Journal for Geometry and Graphics 09 (2005), No. 2, 209--218
Copyright Heldermann Verlag 2005
Utilization of GIS for Geometry Analysis in Graphic Science Education
Hirotaka Suzuki
Dept. of Urban Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka City University, 3-3-138 Sugimoto Sumiyoshi-ku, Osaka City 558-8585, Japan
suzuki@arch.eng.osaka-cu.ac.jp
Descriptive geometry was taught with the aim at promoting the understanding of the projection method and the learning of its drawing technique. With the advancement of computer technology, which prompted the introduction of computer-aided graphics processing, "graphic science" has prevailed as a term that encompasses various areas of graphics processing, including geometry analysis. Although a number of colleges and universities already have computer graphics in their graphic science curricula, there are few higher education institutions that are teaching geometry analysis. One of the reasons for this trend may be that many colleges and universities teach computer graphics at the expense of traditional descriptive geometry. As a result, they cannot afford to incorporate geometry analysis into their curricula. Another possible reason is that the steps involved in the subject, which consist of measuring angles and lengths of figures, and analyzing these data, are far too complex for students to harvest the fruits commensurate with the time they have spent for learning all these processes.
In the graphic science education of Osaka City University, Geographic Information System for geographical and spatial analyses has been put to use in an attempt to help students learn geometry analysis technique in a short period of time. In this paper, the author will report on the contents of the geometry analysis education and students' class evaluation.
Keywords: Graphic science, descriptive geometry, GIS.
MSC: 51N05
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