This technology funded by the Alumni Annual Fund allowed students to improve their knowledge and practice in surveying techniques which is a critical factor for future employment in the geoscience and surveying sectors.
We took the CSM iPads with us on the Tenerife field course. The students really enjoyed using them in the field, especially being able to take photos and strike/dip data that were automatically geolocated and able to be annotated. There was a definite increase in student participation with the iPads.
James Hickey, Lecturer in Geophysics
Enhancing fieldwork and technology skills
Around 110 Camborne School of Mines students had the chance to enhance their work and technology skills through the use of GPS in geoscience thanks to a £6,000 grant from the Alumni Annual Fund.
Ipads with Garmin GPS technology, made available through the Alumni Annual Fund, were used to enhance the general awareness of spatial data collection, processing and interpretation during a number of practicals and field trips to Poldice, Falmouth and even France. Students got the chance to learn how to operate a Garmin GPS, collect field data and exercise appropriate data management techniques in the field and download, manipulate and interpret previously collected data upon return to campus using DMR Garmin GPS and ArcMap software packages.
Students improved their knowledge and practice in surveying techniques which is a critical factor for future employment in the geoscience and surveying sectors. The availability of GPS devices has proven to be an important asset to ongoing student-led research and coursework as well as the dissemination of results.
The technology is now being used regularly as part of the curriculum both as a teaching aid and for students to gain direct experience with the hardware and software applications being used. The option to use these devices has transformed decisions on how best to teach the curriculum. For example, the teaching of geological field mapping, a classically analogue technique using pencil, paper and a compass clinometer, can now all be conducted on a single tablet or smartphone.