The Chesapeake Bay FieldScope Project is a "citizen science" initiative in which students investigate water quality issues on local and regional scales and collaborate with students across the Bay to analyze data and take action.
The Project, still in development, is built on NG FieldScope—a new Web-based mapping, analysis, and collaboration tool that engages students as citizen scientists investigating real-world issues. It is part of National Geographic’s pioneering effort to bring Web-based geospatial technologies to the classroom. With FieldScope, students are able to see their own experiences and water quality samples in the context of the larger Chesapeake Bay watershed and estuary ecosystems.
Photograph by Jacqueline Karsten
Chesapeake Bay FieldScope
Leverages cutting-edge technology to make interactive mapping and geospatial data analysis tools accessible to students via the Web—allowing them to interact with a central repository of data in a free, accessible, and intuitive package that eliminates the need for software installation.
Enables students and classrooms to upload their own field data—including water quality measurements, field notes, and media, such as photos—and to see it in relation to data from peers and professional scientists.
Fosters collaborative sharing and analysis of data among the FieldScope community and beyond.
Latest News From the Field
National Geographic is currently designing curriculum to engage students in the Chesapeake Bay area in a meaningful watershed experience through hands-on environmental education. The curriculum challenges students to think about how human activities in the watershed impact the Bay and its tributaries. National Geographic is working with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, NOAA, and teachers in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. to pilot Chesapeake Bay FieldScope and related educational materials in local classrooms.
Chesapeake Bay FieldScope consists of four project-based learning modules that leverage the FieldScope tool:
Connecting to the Watershed with Maps
Field Investigation & Data Collection
Data Sharing and Analysis
Taking Action
The NG FieldScope tool and the Chesapeake Bay FieldScope curriculum are scheduled for full release in Spring 2009.
