What is GPS?

Global Positioning Systems, commonly called GPS, is a worldwide radio-navigation system made possible by a bank of 24 satellites and many ground stations (Roblyer, 2003). GPS receivers, allowing people to accurately determine their location (longitude, latitude, and altitude) in any weather, day or night, anywhere on Earth. Today there are many types of GPS units including hand-held mapping models, auto mounted for directional purposes, watches for navigation & elevation, computer software applications such as the popular Google Earth, and telephones to pinpoint a caller in the event of an emergency. Using satellites as reference points, any GPS unit can calculate the desired position of anything on earth accurate to as little as a matter of feet or even inches (Roblyer, 2006). GPS has become a vital global utility, indispensable for modern navigation on land, sea, and air around the world, as well as an important tool for map-making, and land surveying. GPS also provides an extremely precise time reference, required for telecommunications and some scientific research, including the study of earthquakes plus location and directional paths of a killer tsunami.


How GPS is used and why?



The high precision of GPS makes it an impressive technique for any imaginable application that requires the determination of positions (positioning), time (timing) and/or direction of motion (navigation) anywhere on Earth under all weather conditions. Although GPS is a relatively new technique, the highly creative minds of many people around the globe have already devised and developed a myriad of applications. The first applications were developed by the U.S. Department of Defense, who took on the assignment of designing and developing the GPS system. The early applications had a clear military orientation, like navigating combat airplanes, guiding missiles, positioning and location of troop movements and locating military ships in a timely (real-time) manner.




Civilian applications, both commercial and scientific, are widely popular. In fact, commercial and scientific applications now far outnumber the military applications. Reasonably enough, the GPS is helping more and more to guide cars and cabs, trucks and trains, sailing boats and ships, airplanes and even other satellites. Police and municipal services are using GPS for vehicle tracking. Homeland security officials use GPS and global information systems (GIS) technology in supporting our nation's homeland security efforts to protect life, property, and infrastructure for tracking Rescue and salvation crews are using GPS to locate and speed the assistance to people during emergencies. Surveyors are using GPS to determine the boundaries, area, or elevations of land, rivers and/or countries. Engineers are using GPS to monitor the tiny motions and possible deformations of potentially hazardous structures such as bridges, roads and dams.


Farmers are using GPS to survey their fields and track their livestock so that they can distribute fertilizer more efficiently. Airline pilots are using GPS to cruise and land airplanes. Hikers are using GPS to guide themselves on their mountain climbs. GPS systems are being extensively used on bicycle tours, marathon runs, rally competitions, and in many other kinds of sport events. Zoologists attach minuscule GPS receivers to penguins and polar bears, whales and dolphins, eagles and condors, lions and gazelles to study their behavior in their natural habitats. Cellular phones with GPS capabilities combine voice communication needs with positional information with the purpose of, for example, personal security and fleet management - check out this GPS Phone Demo. Radio and television broadcasting stations, financial institutions and international transactions, computer networks and clocks around the world use the GPS signals for time synchronization. Backpack GPS units are being developed to guide blind people through the intricacies of the cities. It appears the boundaries and uses of GPS are limited only by the human imagination.


Why use GPS in the Classroom (educational justification)?

Science and technology have a unique relationship. Technology supports science and science makes new technology possible. Both will play a critical role in our students' future. Thus, it is not surprising that efforts to reform teaching and learning in these two areas have been at the center of the national standards movement. U.S. elementary students perform well compared to students in other nations, but that performance diminishes as our student's progress through school (Beaton et al., 1997–1998). Technology provides many opportunities to build students' conceptual knowledge of mathematics and science, as well as to connect their learning to problems found in our world (Roblyer, 2006).

• GPS and GIS tools let students make observations and analyze data to support scientific investigations - students use these tools to study the weather, land cover, soil, and hydrology.

• Send students on a geocaching treasure hunt with GPS devices— These motivating activities get students to spend more time studying geographical information and techniques.

No longer do students need to struggle with pencil and paper, and a ruler as they attempt to draw their own maps. Up-to-date mapping utilities allow more interactive hands-on use of existing maps as well as creation of new ones (Roblyer, 2006).


Suggested Worksheet for Students: Applications of the Global Positioning System.

The students may complete the worksheet Applications of the Global Positioning System. This worksheet asks the students to design a system that incorporates GPS receivers. Students are encouraged to consider how GPS might be integrated into their daily lives. This exercise will get students thinking about how GPS works, how it effects all that goes on around them, their family and friends. This technology is too fun not to adapt to your everyday life.



How are teachers & schools using GPS?

County Donates Global Positioning System to Brookhaven Lab for Educational Programs

June 14, 2005

UPTON, NY – Thanks to Suffolk County, the Long Island Geographic Information Systems Users Group (LIGIS), the Rauch Foundation, Hofstra University, and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory, about 200 ethnically underrepresented middle school and high school students from Freeport, Hempstead, Roosevelt and Uniondale school districts have had a unique, hands-on educational opportunity. They have learned how to use a global positioning system (GPS) to map out the habitat and movements of rare animals on Brookhaven Lab’s 5,300-acre site.
Photo of Jeremy Feinberg, et. al.

Jeremy Feinberg, a biologist and herpetologist working at Brookhaven National Laboratory (left, front), discusses the global positioning system donated by Suffolk County to Brookhaven Lab with (from left) M. Ehi Ayewoh, Hofstra University; Mary Daum, Brookhaven Lab; Melanie Walker, Hempstead High School (HHS) student; Jim Daly, Long Island Geographic Information Systems Users Group; Kendra Walker, HHS student; Maria Perez-Lent, Suffolk County Executive Office; and Maurice Allen, HHS student.

The students are part of Hofstra University’s Science and Technology Entry Program (STEP), a New York State-funded program that aims to interest minority students in scientific, technical, and health-related fields. With the aid of Jeremy Feinberg, a biologist and herpetologist working at Brookhaven Lab, the students located “mock” animals using radio-telemetry, a technology that sends radio signals from a device carried by the animal. After pinpointing the animal’s location, the students used GPS units to obtain precise coordinates of the location. They then entered the coordinates into a geographic information system (GIS) and developed a computerized map that showed the animal’s travel range.

Rare animals on the Laboratory site include the spotted turtle, the Eastern hognose snake and the Eastern tiger salamander. According to Feinberg, the information provided by a GIS map can provide a better understanding of rare animals’ movements and behavior. Then this information could be used in practical ways to protect the animals. For instance, certain areas of the Laboratory that are inhabited by rare animals can be deemed off-limits for lawn mowing.

“It is exciting that the technologies we could only dream about when we were school children are now everyday realities in the classroom,” said Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy. “I’m pleased that Suffolk County could find an educational use for this GPS equipment, and I hope that it spurs the intellectual curiosity of many Long Island students.”

Mary Daum, who works in Brookhaven Lab’s Environmental Services Division, and a member of LIGIS, along with Jim Daly, the Chairman of LIGIS, initiated the negotiations for the GPS equipment, which had previously been used in Suffolk County’s Stop-DWI Program. In addition, the Rauch Foundation lent their support to make the Hofstra STEP activities possible at Brookhaven Lab.

“This program was a great opportunity to show these students how their classroom learning can be applied to real world research projects,” Kenneth White, Manager of Brookhaven Lab’s Office of Educational Programs, said. “In addition to the STEP program, which had included lessons in physics and biology as well as environmental science, we plan to use the GPS equipment this summer for ninth-graders from Suffolk County and inner-city outreach areas in our Minority High School Apprenticeship Program and for tenth and eleventh grade students from Suffolk County in our Community Summer Science Program.”


Using GIS and GPS Technology as an Instructional Tool

Students Learn About Geographic Information Systems at Brookhaven Lab






REFERENCES:


Roblyer, M.D. (2003). Integrating Educational Technology into Teaching - 3rd Edition. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc..

Roblyer, M.D. (2006). Integrating Educational Technology into Teaching - 4th Edition. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc..

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