to teach this process to someone else.

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 definitely helped to reinforce the topic. Having the unit in hand and collecting data with it after creating and deploying the .gdb definitely drove the point home. It allows us to see shortcomings in our .gdb creation and where we can reinforce/change things.

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

• I felt that the strategies employed in this exercise were quite spot-on to teach the material. I felt that the use of the Kestrel units was beneficial and easy to translate into a geodatabase. Then finally tying things together with surface data interpolation helped to reinforce other exercises as well.

_________________________________________________________________________________Conducting a Distance/Azimuth Survey Activity Evaluation

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)

• 3) Some knowledge. This was not an overly difficult concept to grasp when we were given our initial, basic instructions.

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 teach someone else. I cannot say that I am an "expert" on the matter, but I do feel that I could appropriately and efficiently inform someone on the means to conduct such an experiment. This will be reinforced, I feel, during the navigation exercise, where we will be exposed to distance and azimuth even more. 

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 definitely helped to reinforce the topic. This was generally an easier topic, but going out into the field and actually surveying data helped to reinforce our understanding.

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

• The only thing I would have to comment about this is the amount of points taken. Honestly, I know it was discussed that this could have very easily been completed with less points required. Fifty points instead of a hundred points would have completed the same objective. Other than that I have nothing to suggest. The rest of the assignment was great for teaching and reinforcing.

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Navigation with GPS Activity Evaluation

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)

• 5) I knew all about this. This was a really easy exercise to conduct. I knew the Priory, I knew the Juno system, and I have helped lay courses out in the past.

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)

• 5) I am an expert. Again, this was a really easy exercise for me to conduct.

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)

• 3) I already knew enough for this exercise and didn't really have a whole lot of capacity to further my knowledge on it much more.

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

• I think that continuing this exercise in the manner it has been conducted will continue to show the success that I have observed. Aside from some random grumbling stemming from unprepared students tromping through the woods, the overall experiences that have been expressed to me have been positive. I think that continuing to have the orienteering exercise is good. I also feel that allowing the students to plot out the next years course was a fun way to bring the experience full circle.

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UAS Mission Planning and Flight Activity Evaluation

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)

• 3) Some knowledge. Given the skyrocketing popularity and capabilities of unmanned aerial systems, I would like to know more, however I knew enough to be able to follow along just fine.

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. Again, this was not something I was overly familiar with, but the way the exercise was handled and be ability to be involved, even just with the preflight checklist, provided better insight into what was truly going on.

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) I am still a little uncertain as to whether or not I could do this all on my own, but helping with the preflight check helped to involve me and teach me more!

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

• Getting as many people involved as possible is good. It was easy for people to sit around during this exercise and not pay attention if they wanted to be that way. However, as I stated, I know that I was significantly more invested after I was a part of the process.

_________________________________________________________________________________Topographic Survey Activity Evaluation

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)

• 3) Some knowledge. I have used a Topcon RL-H3CL laser level in the field before, so I understand the concept of surveying and how to do it, though I have never surveyed with actual survey-grade equipment and technology.

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)

• 1) I don't really know enough to talk about the topic. I must admit, as I did not complete a blog for this assignment, that I was utterly lost with this exercise. The day we learned to do it was poor, the equipment was working very poorly, and I was just lost trying to understand what was happening. Then, for the second half of the exercise, I was even more lost, which unfortunately coincided with AAG and CERCA poster preparations and other things that took up the most of my attention and were high on my priority list.

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)

• 1) Strongly Disagree. I am disagreeing with the hands-on stuff, but not because a hands on approach does not help. I am disagreeing because a hands-on approach apparently was not enough to teach me the material. That's my own fault, but out of every exercise, most of which I did well on, this left me very perplexed and unsure of even where to start. 

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

• I would suggest a little more time and maybe some preliminary material on what we are doing. It was not so much an issue of the conveyance of the material, but rather how the material was received, in my case.

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