That grabbed their attention. They could zero in on their own hunk of coastline and see the consequences. They could put New York City under water. The work is done without using software. A 10th-year course in computer science provides an understanding of the tools needed for statistical analysis and design, and for manipulating arrays of information and data.
Students develop fundamental programming skills, write simple procedures and do basic modeling.
There are no GIS requirements in the 11th year. In the 12th year, GIS becomes the interdisciplinary tool in a required geoscience curriculum encompassing astronomy, meteorology and oceanography. GIS application skills are developed through tasks that progress from simple to complex. Using ArcView, students determine the entire campus area, classify vegetation, develop polygons, construct a digital elevation model, and calculate permeable and impermeable surfaces and the amount of runoff that would occur in a storm. The GIS program culminates in a final project in which seniors take part in an ongoing geosystems study of the Lake Barcroft area in the upper reaches of the Cameron Run watershed in Fairfax County.