Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Spatial Thinking Today
You have completed a lot of Geospatial activities among them are playing OverKillix 3D, playing Sequence, observing optical illusion,using GPS to track and mark waypoints. You have also created maps by projecting points and have learned to use Excel efficiently to get points from Google Earth. Given all of these activities how has your view of, and ability to use your spatial skills changed? How has spatial thinking impacted what you do daily?
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Well, my view and ability to use my spatial skills have changed by helping me make up my own little strategies to help myself do the best I can at any given activity. In a way it is strange now for me in my day to day life. If I play any game I develop a strategy for it. Also, I have not only just looked at my own current location, but of the location of others. Call me crazy but I randomly think up of situations that could happen and if I could get out of them if I needed to. Like if there was a fire in the north part of the school and I needed to leave before it reached me. Logically, yes I could get out from the southeastern corner doors, but there are many factors and spatial elements that need to be accounted for. Like all the other people who would be trying to leave, the stairs, walls, how big the doors are, if people could fit through a window, etc. So in a way all the activities we have been doing have turned me into a spatially aware person in the present, and a spatially aware person for the what-could-happen situations.
ReplyDeleteAfter all the activities we have done in this class, I came to realize that my personal idea about spatial thinking hasn't really changed. I have always believed that spatial thinking is used in our daily lives. It has a big impact on what I do everyday. From waking up to finding my way down the stairs to the school cafeteria, spatial thinking can be used anywhere. Spatial thinking has a single concept but it can be used in any types of field.
ReplyDeleteLearning all of what I have in this G.I.S. class, I could honestly say that I am more aware of my surroundings. This really comes into my extra curricular activities I participate in. Those include volleyball, basketball, soccer, and softball. I always have to be aware of positioning in all of those activities. If I wasn't aware of my surroundings and positions in those sports, then there would be no success. In volleyball, there would be a missed dig. In basketball, there would be a blocked shot or pass. In soccer, there would be an intercepted pass. In softball, there would be an over or under throw. So, from what I have learned in playing all of these games provided and using all of these map making resources, I have gained the knowledge that affects more then I could imagine.
ReplyDeleteAll of the activities we did did not increase my geospatial skills directly. With all of the various activities involving geospatial thinking and skills throughout my life, these few additional activities did not notably increase my skills. However, it did help me to put everything in perspective. It helped me make out in clear, structured ideas what this element of life was all about. This class really inspires learning on my own terms rather than teaching me directly.
ReplyDeleteIt has allowed me to be able to see why our cities are designed the way they are, also it has made me realize how small our community is compared with the world. Also it made me realize that if I take a step in any direction that i am in an entirely new location compared to where i was before, this has also raised some questions about how map makers in the 1700's could have any idea what the land looked like. It has made me more aware of my surroundings in everyday life that only one person can take up one point on the planet at one time. It also has helped me plan the way I drive to events to save money and get there quickly.
ReplyDeleteI think that right now I think more spatially than I ever have before. Before I didn't usually think about what I was thinking about, but now I am thinking how anything I do relates to spatial thinking, if that's understandable. I guess what I'm trying to say is that the spatial skills I have impacts a lot on what I do every day. I think that it impacts the most with my time management skills because I think I use my time a lot more wisely than i did before. I am constantly think about what I am going to do once the task I am working on is done, and how long that will take, basically fitting my schedule together like a jigsaw puzzle because I have to decide which activity will best fit which time.
ReplyDeleteThanks to my experiences in GIS class, I am more aware of my ability to think spatially. I can think of applications for spatial thinking in everyday situations such as cleaning my room or playing chess. I have seen how maps are created, so I have a better understanding of them. Before I took this class I liked maps, but knew absolutely nothing about cartography or even the reading of maps. GPS was just an acronym, I had never used satellites to plot my position. Plotting waypoints and tracks helped me get a better grasp of the layout of Cedar Falls. I now know how far I travel when I go to school, go on a bike ride, or walk around campus.
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