A GPS-enabled portable air pollution sensor and web-mapping technologies for field-based learning in health geography

Abstract

ABSTRACT Geographic technologies and perspectives are important for understanding health issues because places and locations influence human health and diseases. Despite the increasing use of a geographic information system (GIS) in health research, and the explosion of new and emerging technologies, little is known about their potential as educational tools for health geography and the effectiveness for student learning. Focusing on air-sensing and web GIS technologies, this article presents an innovative pedagogical strategy to integrate these technologies as tools for field-based learning in health geography and discusses the effectiveness and challenges of this teaching method. A class project, undertaken in a university health geography course, was developed to offer students hands-on training and real-world experience with state-of-the-art technologies. It consisted of (1) a lecture and pre-fieldwork training; (2) field data collection using a low-cost, GPS-enabled portable air-pollution sensor; (3) data visualization using web GIS; and (4) sharing the findings through a web-based story map application. The successful implementation of the teaching method, as indicated by students’ positive comments, demonstrated that such class projects can reinforce students’ knowledge of air pollution and health risks; improve their technical, critical thinking, and research skills; and prepare students for entering a technology-driven society.