GEOPAD: ARCGIS AND TABLET-PC IN FIELDCAMP

A core component of the Geological Sciences curriculum in LS&A is a seven-week, summer field geology course at Camp Davis, Wyoming. A similar course is required for undergraduate degrees in most Geological Sciences departments, and provides students with training in field science methodologies, including geologic mapping. This course, other field courses taught at Camp Davis, and undergraduate field trips in general, stand to benefit tremendously from recent innovations in Information Technology (IT), especially in the form of decreasing size, increasing portability, ruggedized equipment and, especially, new haptic interfaces for personal computers. Such benefits, however, are only realized when IT reaches a level at which users can utilize IT to enhance their learning experience, rather than IT itself being a focus of the curriculum or a constraint on field activities. Supported by the College of LS&A’s IT program, we combine newly available, rugged Windows XP-based TabletPC systems (Xplore), small Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) receivers (Earthmate), modern Geographic Information System software (ArcGIS), and visualization software and data focusing on (3D) geospatial relationships that are developed as part of the complementary GeoWall initiative, to produce a powerful new tool for enhancing and facilitating undergraduate field geology education. In addition to field camp experiences, students gain practical knowledge using IT and data methodologies that they will encounter during their continued educational, research, or professional careers. Our approach is immediately applicable to fieldcamps elsewhere and other field-oriented programs (e.g., in anthropology, biology, ecology), given similar needs.