Latest Contributions by DellaRobertson

Today, I gave my 6th-grade students a handout of a lesson that I had written.  It was a combination of "this is how you..." and, "explore on your own". The students with the iPADs couldn't stay in ArcGIS Online; they kept getting kicked out. One student with a tablet did not have the "add layer" (+ sign on yellow polygon) tool. The students with tablets were able to work in ArcGIS Online without any trouble. Can anyone advise me on this? Thank you. ... View more

28 November 2015 Saturday after Thanksgiving Whittier, CA My 6th-grade Earth System and Space Science students have been learning about landforms, weathering, erosion...as well as a little space science.  There are great news articles that I bring into class...so we follow that topic for a day or two. I created this document for my enthusiastic 6th-graders the Friday before Thanksgiving.  It may be rough.  I hope it may be helpful.  Please, give me feedback. Note:  The students with the school iPADS could not navigate through ArcGIS online.  It would close on the students. Those with their own tablets had no problems. ... View more

I read another news article that would appeal to any science teacher and GIS enthusiast.  A 62 year-old physical therapist, Robin Wham, decided to go back to school and work on a Master's of Geology because these columns fascinated her. Now, this perked my ears up, when she was quoted as saying that as part of her research she wants to map the columns! I was curious and googled her name.  I found a video that is perfect for my Earth System Science class.  It shows Robin at the location, talking about the columns, about science and erosion and weathering which carved these unique columns. There is so much here for us who bring together science, current events and GIS.  I hope to make a map over the Thanksgiving holiday. Any thoughts, ideas, experiences with this? Here is a link to the video: Researchers determine origin of mysterious stone columns along Crowley Lake - LA Times ... View more

On Monday, 2 November 2015, my 6th-grade earth science students explored the geoinquiry, "Mines and Mining".  Minerals and mining are topics within the Earth Science curriculum.  As a first-time teacher of Earth System and Space Science, this geoinquiry helps me to make the topics interesting and puts the student in the open pit, as they learn through exploring. One student exclaimed,  "A topographic map!" Another shared how he determined the west-east direction for measuring the mine.  I directed students to Google images so they could make a comparison between the GIS map and a photograph.  Another student was proud of himself for finding a chart which displayed the life span of different metals. This Geoinquiry is a great "into" activity.  The link between the map and the embedded information makes the concepts easily accessible to my incredibly curious 6th-graders. ... View more

Where can I find the worksheet for students?  The worksheet that appears when I click on the Earth System Science topic, includes the answers. Thank you ahead-of-time. Della ... View more

On Thursday, in my 6th-grade Earth Science class, I introduced the young ones to the lesson on topography and our national heritage. The students accessed the site fairly quickly.  I had the students work in pairs.  One student had the map open and the other had the screen with the questions open.  I realized that the answers were displayed.  Oh well that didn't hurt for this first round.  There was so much enthusiasm.  One student did some exploring on his own.  He came to show me what he had found.  A world map, which he compared to an earlier map that I started the kids out with for a short lesson on using latitude and longitude, using explorer usgs, but this (esri) map was better.  He is going to become a mapmaker. The kids liked the pop up windows.  They love to share what they find!  I told them that they would be putting their own pictures on a map, and they would be map makers.  Wow!  They got so excited.  And so did I.  I love middle school kids!  ArcGIS Online is a treasure. ... View more

The T3G 2015 Institute gave me a shot of confidence and a belief that each one of us can make a difference, and that most people care. I shared a little bit about ArcGIS Online with a colleague, who teaches US History and photography (middle school).  I teach Earth Science, Life Science Honors and Anatomy and Physiology/Forensics.  My colleague has a Masters in Educational Technology.  We spent about 25 minutes together on a Teacher Wednesday (early release for teachers to work).  The following Wednesday is Principal Wednesday.  My colleague was interested in maps of colonial America.  We searched a bit, but nothing exciting was found. I emailed my Geomentor, Veronica Rojas, for help. Veronica sent many links, which I forwarded to my colleague. Today, I received an email from my colleague, the heading was "GIS".  I was excited.  There was a picture of students working with a map on their iPads.  The photo captured the interest of her students. I wrote back, curious about what the students were working on.  She used one of the links that Veronica had emailed a week or two ago. My colleague also made a map for the first time. What a network:  T3G15 community...colleague...Geomentor...kids It was a good day! Thank you! ... View more

I would like to have my 6th-grade students take a picture of an example of one of the spheres of the earth system:  a rock, a mountain, a tree, a river, clouds, etc.  I want to place those geo-tagged pictures onto a single map.  Can anyone comment on this? ... View more