OpenTopography

Resources for Educators

This page provides links to resources and documents related to using LiDAR topography and the OpenTopography Portal in the classroom.  Also see the LiDAR and OpenTopography for Education forum for additional resources and discussion.  If you are currently using the OpenTopography Portal in the classroom and would like to share your documents or lesson plans with the community please contact us at:

Workshop: Teaching Earth Science With High-Resolution Topography

Workshop held August 5-7, 2009 at the San Diego Supercomputer Center - workshop announcement & agenda.  This workshop builds upon the 2008 SDSC TeacherTech workshop linked below.  Instructors: Chris Crosby (SDSC), Ken Rafanan (SRI), Sarah Robinson (ASU), Nancy Wilkins-Diehr (SDSC).  Sponsor: Teragrid Science Gateways

Presentations:
- Introduction to LiDAR Topography (.pptx)
- Slides for a discussion of using LiDAR topography in the classroom (.pptx)
- Wallace Creek Virtual Field Trip Powerpoint (.pptx) - also includes links to helpful Google Earth and earth science teaching resources.

Handouts & Exercises:
- Wallace Creek Virtual Field Trip Activity Sketch - draft, yet relatively complete document produced during workshop, updated versions will be posted in the future.
- San Andreas Fault GPS Exercise (pdf)
- Offset channels in the Carrizo Plain Exercise (pdf)

Data:
Hillshaded 1/2 meter digital elevation models in Google Earth (kmz) format for the Wallace Creek area of the Central San Andreas fault.  Area is split into four pieces to maintain small file sizes.
- WallaceCrk1.kmz, WallaceCrk2.kmz, WallaceCrk3.kmz, WallaceCrk4.kmz

- Wallace Creek virtual field trip Google Earth (kmz) file - draft, will be updated and polished in the future.  Includes Wallace Creek LiDAR above plus complimentary data such as active faults, ground level photos, seismicity.

TeacherTech Workshop:

February 27, 2008: Earthquakes recorded in the landscape: Using digital topography to investigate earthquake faulting - Slides, handouts, and Google Earth files for the Wallace Creek area of the San Andreas fault (Carrizo Plain, Central CA).  Materials were prepared for middle and high school teachers and presented by Christopher Crosby at a San Diego Supercomputer Center TeacherTech Series workshop.