Using ArcGIS Online to Improve Teaching and Extension at UF/IFAS

Using ArcGIS Online to Improve Teaching and Extension at UF/IFAS
Fort Lauderdale REC through Vegetation Mapping
Adam
1–
Abstract
Online mapping portals such as ArcGIS Online
provide users with simple, cloud-based mapping
solutions. The University of Florida Fort Lauderdale
Geomatics program used ArcGIS Online in an
integrative approach to teaching and extension
activities at the UF/IFAS Fort Lauderdale Research
and Education Center (FLREC) for mapping
vegetation species across campus. The first goal was
to serve the information needs of the various
horticultural groups that use the campus for
continuing education seminars, full day workshops,
and courses throughout the academic year. Prior to
this project, no vegetation maps of the campus
existed, vegetation inventory lists were minimal, and
detailed species information was not centrally
located. The second goal was to provide experiential
learning to novice Geomatics students through
exploration of GPS data collection techniques, GIS
data management, and web mapping. The
collaborative effort resulted in a modified ArcGIS
Online Shortlist App that provides users with a
single portal to access location and vegetation
characteristics on individual plant species found in
the many demonstration gardens across campus.
University of Florida Geomatics Program, School of Forest Resources and Conservation, Fort Lauderdale Research & Education Center, Davie, FL
UF FLREC Environmental Horticulture Teaching & Extension Needs
The UF/IFAS FLREC Environmental Horticulture Department approached the UF FLREC Geomatics program requesting
assistance with vegetation species mapping on campus. The initial goal was to locate vegetation species in the Trial
Garden to provide ORH3513 Environmental Plant Identification & Use students updated vegetation map handouts (Fig.
2). During project planning, the project evolved to incorporate the informational needs of the numerous Extension
activities (e.g., Field Day (Fig. 3), Palm School) and Horticulture groups (e.g., Florida Master Naturalists, Florida Master
Gardeners, Landscape Inspectors Association of Florida (Fig.4)) that frequent the campus. As a result, online
horticultural data sources (e.g., USDA Plant Database, UF EDIS publications, Dave’s Garden, UF Horticultural Fact
Sheets (Fig. 5)) were integrated into a single publicly available web portal discussed in the ‘Web Mapping’ section.
Fig. 2 – Previous location map handout for ORH3513
Environmental Plant ID & Use students
Objectives
• Provide a project based learning environment for
students to investigate GPS data collection, GIS data
management, and web mapping
Study Area
The UF/IFAS Fort Lauderdale Research & Education
Center is located in the South Florida Education Center in
Davie, FL. Vegetated areas at FLREC used for Teaching
and Extension are shown in blue (Fig. 1).
Results & Conclusions
The current iteration of the UF/IFAS FLREC Vegetation
Map (Fig. 10) has 122 plant species found in 4 distinct on
campus areas. An individual user can navigate to species
information (Fig. 11) that includes plant location data and
external links to detailed vegetation information.
Fig. 3 – The 2014 UF/IFAS FLREC Field Day is one of many large
horticultural extension activities held on campus every year.
Fig. 10 – The current iteration of the UF/IFAS FLREC Vegetation Map has popup
windows showing plant common names, scientific names, and enlarged
photos. Bookmarks are used to zoom to the various vegetation areas on
campus including the Palm Grove, Teaching/Pollinator Garden, Poisonous
Garden, and Demonstration Garden.
Fig. 4 –Examples of groups who actively use vegetated areas at FLREC
• Create a central portal for UF/IFAS FLREC vegetation
location and species information
1
Benjamin
Project Based Learning
A fundamental goal of this project was to provide local
UF FLREC Geomatics students, who lacked surveying,
mapping, and GIS experience, an opportunity to
contribute to a real world, short-term GIS mapping
project that would provide utility to its end users. Over
the course of the project, opportunities arose to
incorporate lessons on GPS principles, GPS data
collection (Fig. 6), coordinate systems (Fig. 7), datums,
GIS principles, heads-up digitizing, GIS data
management, and web mapping. At the conclusion of the
project, the students gained valuable experience that
would provide a good background for their junior level
Geomatics courses.
Fig. 5 –Examples of online horticultural resources integrated into central web
portal
Web Mapping
Due to current familiarity with ArcGIS Desktop software
and ease of implementation with pre-built Story Maps,
ArcGIS Online was chosen as the web mapping platform
for this vegetation mapping project. Utilizing a one day
collection of points, images, and corresponding data, the
Shortlist Story Map App (Fig. 8) was chosen after testing
multiple available Story Map Apps. The Shortlist App
was customized to include branding on the main
template and to incorporate the additional data/website
links needed for each vegetation species. The main
drawbacks with the Shortlist App are the lack of keyword
search functionality, the limited number of pre-numbered
categories (Fig. 9), and the inability to zoom beyond
preset maximum zoom levels.
Conchat lusions
• 30-credit non-thesis Master of Science degree in
Geomatics and GIS (Fig. 9)
• 9-credit graduate Geospatial Analysis certificate
Fig. 11 – An example of a typical detailed popup window providing location
information, brief species description, and external website links.
• 15-credit undergraduate Geomatics certificate
The UF/IFAS FLREC Vegetation Map has been a successful
interdisciplinary project. The current web map meets the
needs of Environmental Horticulture Teaching and
Extension users while the implementation process has met
the student learning objectives. Future work will focus on
expanding the collection to include additional vegetation
areas found at the UF/IFAS Fort Lauderdale REC.
Acknowledgements
Special thanks to the many individuals involved in this project, especially Luci
Fisher, Susan Thor, and Dr. Tim Broschat, for providing the expertise in identifying
the vegetation at UF/IFAS FLREC.
About the Author
Fig. 6 –Prior to starting data collection
in the vegetated areas, the
students compared the precision
of different grade real time GNSS
solutions including geodetic grade
Real Time Network GNSS and
mapping grade WAAS
Differential GPS
Fig. 1 – UF/IFAS FLREC vegetated areas for Teaching & Extension
Fig. 7 –Reference to previously created
tutorials such as this Coordinate
Systems Reusable Learning
Object (RLO) were made to
supplement the various lessons
provided over the course of the
vegetation mapping project. Each
RLO is a digital lesson stored in a
central repository (e.g.,
EcoLearnIT http://ecolearnit.ifas.ufl.edu/) that
focuses on one primary learning
objective.
Fig. 7 - Typical GIS RLO presentation showing navigation menu
Fig. 8 –ESRI’s pre-built Story Map
Fig. 9 –Splitting the entire vegetation
Apps make web mapping
database into categories required
accessible to non-developers. The
input by the Environmental
Shortlist App allows users to
Horticulture Department. The
organize point data into tabbed
final four tabbed categories are
categories for easy exploration via
Palms, Perennials, Shrubs, and
desktop or mobile devices.
Trees.
Adam Benjamin (Geomatics Specialist, [email protected]) coordinates the
Geomatics Program with Dr. H. Henry Hochmair (Geomatics Associate Professor,
[email protected]) at the University of Florida Fort Lauderdale Research
Education Center (FLREC).
Current UF FLREC students are working on B.S., M.S. (thesis & non-thesis), and
Ph.D. degrees in GIS and Geomatics. To learn more, please visit mygeomatics.com.