November 3, 2010 Virtual Windshield Tours: Integrating Google Maps and Earth into the Health Education Classroom Presenters Melissa Haithcox-Dennis, Assistant Professor, Health Education Allen Dennis, Graduate Assistant, Instructional Technology BACKGROUND COMMUNITY HEALTH The health status of a defined group of people and the actions and conditions to protect and improve the health of the community. 1 COMMUNITY HEALTH EDUCATOR A professionally prepared individual who serves in a variety of roles and is specifically trained to use appropriate educational strategies and methods to facilitate the development of policies, procedures, interventions, and systems conducive to the health of individuals, groups and communities. 1 COMMUNITY HEALTH EDUCATORS’ RESPONSIBILITIES 2 Seven Areas of Responsibility: Area I: Assess Needs, Assets and Capacity for Health Education Area II: Plan Health Education Area III: Implement Health Education Area IV: Conduct Evaluation and Research Related to Health Education Area V: Administer and Manage Health Education Area VI: Serve as a Health Education Resource Person Area VII: Communicate and Advocate for Health and Health Education NEEDS ASSESSMENT The process of identifying a community’s most pressing health issues, assets, and shortcomings. There are several methods used to complete needs assessment such as surveys, interviews and the review of existing data. WINDSHIELD TOURS In addition to the above, health educators often conduct windshield tours to collect data for needs assessment. A windshield tour is simply driving around town in a carto see what is going on. Health educators record observations, talk to people, take pictures, and even record video. The data from this process is then analyzed and synthesized into a written document. GOOGLE MAPS & GOOGLE EARTH Google Maps-Free web mapping service application and technology provided by Google 3 Google Earth-a virtual globe, map and geographic information program 4 The following virtual windshield tour was created for a teen pregnancy needs assessment in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Create a Google Map and add your data... Open it in Google Earth and add layers… Collect data… CLASSROOM USE This activity is part of the final project for the Community Health Needs Assessment, Program Planning, and Evaluation Course Students gain skills in data collection and analysis, prioritizing health issues, and technology integration Students can also conduct tours completely online. For example students in Greenville, NC can analyze data from Milwaukee or South Africa and study about urban health or international health respectively Students are introduced to health geography, epidemiology, environmental health, and international health NEXT STEPS Explore other online mapping tools Open Street Maps Planet Eye Map 24 Handheld devices to collect data in the field Smartphones Tablets, Iphones, & Ipads GPS Incorporate online epidemiological data sources Bing health maps CDC.gov WHO.gov CONDUCTING WINDSHIELD TOURS USING GOOGLE MAPS AND GOOGLE EARTH In order to conduct a windshield tour using Google Maps and Google Earth, a health educator would follow the following steps: 1) Choose a community and define your boundaries- city, county… 1) Gather data collection tools like a map, GPS, paper, pens, camera, recorder, windshield tour resource checklist 2) With driving directions, map/GPS, and checklist in hand, drive to your community site 3) Take notes about what you see, hear, and feel. Take pictures, video, and talk to people 4) Within 24 hours discuss your observations with your team, upload or import pertinent data onto a Google map 1) Open your Google Map in Google Earth and analyze the social, physical, environmental, or any other aspect of the community