Faculty Scholarly Dissemination Grants

Integrating Spatial and Internet Technologies into Extension, Land Management, & Marketing

Department

Environmental Studies

College

Brooks College of Interdisciplinary Studies

Date Range

2010-2011

Abstract

Spatial technologies can greatly improve management of agriculture and related activities. However, these technologies have not been fully exploited in the Caribbean. The rapid development of GIS and GPS technology, combined with the increasing availability of supporting internet applications for geospatial integration, have created multiple interfaces for acquiring, storing, and exchanging geographic data. In particular, emerging computer and communication technologies have now reshaped possibilities for rapid data transfer and information exchange. The digital environment has also opened up innovative avenues for collaboratively managing agricultural data through GIS, GPS, and information networks. Five 4-day workshops were conducted in Grenada, Trinidad, and Jamaica to determine the effectiveness of GIS, GPS, multimedia, and Internet technologies for extension, marketing, and land management. The workshops consisted of labs, lectures, demonstrations, presentations, hands-on computer training, and field activities with GPS and multimedia equipment and supporting software. The workshops therefore exposed participants to a systematic process of integrating qualitative and quantitative field data using multimedia-enriched mapping tools. Three evaluations were administered; one at the beginning to determine participants' baseline knowledge of spatial and multimedia technologies, a mid workshop evaluation at the end of the second day, and a summative evaluation at the close of the workshop. Analysis of the questionnaires shows that field officers were favorably disposed to including these technologies into their daily field work, and also indicated that spatial technologies did increase productivity and improved performance. GIS, GPS, multimedia, and Internet Technology enabled participants to identify, capture, analyze, and share field data rapidly and accurately.

Conference Name

5th Caribbean GIS Conference

Conference Location

Trinidad & Tobago

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