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Thursday, August 3, 2017

GIS Education Weekly: A Few Interesting Threads as Summer Wanes

Articles and Resources

UAH: UAH designated Center of Academic Excellence in geospatial sciences - The Department of Atmospheric Science at The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) has been named a Center of Academic Excellence (CAE) in geospatial sciences by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) and the U.S. Geological Survey.

Fredericksburg.com: New report from Maryland college expands knowledge of Native Americans on Rappahannock - A team of anthropologists from from St. Mary’s College of Maryland, “Defining the Rappahannock Indigenous Cultural Landscape,” looks at where native Americans lived and why. The study—conducted for the National Park Service - used GIS. 

GCN: The hidden costs of open data - A new report, from a research team led by University of Waterloo professor Peter A. Johnson and McGill University professor Renee Sieber, suggests "there are unforeseen costs when it comes pushing government datasets out of public-facing platforms -- especially when geospatial data is involved."

The Review: KSU professor publishes article in Geography Journal - Dr. Sarah Smiley, associate professor of geography at Kent State Salem details a course she taught during the 2015 fall semester based on The Amazing Race. The local paper reports on her article in the Journal of Geography.

Brandon University: Drone certification course at BU one of the first in Canada - "There is no prerequisite, and no need to already own a drone, as the course is completely ground-based with no actual flying." The course will met Transport Canada regulations and provide university course credit.

Geographical Perspectives: 2017 Geography Graduate Program Rankings - Justin Holman is at it again. It's a just a tiered list this year and the tiers are not explained... And, there are no online programs listed.

Twitter Threads

Twitter: FOSS v Paid GIS - A Twitter thread from Stephen Smith that's a little story and a reality check at the same time. Via @cartonerd

Twitter: After attending many conferences, I've realized - A Twitter thread from Cory House that explains the value (or not) of conferences. Via @John_M_Nelson

Events and Activities

The Kennedy Library here in Boston is hosting a crowdsourced map to collect manmade and natural features named after the president. This made the local NPR news. 

SUNY Buffalo: World leaders in GIS speaking at UB conference - SUNY Buffalo is hosting an even it started back in 1992. Graduate students brought GIS folks to the city for what would become the first annual International Conference on Geoinformatics. This week, just 25 years later, the school is hosting the event again.

Testing, Testing

GISCI Geospatial Core Technical Knowledge Exam - Practice Exam 1 is now available. I see a lot of "Select the best answer" in there. Via @gisci_gisp.