Technology

Remote sensing and GIS have only recently been incorporated into solving environmental problems. Although they have both revolutionized the field, such technology can frequently be difficult to use. I wonder if the technology causes people to shy away from certain classes or careers. I used ArcGIS and all of its software package last year when I took Intro to GIS. Over time, the software becomes easier to understand, although it takes a lot of initial effort because it's not very user friendly. The software isn't GUI, unfortunately. My project at the end of the semester was very basic, not because I didn't have any ideas, but mostly because there was a limited amount of data available for free. It was also difficult to figure out exactly how to process the map layers to get the information that I wanted, even with experience at the end of the semester. It was very frustrating.

Moving forward, I also think that Dinamica can be frustrating and difficult to use; but much less so than ArcGIS. So far the lessons have been fairly easy, and the software is pretty easy to use. There have been some problems in the directions from the guidebook because it's outdated, but the goal at the end of the day is usually accomplished. Through the trials and tribulations, technology can be useful.