GIS (Geographic Information System Mapping), or as I like to call it, "Get it in Sequence"!

As you all know, I like to teach "fusion" technology use, as in how can we take what we know about individual applications and use them together, in sequence with each other to build a really helpful utility. That's basically what "build an app" is all about, when you download software that pulls together some individual tools and mashes them up through an interface where in one click, you get what you want. Such as apps that call Google maps to give you locations for a specific service, rather than you having to click around google search.

You all also know I teach using "case study", meaning I give you real life experiences to back up the "why do this?". So, I'm working on a curriculum to teach GIS using a real life experience I'm going through to solve a real life problem! In this case, I'm having an ongoing dispute with someone who is saying their dog is not on my property, even when I caught the dog on video on my property. Right off, I'm experiencing what is common in GIS; inaccurate coordinates. Per this really helpful discussion group:

https://gis.stackexchange.com/questions/77929/does-the-strength-of-gps-weaken-in-rural-areas/77930

You can see there are a lot of reasons GIS is not accurate, especially for a dispute like mine, where the accuracy of the latitude (aka "parallels" that measure N and S of the equator such as 38º11'12.08”N which reads 38 degrees North at 11 hours, 12 minutes and .8 seconds) and longitude ( aka "meridians" that measures E and W of the prime meridian, such as 78º24'30.94” W and ready as the example above) is dependent on:

Are you inside, outside, or underground 

Atmospheric conditions, such as weather

",,,

Visibility of satellites

Signal strength

Distribution of satellites/spreading on the sky

Especially, ...(distribution of satellites)...can result in bad accuracy in populated areas with skyscrapers and high buildings. So the ...(phone) might "see" 3 satellites, but they are mostly in one line (not distributed by at least 4 unique points, the standard for best accuracy)... which makes it very difficult to produce proper results... Another aspect might be bad ...(cell) signal/noise ratio...also take into account that a GPS receiver .. (cell phone) will need time to "fix" (getting the satellite atlas and solve equations ...(calculating where you are across multiple satellites)..."

https://gis.stackexchange.com/questions/77929/does-the-strength-of-gps-weaken-in-rural-areas/77930

So, in my case, a picture taken by my phone inside my house, which is in a rural area, places my location as over a quarter of a mile away from my actual location! Not super helpful when you are trying to identify, within a 2 acre lot, the actual location of a dog. 

Over the next several weeks, I'll be working on a curriculum to pull together resources and projects while I work on the solution to my dilemma!

Keep searching!