Using Earth Observation data in your teaching

This online session is aimed at teachers who are interested in using Earth Observation data in the classroom. We will show how Earth Observation is an essential tool for helping us better understand geographical processes at a range of scales. The session will provide an overview of basic Earth Observation concepts and techniques, using examples that relate to commonly taught topics, such as urbanisation, biodiversity, natural hazards and land use change.

The online session consists of a lecture followed by a computer practical. During the first part of the practical you will be introduced to sources of Earth Observation data and the web-app Landsat Explorer. This free internet based app can be used to observe changes in Earth Systems on regional scale, for example the retreat of glaciers and the expansion of cities.

In the second part of the practical you will use the same tool to explore how Earth Observation sensors can detect radiation beyond the visible light and how this can help us to better map many surface features. You will for example explore how Near Infrared light can be used to enhance the visibility of vegetation and therefore make it possible to automatically map vegetated surfaces from satellite image data. Using the Landsat Explorer app you will map the presence of greenspace in the neighbourhood of your own school.

Content covered:

• Earth Observation crash course

• Examples of satellite data use for mapping glacier advance and retreat

• Examples of satellite data use for mapping of urbanization and other land use change

• Application of the web-app ESRI Landsat Explorer to map greenspace in your local neighbourhood.

The idea for this session came from the UK Remote Sensing and Photogrammetry Society (RSPSoc).

The evening will be presented by Dr Fleur Visser, who is senior lecturer in Physical Geography at the University of Worcester. Fleur uses various types of Earth Observation data in her own research, which covers a wide range of topics, such as river biodiversity, flooding and soil erosion. With this session RSPSoc hopes to promote further use of Earth Observation data in schools.

This event will be run online via Zoom. Details will be sent to all delegates around a week before the event.