GIS Education Weekly: Is Google Taking Away Locations' Identities?

Geography and Education

Fast Company: This historic map of 6 million syllabi reveals how college is changing - The most of fun part of this analysis of syllabi is this map of all the academic disciplines by the books assigned by an MIT Media Lab graduate student. I found the "geography" space by just mousing around. I found Yi Fu Tuan's Space and Place and David Harvey's Social Justice and the City and knew I was in the right spot!

GIS Education Weekly: The State of the Geography Major

Geography Education

AAG: Should we Be Worried? - AAG President David Kaplan observes, "No matter our research excellence, our success in procuring funding, our prominence in public discussion – if geography loses its majors, the field as a whole is in peril." Kaplan notes former AAG President Ron Abler had "ignore undergrads" at #3 on his list of Five Steps to Oblivion, from 1993. Via Joseph Kerski. This is a topic we need to revisit regularly. That's in part why I cover the new programs and those that are shutting down.

Medium: Is My Learned Society Obsolete? - Bruce Caron, who was one of four keynoters for Esri's Education GIS Summit, is asking. Via @kennethfield. Another topic to revisit regularly.

GIS Education Weekly: Just Because You Can Map Something, Should You?

Some Assignment Ideas

AdForum: BayCare Ad - This is a series of ads (a billboard version is at right) trying to help health care users select the appropriate resource: either urgent care or emergency care. They are very clever. I was thinking about a fun assignment for students. Use that technique to distinguish between:

• CAD and GIS
• Surveying and GIS
• Google Maps and GIS
• Certificate vs. Certification

Alice Jin of Esri Canada offered her take on how to explain GIS in Google Maps vs GIS Maps - What to say at your next Dinner Party on LinkedIn. Jeff Thurston shared an article, The Evolution of GIS In a Changing World saying, "This article attempts to explain the power of GIS in layman terms." Ask students to offer their own insights in 500 words or less.