Current Forum: Week 4 DataSlate Forum Read 19 times  Date: 19-Feb-2001 17:38:00    (Original: 19-Feb-2001 17:31:00) Author: xxxxxxxx Subject: DataSlate Experience   [Remove] This proved to be a stimulating experience once I accepted the fact that there were images I didn't understand. Experimenting with the tools was amusing, although my hand at trying to measure distances with the tools proved to be a challenge at best! Trying the different Options was a kick. This experience proved to me that there is information available on various sights that I hadn't dreamt possible. Just seeing the different colors and patterns with the various options was interesting and fun. I appreciated seeing the different areas in time past and being able to compare the same site to present day or other years. What seemed almost eerie to me was viewing the elevation maps.

Current Forum: Week 4 DataSlate Forum Read 13 times  Date: 20-Feb-2001 07:39:00 Author: xxxxxxx Subject: Re: DataSlate Experience   [Remove] xxxxxxxx You certainly covered a lot of material in a short time. You are already a veteran with DataSlate! Time comparisons are a lot of fun and provide a lot of historical information. The major problem is locating the images. It is also interesting to see that different images can be collected from the same site by using specific wavelengths from the electromagnetic spectrum. (infra-red, radar.....) Soon, we will try to interrogate agricultural and urban areas by remote sensing. Happy Imaging!

Current Forum: Week 4 DataSlate Forum Read 16 times  Date: 20-Feb-2001 11:33:00    (Original: 20-Feb-2001 11:33:00) Author: xxxxxxx Subject: DataSlate and Atlantis   [Edit] [Remove] xxxxxxxx I'm glad you liked what you saw!!! DataSlate can be a powerful instructional tool as you have noted with your thoughts. My question to you is what did you thing of the Atlanits lesson? Did you find the old Republican City? xxxxxxx

Current Forum: Week 4 DataSlate Forum Read 13 times  Date: 21-Feb-2001 06:42:00 Author: xxxxxxxxx Subject: Atlantis of Nebraska   [Remove] Studying over this lesson, I was able to see possibilities for my own younger students. While some of the goals may be a bit lofty for 6 and 7 year olds, I feel this would be very valuable for them to compare landsites present day to past and see differenced caused by nature and people (dams built). Manipulating the DataSlate options would also be beneficial and enjoyable for them. This could also be useful for the initial studies of calculating distances on maps and recording and pinpointing various locations.

Current Forum: Week 4 DataSlate Forum Read 12 times  Date: 21-Feb-2001 08:23:00 Author: xxxxxxxx Subject: Re: Atlantis of Nebraska   [Edit] [Remove] Glad that you liked the lesson. It is possible to use DataSlate for any age group if for nothing else to show comparisions. You are also right when saying that they would enjoy the process as well. xxxxxxx

Current Forum: Week 4 DataSlate Forum Read 12 times  Date: 21-Feb-2001 09:06:00 Author: xxxxxxx Subject: Re: Atlantis of Nebraska   [Remove] And very soon the students (and adults as well) will want to see their 'own backyard'.

Current Forum: Week 4 DataSlate Forum Read 13 times  Date: 21-Feb-2001 12:10:00 Author: xxxxxxxxx Subject: Atlantis Lesson   [Remove] This lesson was "way cool!" The software is pretty simple to use once you read through the tutorial and "play" with it a little while. The student sheets were very helpful and easy to follow. This lesson was personally interesting because about 30 years ago, another irrigation project called "Midstates" was being proposed and it would have flooded my home town of Miller, much of my father's pasture ground would have been flooded, and the Armada cemetery would have had to be relocated. The images provided very clear information for compairson of the landscapes from different times. You could also see of the changes in farming practices in those images--there is less crop rotation and larger farm fields compared to 20 or 30 years ago.

Current Forum: Week 4 DataSlate Forum Read 14 times  Date: 22-Feb-2001 07:32:00 Author: xxxxxxxxx Subject: Re: Atlantis Lesson   [Edit] [Remove] xxxxxxx, I'm glad that you liked the lesson. I to think it is way cool!!! You are using your remote sensing skills when you talk about farming practices changing. This was definitely true! DataSlate is an easy program to use after you work with it for a bit. It is also a powerful tool to use in the classroom. Time studies like Atlantis are very real and kids can see the changes with the layer tool. On your farm CD there are several NE datasets that time based comparisions can utilized. Take a look at those to......When you say you lived in Miller is that Miller NE? My wife taught at SEM (Sumner/Edyeville/Miller) a couple of years ago. xxxxxxxx

Current Forum: Week 4 DataSlate Forum Read 13 times  Date: 22-Feb-2001 16:03:00 Author: xxxxxxxx Subject: Re: Atlantis Lesson   [Remove] Yes, I graduated from SEM in 1972 (Old-hey!)! Your wife might know my nephews and niece--xxxxxxxx, xxxxxxxx and xxxxxxand xxxxxx, xxxxxxand xxxxxx xxxxxx! xxxxxxxxxxxxand xxxxxxx xxxxxxx are cousins and xxxxxx xxxxxxxmarried my cousin! It certainly is a small world! :-)

Current Forum: Week 4 DataSlate Forum Read 19 times  Date: 21-Feb-2001 12:21:00 Author: xxxxxxxx Subject: Remote Sensing Tutorial   [Remove] This was very interesting. I am truly amazed at the amount of information that is available to farmers in relationship to soil types, moisture content, possible pest infestations, weed control, etc. from satellite images. I was familiar with the fact that newer equipment incorporates GPS information--that combines can calculate the yield per acre as the crop is being harvested. I also knew that chemical applicators used satellite information for specific applications of chemicals to different areas of the same farm field, but this exercise helped clear up some of that information for me. I believe that Iowa Western has a 9 month program to train people to operate those big chemical applicators. I was able to locate my father's farm in northwest Buffalo County by using the roads and center-pivot locations!

Current Forum: Week 4 DataSlate Forum Read 14 times  Date: 22-Feb-2001 07:36:00 Author: xxxxxxxxx Subject: Re: Remote Sensing Tutorial   [Edit] [Remove] You are correct when you say there is a ton of information out there for farmers. It is becoming more essential to try to implement this technology into ag because of tight profit (if there is any) margins. The competive farmers have to be more efficient and this technology can do this. You just put fertilizer on the places that need it, herbicides as well. GPS is allowing farmers to learn exactly what each individual acre produces rather than a field average. All these things can make farmers more effective. This must happen if some farms are to survive. xxxxxxx

Current Forum: Week 4 DataSlate Forum Read 10 times  Date: 24-Feb-2001 10:49:00 Author: xxxxxxxx Subject: Re: Remote Sensing Tutorial   [Remove] Great job, xxxxxxxx, on finding your father's farm. It's always fun to be able to utilize remote sensing and know that you are doing the process correctly when you establish 'ground truths' - as in - examining your 'own back yard'.

Current Forum: Week 4 DataSlate Forum Read 12 times  Date: 23-Feb-2001 22:15:00 Author: xxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: DataSlate Forum   [Remove] Having the time to play with it helps determine the more conforable usage of it. Clicking on the model and not getting any where was the first impulse when reading about the directions. Seem like it would have been desirable to have a hot link close to the instructions may have been helpful. Maybe it is just an automatic thing to do. Love to play with this and etermine more possibilities. Structured time versus unstructured time is the question here. Kind of like show me so I can get on with it. That's all folks! Atlantis in NE is cool with the shots of the area before the dam was built. Good thing to research would be the formation of the Norden Dam. Maybe some of you recall this. The brochures were fantastic. Did this to the Niobrara Historical Society while at Niobrara. It was neat to see their response to this. Than a light came on that it was never built. Maybe some recall the fight with this, especially if you had the chance to canoe down the Niobrara River near this area. They all let you know this. The Atlantis by the Norden Dam almost became a reality. Would be neat for students to make a brochure as to the geology highlights in your area. This would be given to the tourists to view while in your area. This is geology to appreciate real environment awareness and not to visit some popular social place. However, some social places depends on geology features for there existence. The DataSlate is a unique learning tool to use provided you feel comfortable using it. Remember people sometimes avoid new things since they are happy with the old ways. How much risk do you want to take is the BIG ?.

Current Forum: Week 4 DataSlate Forum Read 10 times  Date: 24-Feb-2001 10:57:00    (Original: 24-Feb-2001 10:56:00) Author: xxxxxxxx Subject: Re: DataSlate Forum   [Remove] Thanks for the thoughts on referencing Dataslate with 'hot links' xxxxxxx We are beginning to set up 'minitutorials' (very short movie clips) for introductory use of DataSlate..... how to load an image, what the 'Browse' tool does, use of individual tools, etc. Any particular thoughts you would like to advance, would be extremely helpful. Thanks.

Current Forum: Week 4 DataSlate Forum Read 17 times  Date: 24-Feb-2001 14:04:00    (Original: 24-Feb-2001 10:39:00) Author: xxxxxxxxx Subject: Atlantis lesson   [Remove] My experience with DataSlate would best be described as "fun". What a tool! I had to show it to my family members. First of all, I was excited that I was successfully able to set it up on my computer and it ran well immediately. I was very thankful for the tutorials. I was awe struck by the zooming in and out, but then when I tried Channel 2, I was nearly blown away! I think this was especially fun because we had a family reunion once by this lake and we went boating and water skiing. Who knows, maybe I skied over old Republican City!! To be quite honest, I had a hard time finding old Republican City until I went to Atlantis and found the coordinates of the current Republican City. I was thankful for that because I figured it had not been moved too far. Sure enough I found old Republican City underwater a little down and to the left (am I right?). I based my observation on the similar appearance with the streets, buildings etc. Also, I thought I did see railroads "underwater" and of course roads that now appear to end at the water's edge. It was neat seeing the river as it originally was. The Atlantis project was well done; it had great educational value. Use in the classroom would be very interesting and motivational. As a math teacher, I saw value in the practical use of the x-y coordinate system. Again, it could also apply to a unit on area. Area of the fields could be used, as well as water acres of the lake. Further value would be in studying water volume of the lake and its use in irrigation. How much farmland acreage was lost? How does this weigh in with the advantage of the gain in water for irrigation, wild life refuge, recreation, etc? I can certainly see where DataSlate would leave people wanting to see their own backyards. It is interesting to see where all these have been developed. We enjoyed looking around Omaha.

Current Forum: Week 4 DataSlate Forum Read 10 times  Date: 24-Feb-2001 16:29:00 Author: xxxxxxxxx Subject: Re: Atlantis lesson   [Edit] [Remove] xxxxxxx, You are right on about old Republican City. You can definitely see streets and that was an old rail line under the water. I agree that the lesson was well done and I think it could be applied to a lot of different grades levels. When you start talking about volume of the lake and the pros and cons of the reservoir you are definitely in a high level PBL senerio. You could also talk about area perimeter how things have changed at lower levels. You are seeing the power of DataSlate!!!! I'm glad you had a good experience and am looking forward to your analysis of the three projects in week 5.

Current Forum: Week 4 DataSlate Forum Read 7 times  Date: 25-Feb-2001 08:45:00 Author: xxxxxxx Subject: Re: Atlantis lesson   [Remove] It's easy to see why we show the 'Atlantis of Nebraska' to various groups interested in the 'field of education'. (yes, it was intended!) This dataset appeals to almost everyone - historically, chronologically ..... it's a great compare and contrast.

Current Forum: Week 4 DataSlate Forum Read 14 times  Date: 24-Feb-2001 14:35:00    (Original: 24-Feb-2001 14:13:00) Author: xxxxxxxx Subject: Data Slate and Atlantis   [Remove] Wow, I could sit and play with Data Slate for many more hours. This tool is amazing! I did have a little bit of help getting everything launched and loaded. I read the tutorial on data slate and thought I understood but then to get in there and play around with the tools, I had to use the help button to figure out how to use the tools. In viewing Alma and surrounding area, I was quite interested in figuring out how many miles I was viewing, especially how much area was taken over by the reservoir. I was able to locate Alma easily and the old and new locations of Republican City. I even dug out our road atlas to see what part of Nebraska I was viewing - having never been to Harlan County. I liked comparing older views with the more recent ones and did this with some older images of Omaha - I want to spend some more time exploring this. I'm particularly interested in comparing some of the growth of Omaha to the north and west with some older images. Students could begin to calculate how much farmland has been swallowed up by urban expansion around Omaha and also project where continued growth might occur in the next 10 to 20 years. Will Omaha soon reach Gretna, Elkhorn and some of the other towns outside Omaha? What kind of impact does that have on a small town that previously was surrounded by rural areas? There has been phenomonal growth in Sarpy County and around Gretna even in the last 5 to 10 years. Land values have increased greatly in parts of Sarpy County. What kind of impact does that have on those who continue to farm in that county? I also viewed the images of Grand Island and found it helpful to have the infrared image on the screen with a grayscale image in the second window. It helped me see how much more you can determine about plant growth on an infrared image and it was interesting to me just to compare those two images.

Current Forum: Week 4 DataSlate Forum Read 8 times  Date: 24-Feb-2001 16:33:00 Author: xxxxxxxxx Subject: Re: Data Slate and Atlantis   [Edit] [Remove] xxxxxxx, Wow you sounded like you had a great experience and from you comments about land use, value, etc you opened up a lot of possibilities for lessons. You are correct that the second window allowing CIR and greyscale helps in remote sensing. Some of the other datasets are more time study related. The possibilites are endless....I hope that you like next weeks DataSlate projects that you are going to evaluate. They are even different types of remote sensing opportunities.

Current Forum: Week 4 DataSlate Forum Read 8 times  Date: 25-Feb-2001 08:51:00 Author: xxxxxxxxx Subject: Re: Data Slate and Atlantis   [Remove] We are glad you enjoyed the experience with DataSlate so much. Maybe someday, I'll have the opportunity to introduce you to the person who wrote the 'Atlantis of Nebraska' lesson. It is a great dataset but you will probably enjoy the one you create just as much! It is also interesting how the 'good' farmland is being covered with concrete. After all, the rich farm land encouraged folks to gather there in the first place. Soon, we may be reduced to farming areas of marginal quality 'dirt'.

Current Forum: Week 4 DataSlate Forum Read 19 times  Date: 24-Feb-2001 20:04:00    (Original: 24-Feb-2001 19:30:00) Author: xxxxxxxx Subject: Atlantis of Nebraska lesson   [Remove] I really like the DataSlate program and enjoyed working through the Atlantis project. I especially like the "channel 2" pictures. I will admit that I would like an "answer key" to where the original city was (I think I know, but would like to check). Anyone familiar with this area before and/or after the dam was built, would have to be fascinated to see these pictures. We have been told that our house is built above a prehistoric lake. I wish someone had been around to photograph the "before" of that time (grin). Another before/after photo that would make an interesting study for my students would be the changing course of the Missouri River. Many of my students live in Carter Lake, Iowa, that is located on the Nebraska side of the Missouri River (but wasn't always).

Current Forum: Week 4 DataSlate Forum Read 11 times  Date: 24-Feb-2001 21:43:00 Author: xxxxxxxxx Subject: Re: Atlantis of Nebraska lesson   [Edit] [Remove] A point of reference to find old Republican City is in the '88 image along the north shore where it the lake dips south. You can see the old streets if looking at the 51 image in channel 2. Hope this helps with the location. I am glad that you liked DataSlate. I agree that the pictures are facinating to look at and the PBL activities are almost endless. As for the prehistoric pictures wouldn't that be neat to have. Imagine the comparisions to be drawn. I guess we will just have to use our imagination :) xxxxxxx

Current Forum: Week 4 DataSlate Forum Read 13 times  Date: 24-Feb-2001 20:21:00    (Original: 24-Feb-2001 20:20:00) Author: xxxxxxxxx Subject: This week's responses   [Remove] Wow!!! Great comments. Your ability to work through the DataSlate and use the tutorial is impressive. You are truly problem solving your big issue for this course.....["You have been told that you must create a lesson for the course/grade that you currently teach..."] I am really seeing you going through the steps that were explained in the week on PBL and what it is. You are getting a real taste of what you will want your students to do. We are giving you resources as you will give them resources. YOU ARE PRACTICING PBL and doing it very effectively! I am in the midst of preparing for comps so I will not be doing the individual comments like I have done the past couple of weeks. I hope you will understand. I am also hitting midterms and midterm projects for the three classes I am taking so these are my hairy two weeks. I have read everything that has been written in all the forums to this point and submitted your grades. Keep up the great work. It is wonderful to work with you and hear all your ideas. I concur with the comments that xxxxxx and xxxxxxhave been making about what you are doing on your assignments. xxxxxxx

Current Forum: Week 4 DataSlate Forum Read 8 times  Date: 25-Feb-2001 17:48:00 Author: xxxxxxxx Subject: DataSlate   [Remove] DataSlate is an awesome learning tool. I first learned about it in a Nebraska Catalyst Grant Project at Dana College. We used the Mars dataslate image as our developmental lesson. This data set was very interesting, I thought. It is amazing to me how entire towns can be "buried" in tact underwater in Nebraska. I wasn't aware that this even existed. I used to teach in Rapid City and near there is Pactola Dam. The city of Pactola is under water there. Occasionally pieces of the town start floating around! How did all of this change the farming practices in the area??? Obviously channeled water into one location for irrigation, etc. I am going to try to find more information out about this one. Thanks for the ideas.

Current Forum: Week 4 DataSlate Forum Read 8 times  Date: 25-Feb-2001 18:20:00 Author: xxxxxxxx Subject: Re: DataSlate   [Remove] xxxxxx If you manage to get ahold of some images of Pactola, that would make a nice image set to compare with Harlan County. What a super idea.

Current Forum: Week 4 DataSlate Forum Read 10 times  Date: 25-Feb-2001 20:31:00    (Original: 25-Feb-2001 20:03:00) Author: xxxxxxxx Subject: Data Slate Experience   [Remove] I tried the data slate at school on my Mac. I liked the ideas and ways for use.The Atlantis project was interesting, but since I teach the Grand Island Community, I went on and closely checked the GI activities I was glad to see the Grand Island images.I think they could be a possible use in the third grade because we study the history of the city.On the Cascade disc, there were images that go back to the thirties, but the activities were asking questions few could answer at third. However, just viewing the changes in Fonner Park's race track, was an image that I fell all could understand.This ia one I will incorperate into a center activity, where two kids could view and discuss the images.This fits with the Grand Island Community Study. My problem with the slate is that the image is too small.I need the slate to fill the screen.It would be a great help for kids to have a larger image . It would take a very close observation to truely understand. However, I think if I started with the flat map of grand Island, before I used the slate, they could make the transfer from map to image. Perhaps doing a Venn Diagram to compare the two views of G.I. in a whole class activity.

Current Forum: Week 4 DataSlate Forum Read 9 times  Date: 26-Feb-2001 13:01:00 Author: xxxxxxxxx Subject: Re: Data Slate Experience   [Edit] [Remove] xxxxxxxx, When using the GI dataset you could customize it to your level of kids. You would not necessarily have to use the questions presented. As for size of the DataSlate window I can help there....go to the apple in the upper left corner of your screen and select control panels. In control panel go to monitors and click it. This opens the monitor panel. You will see a number of sizes in the resolution box. My guess is that your computer is set to 1024X 768 or so. IF you chose 640 x 480 the dataslate window will be much larger. To go back to the other resolution just go back to control panel/monitors and select a higher resoulution

Current Forum: Week 4 DataSlate Forum Read 8 times  Date: 27-Feb-2001 07:52:00 Author: xxxxxxxxx Subject: Re: Data Slate Experience   [Remove] Thanks for bringing in references to one of our original datasets! BTW, I don't know if you found it yet ot not, but if you call up the GI image set and then after it loads, click on the channel window, you will get text which references the Grand Island area. This may be useful as well.