Project Overview
National Geographic FieldScope is a web-based mapping, analysis, and collaboration tool designed to support geographic investigations and engage students as citizen scientists investigating real-world issues - both in the classroom and in outdoor education settings. FieldScope enhances student scientific investigations by providing rich geographic context - through maps, mapping activities, and a rich community where student fieldwork and data is integrated with that of peers and professionals, adding analysis opportunities and meaning to student investigations.
NG FieldScope
- uses cutting-edge technology to make interactive mapping and geospatial data analysis tools accessible to students via the web in an intuitive package that is free and does not require software installation.
- enables students and classrooms to upload their own field data - including quantitative 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.
National Geographic is partnering with groups - across a range of scientific disciplines - that are interested in exploring how FieldScope can better support student geographic learning and outdoor investigations.
FieldScope Projects
Chesapeake Bay
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. Chesapeake Bay FieldScope is a project of National Geographic's Education Programs in collaboration with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and the NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office.
For more on the Chesapeake Bay FieldScope project, visit the National Geographic site here.
Indiana Dunes National Park
Fieldscope is part of the 2009 Bioblitz - a project of National Geographic, Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore/National Park Service, and Encylopedia of Life. For more on Indiana Dunes and the 2009 Bioblitz, visit the National Park Service, National Geographic, and Encyclopedia of Life.
Watershed Dynamics, Module 1: Water Availability
A project of the GLOBE program that uses FieldScope to enable students to investigate their own watershed in order to understand the flow of water through the watershed, how human activities within the watershed both depend on and impact its hydrology, and how land use changes can affect the plant and animal communities in the watershed.
Mapping Our Parks
This project has students use FieldScope to investigate land use impacts on streams within national parks of the National Capital Region. It is a collaboration of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, National Geographic, the Alice Ferguson Foundation, and the National Park Service.
Biscayne National Park
Fieldscope is part of the 2010 Bioblitz - a project of National Geographic and Biscayne National Park/National Park Service. For more on Biscayne National Park and the 2010 Bioblitz, visit the National Park Service or National Geographic.
Watershed Dynamics, Module 2: Human Impacts
In the second module of the Watershed Dynamics curriculum, students look at land cover and streamgage data from two different years and analyze change over time. They learn about hydrographs created from real streamgage data and interpret patterns. Curricular materials are available from the Office of STEM Education Partnerships at Northwestern University.
Saguaro National Park
FieldScope is part of the 2011 Bioblitz - a project of National Geographic and Saguaro National Park/National Park Service. For more on Saguaro National Park and the 2011 Bioblitz, visit the National Park Service or National Geographic.