Hammond High Magnet School is very actively involved in supporting the GIS IBC as part of their pre-engineering pathway. Several of their students are enrolled in the pilot project and serve in leadership roles in the 4-H Tech Club which was started in Tangipahoa Parish. Because of our participation in the National 4-H Leadership GIS GPS Team, GGI led the Louisiana Delegation last July in California.
The 4-H Tech Club’s project for 2018, which is being used to qualify one of the new members for the national leadership team, is a service learning project using GIS to improve the quality of life in Hammond. Sixteen 4-H Tech Club members spent an afternoon in February 2018 in the field using their mobile applications to collect GPS data on the American Disabilities Act (ADA) ramps in the city of Hammond. The data attributes collected included whether an ADA ramp existed, whether the ramp was up to ADA code, and whether the ADA ramp’s curve needed repair. Approximately 196 data points were collected in less than two hours. The quality of that data was enhanced by the utilization of Trimble R2 Precision Antennas that were loaned to was by our industry partner, Navigation Electronics, Inc. A technician from NEI was on site to synchronize the R2 antenna with our Arc collector mobile devices or smart phones and ensure an accuracy of inches versus feet. This important project helped to further develop the students’ understanding of how to obtain quality accurate data and how to interpret that data in real world situations.