tion geographically on the web. Several mapping application program interfaces, the most popular of which is provided by Google, allow users to convey their own content and geographi- cally relevant information directly onto a dynamically generated map. These tools were almost unthinkable just a decade ago. Now they are both changing the way we think about place while offering incredible opportunities for educators.


Now that so much information is available online using


these dynamic tools, especially if that information can be cus- tomized locally, how do we avoid replacing the authentic experi- ence of place with such tools? For example, there are now online mapping tools that allow for such sophisticated hydrologic and land-use modeling, it can be tempting (and, for the first time in history, less expensive) to use them as a replacement for field in- vestigations, providing as they do access to so much information in one place. Despite this temptation, and with the realization that there is no replacement for field research, these sophisti- cated web-based tools are valuable supplements to field study, helping to draw connections between concepts and contextual- ize data sets. To use an example of the how these connections can be made using emerging technology, the United States Geo- logical Survey automatically updates streamflow measurements throughout the country, allowing students to compare stream discharge in multiple locations with ease. In Oregon’s Tualatin River basin, students collecting water quality data in the field can compare their data with that being continuously updated thanks to an Oregon USGS map that syndicates real-time water quality data from numerous locations in the watershed. With reference tools like these, perhaps the most profound


educational possibilities with respect to technology, environ- mental literacy, and service-learning lie in “ground-truthing,” the process of confirming or disputing information derived from computer models and GIS applications by gathering data and observations on the ground. Today’s ground-truthing practitio- ners often make use of multiple technologies, from GPS units to geo-tagging digital cameras to sophisticated monitoring equipment. Educators can effectively employ both the process and tools of ground truthing, beginning with the study of aerial photos and online geographic and hydrologic models, as well as research conducted by NGOs, agencies, or other organizations. This information helps introduce concepts and allows


students to formulate guiding questions and draft hypotheses before moving on to field-based research to explore realities on the ground. Students and educators can access multiple online databases


to help them prioritize areas of investigation and make use of numerous web-based outlets to share the results of their find- ings, making available their work to the larger community via presentations, videos, photography, and other creative pursuits. Students can utilize social networking sites to organize events at which to share the results of their field work with the com- munity and alert regulatory agencies to potential anomalies in their data sets. Also, students can use a variety of new so-called “cloud-based” tools to create presentations, spreadsheets, and other documents and easily embed them in virtually any social networking site, blog, or webpage using simple cut-and-paste HTML code. These exciting new networking possibilities are


CLEARING 2010 www.clearingmagazine.org/online Page 25


providing new avenues for students and educators to share their work and, in the process, helping to reestablish classrooms as central to thriving communities while cultivating a new genera- tion of civic leaders and environmental stewards. Perhaps human beings, and especially those among us who


advocate for sustainability and environmental conservation, will always have a somewhat ambivalent attitude toward technol- ogy. As we know, technology has allowed human beings to extract the earth’s natural resources with increasing speed and efficiency, find and burn fossil fuels at an almost incomprehen- sible rate, and ultimately alter the very climate in which we (and everything else) live. For our youth to confront the ecological challenges they will undoubtedly face, they will need to re-tool their relationship to the technological “tools of the trade”. They will need to embrace a new view of technology that encourages innovation, creativity, and sustainability. In order for coming generations to feed an increasing world population while begin- ning to address natural resource limits and climatic disruption, they will need all of the tools of human ingenuity they can pos- sibly muster. Perhaps our most important role as educators is to try to


prepare the next generation to face those challenges through new tools and a new perspective, simultaneously guiding them and ourselves to a future that embraces technology as a means to live more sustainably on this planet.


Ryan Johnson is the StreamWebs Coordinator for the Freshwater Trust in Portland, Oregon. To find out more, visit www.thefreshwater- trust.org/education/streamwebs


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