Townsville schools using dashboard data to complete assignments
Date published: 25 June 2020
Local Townsville schools are jumping on the opportunity to access unique high-level data about the city.
Townsville City Council’s Townsville Dashboards are proving to be a useful education tool with new datasets benefiting students at local schools.
Council recently updated the dashboards with an aerial photography and LiDAR download tool to provide the community, industry and schools with free and easy access to the data.
LiDAR – Light Detection and Ranging – is a remote sensing method for measuring distances using a laser light and sensor and creating 3D models of the Townsville landscape.
Community and Cultural Development Committee Chair Cr Ann-Maree Greaney said it is fantastic to see people take advantage of the data made available through Council’s Townsville Dashboards.
“Townsville Dashboards is a fantastic community resource that can be accessed by anyone to gather information whether it be for personal needs, making decisions for a business or using it for school and university projects,” Cr Greaney said.
“Since the launch of the dashboards the data resources have been downloaded over 10,000 times and Council is always adding more information.”
The Cathedral School has been one school that has accessed the new datasets for their Humanities and Geography students.
Cathedral Head of Humanities Bruce Galletly said the senior students have been using the high-resolution aerial photos for their assignments and reports.
“Our senior geography students use the high-resolution aerial photographs from council to create more professional maps in their assessment projects,” Mr Galletly said.
“The students also access the excellent data sets that are freely available in the TownsvilleMAPS section of the Dashboard including historical imagery and local areas that are at risk of flood.
“The Townsville Dashboard is an extremely valuable teaching and learning resource for geography classrooms because of the variety of relevant data and information provided.”
The Townsville Dashboards was a project launched to provide more transparency and accountability to the community and to keep them informed of things happening both in Council and across the city.
Council Governance and Finance Committee Chair Cr Kurt Rehbein said Townsville Dashboards has been a great resource for the community.
“There are currently 54 datasets available for download on Townsville Dashboards and the Open Data Portal and Council continues updating this with new information,” Cr Rehbein said.
“This information covers a range of Council departments and resources including mapping information, animal management, community grants, maintenance requests, library services and development approvals information.”
“The dashboard also links residents into other relevant organisations and information such as ABS data and profiles.”
To find and download datasets, visit: dashboards.townsville.qld.gov.au
