Developement of a web-based remote sensing software for schools

An international comparative study about the using of satellite images in schools has shown that there is a huge pedagogical potential in working with remote sensing systems in school. Most of the pupils are very interested in using satellite images. They are highly motivated to take a look on the earth from an upper position, as they know it from surfing with Google Earth. But what about processing and analyzing geospatial imagery by their own? The independent work with satellite images improves various geographical and methodological skills, as they are demanded in German curricular.
There are many software solutions for professional users, such as ERDAS, ENVI or eCognition. These computer applications offer nearly boundless possibilities to advanced users, but they are unsuitable to be used in school, because of their nonintuitive utility and their high acquisition cost.
The project, introduced as „Blickpunkt Fernerkundung (BLIF)” offers a way to establish remote sensing more frequently in school as a digital kind of modern learning. Going this progressive way, “BLIF” is providing a new and modern method to use the potential of satellite images in school.
To establish the ´new way of learning´ into school with the chance of success, it is necessary to have an appropriate software solution for pupils. This software is going to be developed and integrated into a didactical main concept within the project of research and development, called “BLIF”.

Characteristic features of this application, developed on the newest didactical achievements of remote sensing and technical standards, will be its intuitive usability according to the pupils age. It will be possible to have several special settings, depending on what kind of geographical question pupils want to explore and depending on their knowledge in using remote sensing systems. Because of that, the software can be used by a wide range of user – starting from a beginner level at the end of primary school up to an experienced user in secondary school (or senior high school).

The technical features range from normal basic features (like importing and exporting files, zoom function or the changing of vector files to image files and vice-versa), to the possibilities of image improvement (e.g. regulation of brightness, contrast settings or stretching) up to several kinds of supervised classifications and georeferencing.

The situations in which it is useful to work with this software application are numerous. Not only could it be used in a Geographical context, but also in Environmental Science, Mathematics, Information Technologies and in a lot of exercises which combines the mentioned or additional subjects. There is a wide range of relevant themes, like desertification, the development of cities, the agricultural and industrial land use or the exploration of natural resources. The first priority on handling satellite images will always be to encourage and motivate pupils to solve a geographical or Environmental Science problem on their own, while they are acting independent and feeling useful and important. To support them, the teachers and pupils will find in addition to the software, a tutorial and a selection of representative exercises which will give the pupils and also the teachers’ helpful hints on how to use the software and how to interpret the results.

The development and the consistent testing of this web based software has still been done in cooperation with the a software company. After evaluating the software, by having an appropriate number of pre- and post-tests on several selected groups of pupils and comparing and analysing these test results with control groups, the application is available to all schools free of charge.