"Select digital tools or resources to use for a real-world task and justify the selection based on their efficiency and effectiveness. (3,6)"
In the past I've had my students work with Google Earth to take various measurements of different features on Earth. For example, last year I had my kids measure how far down stream ash from the Mt. St. Helens eruption had gone. I also had them calculate the area that the blast affected directly (where the effects could still be seen today). I also had them look at other types of volcanoes and take measurements on their size, relief, etc.
Still, my pipe dream is to be able to incorporate GIS into my classroom. This tool is so incredibly powerful for answering many geomorphological questions we have today. I would love to be able to expose high schoolers to this software as its pretty fun to mess around with too once you get the hang of it. I think my kids would really like to produce their own shaded relief maps of their home town or favorite area. More over, they can use GIS to conduct analysis on these areas. For example, they could quickly calculate what percentage of the land in their home town is covered by water, or they could find out what soil type they have in their backyard and whether or not it would be suitable for growing vegetables. Its just cool. But its too bad it runs about $5k-8k for one software package. Grant proposal? Uh, yes.
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