[postlink]
http://columbusstate.blogspot.com/2010/11/surveying-classes-at-cscc_04.html[/postlink]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xzk_0HX0lH4endofvid
[starttext]
High-tech learning is essential in most classes at any college and Columbus State is no exception. But in one unique class, students take a step back in time. Professor Robert Mergel's Surveying 100 class is where the present meets the past. The course is called Introduction to Geomatics. It's a complex title for the simple concept of surveying.
The course covers the history of surveying in Ohio and the United States in the 18th and 19th centuries. The college obtained reproduction vintage surveyors' compasses and chains similar to those used by colonial surveyors.
Dean Bortz, Engineering Technology Assistant Professor, says "The idea is that with these students it gives them an opportunity to taste and experience different types of technologies -- past and present.
Students, for their part, welcome the challenge.
Kyle Watrus, a mechanical engineering major, says, "Seeing the simple ways to do it can broaden your horizons to see different ways to solve simple problems. That's all engineering is -- finding solutions for different problems."
Electronic engineering major Kevin Robinson agrees. He says, "Sometimes, technology breaks so you might have to start with something that you used back in the day. Those are reliable. There are no batteries, there's nothing electronic about that instrument."
While many colleges offer surveying history courses, few offer hands-on field projects that truly bring it to life.
[endtext]
[starttext]
High-tech learning is essential in most classes at any college and Columbus State is no exception. But in one unique class, students take a step back in time. Professor Robert Mergel's Surveying 100 class is where the present meets the past. The course is called Introduction to Geomatics. It's a complex title for the simple concept of surveying.
The course covers the history of surveying in Ohio and the United States in the 18th and 19th centuries. The college obtained reproduction vintage surveyors' compasses and chains similar to those used by colonial surveyors.
Dean Bortz, Engineering Technology Assistant Professor, says "The idea is that with these students it gives them an opportunity to taste and experience different types of technologies -- past and present.
Students, for their part, welcome the challenge.
Kyle Watrus, a mechanical engineering major, says, "Seeing the simple ways to do it can broaden your horizons to see different ways to solve simple problems. That's all engineering is -- finding solutions for different problems."
Electronic engineering major Kevin Robinson agrees. He says, "Sometimes, technology breaks so you might have to start with something that you used back in the day. Those are reliable. There are no batteries, there's nothing electronic about that instrument."
While many colleges offer surveying history courses, few offer hands-on field projects that truly bring it to life.
[endtext]