On November 27th the Eastern Shore Regional GIS Cooperative (ESRGC) hosted a field trip for students currently enrolled in the GIS Program at Worcester Technical High School (WTHS) in Worcester County.
Upon arrival, the students were provided with some background on the ESRGC including the founding of the organization and our mission. Students then toured the office and engaged in one-on-one discussions with ESRGC staff. Staff members showcased the wide range of projects currently underway and answered questions from the students regarding how their days are spent.
Finally, the students completed a field exercise on Salisbury’s Downtown Plaza using Collector for ArcGIS and ArcGIS Online. The students were tasked with finding and recording the location, materials, and condition of each of the City’s benches and picnic tables. The scenario they were given was that the City was provided with a grant for downtown revitalization and they needed to inventory the outside seating to determine where the new ones should be placed, and which ones needed to be upgraded. Students collected photos, location and information on each bench/picnic table using iPads.
Upon return to the office, all of the students’ data collection points were loaded into AGOL so the students could visualize their work and approved or modified the data they collected. Collector for ArcGIS is a valuable tool for workers in the field and these GIS students were excited to learn how to utilize it in a real-world situation.
After visiting the ESRGC the WTHS students toured Salisbury University and met with professors in the Geography and GeoSciences Department. Dr. Daniel Harris gave the students a chance to work on a GIS lab assignment. Dr. Stuart Hamilton and Dr. Andrea Presotta later gave a drone demo to the students and showcased benefits they provide to the GIS field.
Students in the WTHS GIS program must complete 4 GIS courses, including a capstone project or internship. In addition, GIS students at WTHS are given the opportunity to become GIS certified. The ESRGC is delighted to have had the opportunity to meet with these students and offer them a sense of what a being a GIS Professional means.