INTERACTIVE GIS-MAPS IN TEACHING ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE DISCIPLINES

Abstract

The authors propose a selection of interactive GIS-applications, oriented to be used in the educational process in the training of environmental specialists. Most of the web-resources presented in the text of the publication have been developed by environmental organizations and communities of scientists on the basis of legislative norms, international treaties and conventions; their key objective is to generalize approaches and methods of environmental data processing. Products of remote sensing of the Earth's surface allow a teacher to visualize the global nature and technogenic processes and phenomena, to determine local pollution hotspots and parameters of environmental changes, to model possible ecological risks and consequences of their influence on natural ecosystems. The use of interactive maps has a number of advantages over the presentation of data in classical form, the main ones being the systematic perception of many environmental problems, visualization of analytical information, awareness of the interdependence of connections between different components of the biosphere. The analysis of each GIS-map makes it possible to assess the scale and duration of the process/phenomenon, which is often impossible in mathematical processing of statistical data and their graphical representation (for example, comparison of the percentage of afforestation of different regions of Ukraine and comparison of the same indicators with the data of forest cover for European countries). In this way, the traditional inductive method of perception of information is fully replaced by the teacher with a deductive one. In contrast to traditional teaching methods, the use of this interactive approach allows to combine or compare at once such general scientific methods of scientific knowledge as analysis and synthesis, from empirical methods of scientific research – comparison and generalization. It should also be noted that when creating cases on the basis of GIS-maps, higher education applicants can work with actual data in real time, and when working with information apply the knowledge previously obtained during the study of other disciplines, which is essential when implementing the cross-disciplinary approach laid down in the structure of links between the educational components of BP 101 Ecology. Interactive GIS-technologies can be used as methodological support when teaching lecture material, conducting practical classes, carrying out independent work, conducting research work.