building Information Technology Skills
lessons

Unit 3
Lesson 3
Organizing Geographic Observations

Objectives

During the bITS program, you have engaged in field work located in North Philadelphia. You may have been involved in the following activities: (a) investigating the local landscape to learn about health, economic opportunities, industrial activities, and historical communities, (b) analyzing maps and aerial photographs to learn about the location of elements of the landscape, (c) adding geographic information to maps that you analyzed, (d) taking digital photographs of elements of the landscape related to health, economic opportunities, industrialization and community history and (e) taking written notes to explain the importance of specific landmarks or locations, photographs taken, or other observations from your group.

Today you will begin the process of organizing the documentation you collected as part of your field work. 

You will learn how to create a blog, how to upload digital photographs to the blog, and how to link that information to landmark spots that you create using Google Earth. 

The goal of this lesson is to provide you with an understanding of electronic processes associated with creating digital documentation from the written records and observations that you have.

Materials

Digital photographs taken during field work experiences

Computer

Google Earth Software

Blogspot Website

Procedures

1.    Go to blogspot.com and create your own blog using the commands provided on the screen. Be sure to record the name of the site and your username and password so that you can edit the blog in the future.

 

2.        Open Google Earth on your computer workstation.

 

3.        Zoom into the location for your first field exercise, interpreting the Healthscape of Temple University.


4.    Use the measure tool to trace the path your group took during this field exercise.

 

5.        Use the place mark tool to identify the locations where you took written and photographic observations. Label the landmarks according to the location of the observation, your group ID, and the date of your field exercise.

 

6.        For each place mark you enter, create a separate Blogspot entry that describes the location of that landmark, what you observed, when you made the observation, and any additional documentation you have related to that observation. Upload any photographs related to that specific landmark. Describe the contents of the photographs that you uploaded.

 

7.        Using Google Earth, edit each placemark by creating a link to your associated blogspot entry. Save your entries under your own folder in Google Earth.

Blog Examples

Temple University Student Blogs

bITS Participant Blogs