As of September 30, 2005, the North Central Regional Technology in Education Consortium is no longer in operation.

Major Learning Activities

Activity One:
This activity is to be done over a two-day period.

Materials:

1. Teacher notes: one set on several overheads or some other device (computer projection device, chalkboard, etc.).
2. Student handouts: one for each students (handouts follow the teacher notes).
3. Desks arranged in groups of two or three for collaborative groups.
4. A set of colored pencils, scissors, and pen or pencil for each student.
5. Coverage overhead and set of five color overhead pens for each group.
   

Background Information:

Our Problem:
Each student is a CEO of a large business (plastic manufacturing) that is planning to build a new manufacturing plant. The following constraints affect where the building can be placed:

1. The plant must be at least five miles from the edge of a city but no more than ten miles away (due to proximity of materials, utilities, workers, etc.).
2. It needs to be placed in a location that is zoned for manufacturing.
3. It needs to be within one mile of an existing waterway because the manufacturing process requires fresh water.
4. It cannot be placed next to a town that is along an interstate highway (due to federal laws, which you can make up).
5. It needs to have adequate access to utilities (as listed on one of the following coverages).

Students should not know all of the constraints until the teacher notes are presented so that students are not confused by preconceived notions that they might develop during the presentation.

GIS Background:

This lesson does not require actual GIS programs. A basic GIS has only three objects, which represent the following:

1. Points
2. Lines (referred to as arcs)
3. Polygons

The literal meaning of these terms can be used. A point on a coverage is just that: a point in space that represents something. An arc is a line segment or curved line that represents some linear object. A polygon is an object that is bounded on all sides by arcs and has an area. These three objects represent all of the possible data that can be put into a GIS. During the teacher presentation, it is important to give students examples of how these objects represent various data, such as the following:

1. Points can represent wells, an elevation, small wetlands, farmsteads, etc.
2. Arcs (linear features) can represent rivers, streets, tree rows, ditches, etc.
3. Polygons can represent lakes, towns, oceans, fields, or anything that takes up a large area in a landscape.

For more background information about GIS, see the Internet sites listed in the Resources section.

About the coverages:

The teacher notes are put together so that coverages 1 and 2 go together (2 is made from 1). Think of the information being complete in coverage 1 and then just used to create coverage 2. Likewise, coverage 4 is made from information in coverage 3, and coverage 6 is made from information in coverage 5. Coverages 7 and 8 are intended to be used as stand-alone coverages (they do not need to be manipulated in any way). See the teacher notes for further explanation.

About the overlay procedure:

The problem solving component of this lesson uses the overlay process, which allows the user of a GIS to superimpose different coverages on top of one another to find the intersection of the coverages. Develop an example of this overlay procedure in the teacher notes using just two or three coverages. This process would be explained best after coverage 8. (You might want to make two to three overheads having different types of information and simply lay them on top of one another and explain the process.)

Lesson:

1. Distribute the student handouts and have the students take out and prepare all materials.

2. Begin the presentation of material (approximately 30 min.). This material is in the teacher notes that follow. (Size increased for overhead reproduction.)

3. After presentation of material, have the students complete the quick quiz on terms and definitions (in the Assessment section of this document). In groups or individually, students should complete the quiz without the note taking guide that they just completed. If the quiz runs to the end of the hour, have the students complete the quiz as an assignment for the next day.

4. Anticipatory set: Day 2 begins with the students asking questions about the quiz.

5. After answering student questions, have the students turn in the quiz and take out the previous days' materials and get back into groups.

6. Pass out transparency of five usable coverages (one per group). Blackline master follows in this lesson.

7. Ask students to answer the question, "Where is the best place to put the manufacturing plant?"

Student directions (can be given or not stated at all):

• Cut out each coverage.


• Design a key that lets you color each coverage in a specific way.


• Use the overlay procedure to find the intersection of all possible variables.


• Answer the question in written form and be able to justify your answer verbally.

Teacher Notes:

A coverage is a map that includes one type of data (this data could be information such as population, elevation, location towns, etc.). The first coverage represents towns that are found in the county in which we are going to build a manufacturing plant Other coverages that follow will contain roads, waterways, utility presence, etc.. These coverages can contain only three types of objects. These three types are as follows:

1. Points


2. Lines (referred to as arcs)


3. Polygons

Coverage 1: Points where towns are present in Brookings county.
	One thing to keep in mind about point coverages is that points do not contain area. Using the first coverage, we are going to consider the first constraint (limitation). The first constraint is that the manufacturing plant needs to be located at least 5 miles -- but no more that 10 miles -- from a small town. This constraint creates a donut shaped area around the existing towns where we could possibly put our manufacturing plant. See coverage 2.
Coverage 2: Possible locations of our plastics manufacturing plant after constraint 1 (the proximity to a town) is applied.
	Completing coverage 2 requires the create and erase commands. The create command is used to create a polygon (circle) around each town. The erase command was used to limit the circle created above to allow for the fact that the plant cannot be closer than 5 miles to the town, which results in the donut shaped area. This process (making coverage 2 from coverage 1) uses important elements of GIS technology. Imagine using this process on a larger scale -- not just for this county, but for the entire nation. The vastness of this possibility would be impossible to measure accurately using strictly maps and conventional manual work. The ability to filter information is probably the most important aspect of a GIS. We will use coverage 2, not coverage 1, in our final selection process.
Coverage 3: This coverage represents roads that are located in Brookings county.
	The lines marking the roads are called arcs, which are linear features. It is interesting to note that the arcs, like the points, do not contain any area. There are many different types of roads on this coverage, including interstate, highway, and gravel. In the coverage, these roads are identified as i, h, or g, respectively. We will now select the roads on which we can possibly put our manufacturing plant. Constraints for our purchase of this manufacturing plant are as follows: The plant cannot be located next to an interstate due to federal trucking and land use regulations. It must be located on a state highway due to the need to transport certain materials by semi tractor trailer. It cannot use a gravel road as its entrance. An important selection process in GIS allows us to select specific types of data from a coverage. In our case, we are going to select and erase the roads with the identifiers i and g. The result is coverage 4, which includes only the state highways available for our manufacturing plant. Another way to select only highways is to use the extract command, which allows us to select an identifier from a particular coverage (in our case, h) and create a new coverage that contains only this information.
Coverage 4: Possible roads to be used for the manufacturing plant (after the constraints are applied).
	This coverage will be used in our selection process.
Coverage 5: Availability of fresh water.
	The constraint on water availability requires that the plant be located within one mile of a source of fresh water, which is necessary for the manufacturing process. In coverage 5, we are introduced to the polygon. A polygon is an object bounded by arcs that has an area. The lakes shown are polygons. The rivers and creeks that feed these lakes are arc (linear) features, like the roads in the above coverage. Coverage 5 shows all of the permanent water and waterways in Brookings county. The manufacturing plant must be within one mile of a water source. A process called buffering allows us to select the areas within one mile of water sources. Buffering selects specific polygon features and moves the boundaries out. We also can buffer an arc (linear feature), which makes an arc into a polygon with an area.
Coverage 6: Buffered, one-mile areas of existing water and waterways.
	This coverage will be used as one of our selecting coverages.
Coverage 7: Coverage of availability of usable utilities.
	Use polygons to represent areas that have adequate utility service for our plastics plant. This coverage will be used during our selection process.
Coverage 8: Areas in Brookings County that are zoned for our type of manufacturing plant.
	This coverage is similar to the previous one in that it is made up of polygons in which our plant must be located.

Coverage 1: (1) ___________________________________

(2) What is a coverage? Give some examples.

(3) What are the three types of coverages?

1. ______________________________

2. ______________________________

3. ______________________________

(4) One thing to keep in mind about point coverages is the fact that _____________________________. (5) What does the term "constraint" mean? Using the first coverage, we are going to consider the first constraint. Our first constraint requires the manufacturing to be located at least five miles -- but no more that ten miles -- from these small towns.

(6)This constraint creates a _________________ around the existing towns.

Coverage 2: (7) ___________________________________.

(8) This coverage details the use of the ___________ and _____________ commands. The create command was used to create a polygon (circle) around each town. (9) Diagram of this procedure. The erase command was used to limit the circle created above to allow for the fact that the plant cannot be closer than five miles from the town, making the donut shaped area.

(10) Diagram of this procedure.

(11) What is one advantage of a GIS?

Coverage 2 will be used in our final selection.

Coverage 3: (12) ___________________________________.

This coverage includes all roads that are located in Brookings County. (13) What are arcs? What are they used for? (14) What types of roads are present in coverage 3? What abbreviations are used for each? 1. ______________________________ 2. ______________________________ 3. ______________________________

We will now select out of this coverage the roads on which we can possibly locate our manufacturing plant. Constraints for our placement of this manufacturing plant are as follows:

1. The plant cannot be located next to an interstate due to federal trucking and land use regulations.
2. It must be located on a state highway due to the need to transport certain materials by semi tractor trailer.
3. It cannot use a gravel road as its entrance.

An important selection process in GIS allows us to select specific types of data from a coverage. In our case, we are going to select and erase the roads with the identifiers i and g. The result is coverage 4, which includes only the state highways available for our manufacturing plant.

Another way to select only highways is to use the (15) __________________ command, which allows us to select an identifier from a particular coverage (in our case, h) and create a new coverage that contains only this information.

Coverage 4: Possible roads that can be used for the manufacturing plant (after the constraints are applied).

This coverage will be used in our selection process.

Coverage 5: Availability of fresh water.

(16) What is the constraint that is put on water availability? Why? (17) What is a polygon? Give an example. Coverage 5 shows all of the permanent water and waterways in Brookings county. The manufacturing plant must be within one mile of a water source. A process called (18) ________________ allows us to select the areas within one mile of water sources. It selects specific polygon features and moves the boundaries out.

We also can buffer an arc (linear feature), which makes an arc into a polygon with an area.

(20) Diagram explaining buffering of linear features.

Coverage 6: Buffered, one-mile areas of existing water and waterways.

This coverage will be used as one of our selecting coverages.

 

Coverage 7: (21) ___________________________________.

(22) What do these polygons represent? This coverage will be used during our selection process.

 

Coverage 8: (23) ___________________________________.

(24) What do these polygons represent? (25) Draw and explain completely the overlay process and what it is used for.

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