Skip to content
The Bay Backpack logo. A school backpack followed by a stylized writing of the words Bay Backpack.

Mapping Our Way Through the Bay

by
Bill Whorton

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.

Chesapeake Bay FieldScope
Chesapeake Bay FieldScope is a project-based educational initiative that engages students in investigations of watershed health and combines classroom learning with outdoor field experiences and technology – supported inquiry.

In this project, students throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed collect, compare, and analyze water quality data (including quantitative measurements, field notes, photos, and video) in order to understand and protect the resources in and around the Bay.

The project accesses real-time information from the Chesapeake Bay Interpretive Buoy System, and it is part of a public-private partnership that includes the National Geographic Society, Verizon, and NOAA.

How Can I Get Involved?
As a visitor to the Chesapeake Bay FieldScope website, you can enter as a guest and access the full range of available geospatial tools. Classrooms and other groups that want to upload data to the tool are invited to register as users, which provides access to the data entry tools that are part of the FieldScope tool suite.

Supporting instructional content for educators will also be available on the National Geographic website in late 2010. There is no registration or licensing fee for using FieldScope. National Geographic FieldScope is a project of the National Geographic Society’s Mission and Education Programs and will continue to be available for use in learning environments around the Chesapeake Bay and beyond.

Explore more at www.fieldscope.us or contact us at training@fieldscope.us.

Additional Resources
Mapping Related Lesson Plans - Bay Backpack