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Tuesday, December 31, 2013

A Geographer Looks at EdTech in 2013 - Part 10 - The Business of EdTech (in Geography/GIS)

--- This post is the tenth in a ten part series examining top 2013 trends in education technology in the context of GIS and geography education. ---

Audrey Watters introduces her final trend of 2013, the Business of EdTech with this often noted quotation: “Education is broken, and someone should fix it.” And, this being 2014, that means businesses should play a key role and be appropriately compensated for the fix. In the big world of education this means companies are jumping at the chance to offer:
  • learning management systems
  • MOOC platforms
  • e-text and regular books
  • hardware such as tablets and smart boards
  • education communication tools
  • resources for teachers and students in support of the Common Core and its respective tests
Our little world of geography and GIS education benefits only casually from most of these (iPads, say) and loses out quite a bit since geography and GIS are not explicit parts of the Common Core (but see part 3 of this series with resources on how these can be integrated into it).

I'm the first to agree that most individuals who go into business to help teach geography or GIS are not doing it for the money. No, they do it because they love the discipline and/or technology and believe others should know about it and use its principles to make the world a better place.

So, what are the "hot" geography/GIS education businesses and business opportunities in our space in 2013/2014? 

GIS Etc. GIS Etc. is small company that offers both GIS education books (All Esri Press Books are 40% off the retail price) and consulting. GIS Etc. folks are the same ones raising money for GeoPorter.

Esri - Esri offers a map of its various education licenses implemented in the U.S. and publishes many of the top selling GIS training books. There's a story map of there the Esri Ed team travelled in 2013. I think the most innovative thing Esri did in education this year was to host an unconference as part of Ed UC. Said another way, I can't point to any specific edtech innovation from the company.

National Geographic - I found this year's Geography Awareness Week support/tools/outreach less than stellar. In fact, I for one feel it's losing steam.

The company still offers educational products. It also was a recipient, with three others, of NSF funds to explore the future of geography education, aka "The Road Map." I'm not sure if these documents (three at NatGeo, one at AGS - why these do not all live together, I can't say) have caused any innovation in the areas they cover. Could/should these reports be a resource for new education products and services?

National Geographic Learning, a partnership between the National Geographic Society and Cengage Learning, an educational publisher, is sort of on hold as Cengage declared bankruptcy in July and is restructuring.

ICA/OSGeo - A memorandum of understanding has these two organizations standing up 100 (there are now 64) university open source GIS software labs worldwide. Are there business opportunities here? I'm not sure.

Certificates - GIS certificate programs seem to draw students and bring in money. That would explain why more appear every few weeks. Elmhurst College is making waves by offering an AP Human Geography certificate for educators. The college feels there is demand, but is there money to keep such a program going? With few state geography requirements and no in the common core, funding for educators to study, may be a challenge. I hope I'm wrong.

Drone Training - I've noted Unmanned Vehicle University, a for-profit, unaccredited school, but other training organizations are popping up. Just this week Northland Community and Technical College announced a one year remote sensing programming specifically aimed at interpreting drone-collected imagery. The school is using drones as a marketing opportunity. Well played! We'll see more plays in this space in the short term now that the FAA has selected the UAS test areas in the United States. 

Conclusion

This list is a way to highlight two things: (1) there is little money in geography/GIS education and (perhaps therefore) (2) there has been little to no innovation in it in recent years.

The innovation in geography/GIS edtech with the greatest impact this year was MOOCs, most notably Penn State's Maps and the Geospatial Revolution (which is running again next spring). While I applaud it and its peers, the current MOOC business model, as I understand it, is not one that can spur many competitors or innovators. 

And, that perhaps explains our situation. In contrast to the larger edtech business space where all sorts of businesses are funded, pop-up, survive, die, pivot or are acquired, geography and GIS education lives in an edtech desert.

Friday, December 27, 2013

A Geographer Looks at EdTech in 2013 - Part 9 - Credit Where its Due

--- This post is the ninth in a ten part series examining top 2013 trends in education technology in the context of GIS and geography education. ---

Watters details the ups and downs of giving actual college credit in new ways such as via competency-based learning and MOOCs. If you are not aware, there are select universities offering credits and degrees via these paths. She also explores alternative credentials like certificates and badges. Where are geography and GIS among these trends?

Competency Based Learning

The two schools that I'm aware of that use a model that focuses on what skills students have or have gained, rather than seat time, are Western Governors University (WGU) and Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU). I know about the former because I tried to apply for a job there, but alas course mentors (content experts) must have PhDs. I know of SNHU because it does a lot of advertising here in Massachusetts. Neither yet offer geography or GIS degrees.

Of note, perhaps, in the coming years is what's going on at Northern Arizona University. Its competency-based online degree program called “Personalized Learning,” was accredited this year. That school offers among other things, a GIS certificate. Could that morph into a competency-based degree or certificate here or elsewhere? Stay tuned.

Badges

The big news in badges is that Mozilla rolled out its 1.0 badge software program. The news within GIS of which I'm aware relates to just two institutions exploring badges: Skidmore and American Sentinel. It will be at least the end of 2014 before we see how these efforts play out in the geospatial education marketplace and, equally importantly, the geospatial workforce.

Credit via MOOC 

There have been ups and downs with giving college credit for MOOCs. So far the news on balance is not good. Two disappointing situations from 2013:


  • The deal between San Jose State University and Udacity ran aground and now Udacity is pivoting toward corporate training. Here's the latest on the relationship via Inside Higher Ed.
  • An offer from Colorado State University-Global Campus that offered credit for a MOOC via a proctored exam ($89) got no takers. The comparable three credit course was $1,050. 

What's happening in our world of geography and GIS? Credit for a MOOC could be coming soon at Elmhurst College:
Additionally, we will be offering a MOOC in Spring 2014 (probably March or April) that will allow prospective students to gain badges for skills and have a course in the [graduate] program  waived upon full completion of the MOOC. Stay tuned for further details!
Is credit for MOOCs doomed for core courses? For GIS? I don't think so, but clearly the model is still in development.

Credit via AP Exam

The news on AP exams in general is mixed per Watters:
Enrollment in AP classes has been skyrocketing in recent years, although as Politico’s Stephanie Simon reported, “the number of kids who bomb the AP exams is growing even more rapidly.”
And, to my surprise, venerable Dartmouth College, no longer accept AP exams for credit. That I suppose is an interesting statement from the school about competency-based learning or at least the College Board's version of it.

The news on the only AP exam related to geography, the AP Human Geography exam, is more positive. 

In recent years between 25% and 30% of test takers have achieved a 4 or 5, grades typically worthy of college credit (Wikipedia).

Per Rich Schultz at Elmurst College noted other positive signs in an interview on this blog:
Some of our Advisory Board and faculty members in the program are heavily involved with the College Board and noticed that the trend was very clear that APHG was increasing in demand and more and more schools nationally are offering it, at least over the last eleven years (2001-2012).
Elmhurst is launching an online certificate for educators who teach AP Human Geography.

Accreditation

Most colleges and universities have administrations that insure proper accreditation. That said, a few institutions lost accreditation or were threatened with it during the year.

In our world of geography and GIS it's the specialty schools that are having trouble with accreditation. Accreditation sometimes makes a difference to students, but can be key to a university making money: it can be a key stepping stone toward government loans and grants for students. The news from Unmanned Vehicle University (UVU) is still not good:
UVU is not currently accredited. We will start the process in March 2014. We have hired an expert that has experience with our accreditation agency.
Certificates

While I have yet to see a certificate in geography, the number of them offered, both pre and post baccalaureate, in GIS is growing. New ones are announced nearly every week. The latest data I can find, via the GeoTech Center is from May 2013; but alas I can't even count the number of results from my query.

That said, the range of certificates is quite large. A school or organization can provide a "certificate of completion" for a MOOC. That's quite different from a certificate offered by a reputable university after a four course post graduate course of study that includes a capstone project. So, let the buyer and the potential employer, beware!

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

A Geographer Looks at EdTech in 2013 - Part 8 - The Battle for Open

--- This post is the eighth in a ten part series examining top 2013 trends in education technology in the context of GIS and geography education. ---

Watters notes that "open" continues to be a trending and yet confused term within education technology. While lots of announcements included references to projects, code, courses or data described as "open," many were not open in any meaningful way. Others were merely "open washed."

In geography and GIS education I think we did a bit better in using "open" to reflect at least one of its true meanings in recent years.

In 2012 Esri announced its ArcLessons would be released under a Creative Commons License.

In 2013 Esri decided to remove the fee on its SpatiaLabs lessons and made it available with an Esri educational site license. (Not open, exactly, but with no fee.)

Back in September 2011, the Open Source Geospatial Foundation (OSGeo) and the International Cartographic Association (ICA) joined forces to "establish Open Source Geospatial Laboratories and Research Centres across the world for supporting development of open-source geospatial software technologies, training and expertise." To date there are 63 set with a goal of 100 research labs worldwide by Sep 2014. (See Geo for All)

In 2013, there were four "open to all" massive open online courses on GIS topics. Two focused on Esri technology, one on free technology and one on Google technology. (I recapped MOOC ideas and these courses in this video. References are on All Points Blog.)

In 2013 TeachGIS.org launched to try to get educators to share ideas. Sadly, it began to lie fallow as its creator took a new job.

All of these are great, forward-thinking efforts. I'm hopeful those involved will document and share the impact these have on geography and GIS education. But, I have a sneaking suspicion that I've raised in the past: "open" sounds good and providers and educators may both "vote" yes on it, but that does not mean it will be used. That lack of use by the target audience may lead unexpected consequences.

Consider all the discussion of how MOOCs will democratize education for all. In reality, some 80% of those taking the courses already have bachelor's degrees. As idealistic and important and morally correct as open is, it's but one tool in our educational arsenal.

Monday, December 16, 2013

A Geographer Looks at EdTech in 2013 - Part 7 - Data vs. Privacy

--- This post is the seventh in a ten part series examining top 2013 trends in education technology in the context of GIS and geography education. ---

Watters notes that the collections and use of education related data was a trend in 2011 and 2012, but its appearance in 2013 is the most dismaying. Watters regularly explores how learning management systems (LMSs) and other software solutions collect data about students including their grades, how long they watch videos, their uses of social media and more. She asks, quite correctly, who owns those data and what can they legally do with the? She also pushes at the irony: the students are not always the ones benefiting from this data collection.

Privacy regarding personal and educational data is certainly worth attention. But now, privacy regarding student's location information around education is coming to the fore. For example:
We, as geospatial educators, need to raise the location privacy concern associated with these sorts of efforts. Are they required? Opt-in? Invasive? Transparent? Valuable?

That last question is most relevant in 2013. Remember the student who refused to wear an RFID-enabled ID tag because she felt it conflicted with her religious beliefs? A court did not support her preference to go un-badged. But, not long after, the school dropped the program because it didn't provide the expected return on investment.

Friday, December 13, 2013

A Geographer Looks at EdTech in 2013 - Part 6 - Hardware

--- This post is the sixth in a ten part series examining top 2013 trends in education technology in the context of GIS and geography education. ---

Watters identifies 2013 as 2011 revisited when it comes to hardware. What she means is that two years ago was "the year of iPad" and this year is another such year. That said, she does note other players trying to get into the education tablet market, thought they've had little success. But her main conclusion is that despite the iPad's coolness and the demand from schools systems to have them in the classroom, issue far outside of actual teaching continue to get in the way: management, hacking, theft, cost

Which brings me to geography and GIS education and iPads. I guess iPads are in use in geography and GIS education, but no one is shouting about it. Esri has a couple of posts from 2012 and 2013 about using ArcGIS Online (what else?) on the iPad, but otherwise, I see very little mention of them. 

I will share that I do see some iPad at education GIS events, but I see far more, proportionately, at generic education events like EdCamp.

If you know how iPads have revolutionized geography or GIS education, I'd love to hear about it!

    Tuesday, December 10, 2013

    A Geographer Looks at EdTech in 2013 - Part 5 - Coding and Making

    --- This post is the fifth in a ten part series examining top 2013 trends in education technology in the context of GIS and geography education. ---

    Watters identifies two trends, learning to code and the "maker" movement, as her fifth topic in education technology for 2013. There are number of ideas and questions in her discussion. These were of particular interest to me:
    • Does everyone need to learn to code? 
    • How do we teach coding? When, age wise, does it fit in a curriculum? 
    • Are some, notably women, not welcome in the coding world? 
    • Where does "making" fit into learning? 
    • Can it help address the STEM crisis (real or not)? 
    GIS Education and Coding

    I wrote about the value of coding for those looking to be GIS users and those with other roles in and around the technology last year. If anything, I feel more strongly now than I did then about everyone but the most casual GIS user getting some hands on coding experience. From an education standpoint, my sense is that every course beyond the intro one (and perhaps that as well) should include some programming. It might be as basic as rewriting an existing script to use new data or different specific parameters, but it should be in there.

    How do we teach coding in the GIS education space? Should we even do so? Or should we leave it to the computer science department in a high school or college? Some would argue that having GIS students learn GIS programming within a geography or GIS department is, well, too GIS-y and perhaps not as rigorous as it might be. Others argue that computer science programming is too generic.

    One thing I can say for sure is that the required programming course in the Penn State Masters in GIS program sparks many students to describe it as "hard" or worse. I sympathize, but also suspect that the challenge is due in some cases to this being the first time the student has programmed…ever. I think that here in the U.S. we need to follow the U.K.'s lead. Over there computer science is already part of the K-12 curriculum.

    But, there is good news on the GIS programming front. It looks like more GIS education programs, including undergraduate ones, are seeing the value of teaching coding. Why just today I read how Eastern Illinois University is adding a GIS programming course.

    As for programming being exclusionary, yes I fear that's still the case in many classrooms and workplaces. The reasons are many. I'm hopeful that as women in GIS are finding their way safely to the top levels in GIS (that was my sense of panel on the topic at GIS Pro this year), the same will soon be true in GIS programming circles. I know there are many organizations that offer "girls only" or "women only" programming courses. I'm thinking out loud here… I wonder what the turnout would be for a "women's only" programming workshop at say GIS Pro in 2014?

    GIS Education and Making

    While "making" tends to be a form of teaching and learning related to engineering of various sorts, I think the ideas behind making apply across the curriculum. In English class writing a story or poem is  making. In gym class building a human pyramid is making. And of course, in biology class, collecting water samples from various places around campus, determining their pH and making of map of the data is making.

    That's why I was so pleased that this year's 4-H's National Youth Science Day effort involved "making" as it relates to GIS and geography. There was even a "paper exercise" for groups where computer technology was not available. On the other hand, I read far too many reviews of GIS Day events where students and other visitors listening to lectures and watched demos. That's NOT making.

    If making can bring anything to education in general, and geography and GIS education in particular, it's the "hands-on, make things, do things" perspective on teaching and learning. The dryness of geography education was driven home to me just today.

    I was asked to review a chapter in new college level human geography textbook. Goodness it was dry! And, the innovations were, well, far from innovative. Let me contrast that with another experience.

    A few weeks ago I attended a birthday party for seven year old twins Max and Theo. Among their favorite books is a paperboard one that has a see through human body embedded in it. Each page explores one "layer" of the body. They've had it for a while, since before they were reading. But now, they read. And, on this day, Max realized that on each page there was an experiment you could do! We convinced him to pass on the one that showed the difference in thickness of blood and water (too messy) but he did get into the muscle memory one. The experiment involves standing in a doorway and pushing your palms against the door frames for a minute. Afterward, you step out of the doorway and your arms magically rise!

    Why don't college textbooks offer the same kind of engagement for the adult student?

    Wednesday, December 4, 2013

    A Geographer Looks at EdTech in 2013 - Part 4 - MOOCs

    --- This post is the fourth in a ten part series examining top 2013 trends in education technology in the context of GIS and geography education. ---

    Watters identifies MOOCs as her fourth theme in education technology for 2013. Watters has followed the ups and many downs of the new teaching and learning paradigm through the year. She argues that if 2012 was the year of the MOOC, 2013 was the year for a bit of backlash or reality check. The most recent "turn" from the MOOC: Sebastian Thrun's Udacity is pivoting from free academic education to focus on corporate training.

    In this post however, the focus is on geography and GIS MOOCs. In our world 2013 was the year of the MOOC.

    Year of the Geography/GIS MOOC

    I've covered, in some detail, the four geography/GIS MOOCs that I found in 2013:
    That's a nice mix of course providers (public university, large public company, an edu team with a grant from HP, private university) and a variety of platforms (Google's own, Instructure Canvas, Coursera, Blackboard CourseSites) and a variety of sizes (tens of thousands, hundreds, tens of thousands, hundreds).

    What's the status now of these and other MOOCs?
    Google has not indicated it will rerun its course. While the course was well-liked (review by my colleague at Directions who took it), there was much frustration shared by those who could not download their certificate of completion. Apparently, it was only available for a two week period, then disappeared.

    The STEMx MOOC was run for a second time this fall. I've not been able to connect with the writer/instructor. I did catch him before the original session launched. I think there is a lot of potential for MOOCs as professional development. I even suggested one on teaching small ensembles to the assistant music director of my band who also needs continuing ed credit for his "real job" in a public school.

    Penn State's Maps and the Geospatial Revolution will be run again in spring 2014. Despite demand for an "advanced" course on the topic, to date creator and instructor Anthony Robinson has stated he will not offer such a course.

    The Pace University GIS Basics course is just winding down during the week of Dec 2.

    There were a few other courses that tapped into or mentioned geography and GIS in 2013 and 2014. I found, for example:
    • Sustainability, society and you (FutureLearn) (Jan 2014) 
    • Cultural Geography of the World (edX) (Sept 2013) 
    • Water: The Essential Resource (National Geographic) (Oct 2013) 
    • Flow (National Geographic) (2014) 
    There are a few rumors about other MOOCs and one was just announced today.

    Why Geography and GIS MOOCs are Special
    The best attended MOOCs are about computer programming, electronics and business, best I can tell. Why? Part of it has to do with the supply of such courses, but part I think too has to do with individuals collecting skills. Many look to a MOOC as tool to get a, or get a better, job. Further, MOOC learners, most of who have bachelor's degrees already, know of these disciplines and their promise of good high paying jobs.

    Geography and GIS? Well, not so much. While we may know these are in demand jobs, most of the world is not aware that such jobs even exist, let alone what geography is or what geographers do. Despite our best efforts, few know of the current or future demand for those with geospatial skills. Geospatial MOOCs, as we discussed at some length at a session at the Esri Education Unconference, are about marketing our field, among other things. If that turns into more students paying for courses at community and four colleges and for graduate degrees and certificates, all the better. If, that in turn means filling all those empty seats at NGA and variety of retail stores, again all the better.

    Tuesday, December 3, 2013

    A Geographer Looks at EdTech in 2013 - Part 3 - Standards (The Common Core)

    --- This post is the third in a ten part series examining top 2013 trends in education technology in the context of GIS and geography education. ---

    Watters identifies standards as her third theme in education technology for 2013. She details the standard assessments for the Common Core, the Common Core itself and how these standards seem to push adoption and growth of more technology (hardware, software and bandwidth) within education.

    In the world of geography we have a newly published set of standards (update to Geography for Life 2012). There are no Common Core requirements that link directly to geography, however. 

    Still, for those who want to increase absorption of geographic thinking, there are resources to use geography and GIS to support the Common Core goals, Have a look at content from National Geographic, Seth Dixon, and History Tech (geography games that align with the Common Core).

    And, for those who want to infuse GIS in teaching and learning, there are resources to align the technology to the Common Core from  Barbaree Duke (now a colleague of mine at Directions Magazine) and the State of Tennessee.

    My suspicion is that at the Common Core and its assessments rolls out over the next years, more resources like these will become available. It's even possible that the Common Core and its assessments might even be an impetus to increase geography and GIS teaching and learning in K-12 education in the U.S.

    Monday, December 2, 2013

    A Geographer Looks at EdTech in 2013 - Part 2 - The Politics of Education/Technology

    --- This post is the second in a ten part series examining top 2013 trends in education technology in the context of GIS and geography education. ---

    Watters second theme for 2013 is "The Politics of Education/Technology." I will stipulate there are all sorts of education/politics/money relationships from the U.S. federal government down to the local level. When it comes to the connection between geography/GIS education and politics the relationships and dollars are far fewer. But they do exist. Here are a few that I ran into this year:

    Esri Grows Statewide Education License Holders

    I angered the New Hampshire Geographic Alliance when I wrote about that state's K-12 Esri education license in 2012. Here's the latest map of such licenses across the United States. I think there are valid questions to ask about investments in broad education GIS software licensing. In particular:
    • Do they preclude the use of other technologies?
    • Do they limit faculty to one company's or communities pre-made projects, labs, books and the like?
    • Is there a "get the most from your all you can eat" package mentality that encourages implementing and using software that doesn't support program, degree, course or lesson goals?
    • Does state education or GIS funding, if any is used to support the initial and longterm license, get diverted from other needs the state might have?
    • Are goals set for what sort of teaching and learning will be achieved? Are they measured? How?
    Two new Esri state K-12 licenses were announced in 2013: Maryland and Arizona. Both press releases refer to STEM related motivation and goals.

    Speak Up for Geography

    After a concerted effort in 2011, the folks behind Speak Up for Geography went rather quiet in 2013. The effort aims to get the The Geography is Fundamental Act (TGIF), aimed at professional development for geography education, passed. The bill was reintroduced into the House of Representatives in February of 2013. So far as I know it's still in committee.

    AAG Petition

    The Association of American Geographers (AAG) regularly announces new signatories to its Resolution to Support Geography Education. While it's great to have so many organizations and individuals listed, the impact of the document is unclear. I think it's time to consider how to leverage this document in new ways.

    States Fight to Keep Geography in K-12

    Perhaps the loudest cries regarding geography education came as several states explored demoting the course of study in one way or another. In Texas the proposal was to eliminate exams in world geography and world history high school graduation requirements. It passed. In Tennessee, the proposal was for the high school World Geography/World History graduation requirement to be removed leaving geography as an elective. That passed, too. In Massachusetts there are efforts to change in what grades geography is taught.


    GeoTech Center

    On a more positive note, the National Science Foundation did re-fund the National Geospatial Technology Center of Excellence (GeoTech Center) until about May 2016. Vincent DiNoto will servie as Principal Investigator, based at the Kentucky Community & Technical College System in Louisville Kentucky. The center had been based at DelMar College in Corpus Christi, TX.