[luau] Re: Linux Project for HNLC...? (Luis aka Rigpa)

[Benjamin Kinsey]

> From: "Luis aka Rigpa" <rigpa108 at hotmail.com>
> Date: Sat, 05 Apr 2003 20:18:12 -1000

Hi Luis, 
> I'm unfamiliar about the level of education you are refering to (K-12 
or 
> college/university).  

K-12 is my focus.  Both for students and the teachers who teach those 
students.  Beyond that, I am open to trying to get programs that can 
benefit the community at large including at the college/university 
level.

>Here is some info on an opensource Geographic 
> Information System software package.

Cool!  Actually, disseminating GIS training has been one activity of 
our HNLC grant.  We are using commercial software (ESRI ArcView GIS) 
and GeoPDA software from GeoInsights.  We have begun to explore out-of-
the-classroom lesson plans for students using PDA/GPS units that can 
collect GIS information.  I would love to learn whatever I can about 
Open Source GIS packages.  GIS is not my specialty so I do not know all 
of those file formats of which you speak yet.  We so far use the 
standard ArcView formats including .SHP, .DBF, etc.

> One science related opensource package I've been messing with is 
GRASS GIS 
> (http://grass.baylor.edu/).  Comercial GIS packages carry a hefty 
price tag 
> of over $20k per license which makes GRASS a very appealing GIS 
package for 
> education do to savings in cost.  Regardless of the cost, GRASS is a 
very 
> powerful GIS package in its own right, with 3D and volumetric 
visualization.
> 
> A pet project I want to get going soon is putting together a native 
GRASS 
> GIS database for the state of Hawaii.  It will be based on USGS DLGs, 
DEMs, 
> DRGs, and DOQs.  This would provide a starting jump for those people 
wanting 
> to get their feed wet in the area of GIS.  Starting a GIS database 
from 
> scratch is a little dauting, so having a native database for the 
state would 
> provide people with a base system to start off from.  The state wide 
> database would be provided free in order to promote GRASS opensource 
GIS.

Yes!  That sounds great!  I would love to be kept informed of the 
status your project.  Maybe sometime you would be willing to help get 
me started with some of the progress you have already made.

> Hope the info helps some.
Absolutely.
 
> Luis.

Thanks for your info,
--Benjamin