Programs and Courses
Twitter: Don Boyes from the University of Toronto reports on his GIS specialization at Coursera: "Over 2,000 people have enrolled in the first #GIS course and over 1,000 in the specialization!" There seems to be for a variety of GIS courses and credentials across different delivery and software platforms.
Gainsville Times: How drones will catapult UNG students into booming industry - "Before retiring in May 2019, JB Sharma, former assistant head of the university’s physics department, decided to complete one last project." Sharma built a drone that's started the growth of teaching the topic at the Louis F. Rogers Institute for Environmental and Spatial Analysis, located on the University of North Georgia’s Gainesville campus.
Illinois State: Alums fund field experiences for geography students - "In honor of Nancy’s late father, the Lutgens family gave $45,000 in cash and matching gifts to help establish the James and Lucy Patterson Family Geography Field Trip Endowment to encourage field research for Illinois State students." Check out the story; it's very sweet!
The Functional Art (Blog): Getting ready for a new data and visualization MOOC - Alberto Cairo and friends are preparing a new MOOC set to debut by year's end. The title: Data Journalism and Visualization with Free Tools. That's a MOOC for educators and students to keep on their radar; the MOOC will be offered through The Knight Center.
The Functional Art (Blog): Getting ready for a new data and visualization MOOC - Alberto Cairo and friends are preparing a new MOOC set to debut by year's end. The title: Data Journalism and Visualization with Free Tools. That's a MOOC for educators and students to keep on their radar; the MOOC will be offered through The Knight Center.
Concept3D: Concept3D Introduces New Night Map Feature to Support Campus Safety and Security - The company, once known as CampusBird, announced a new night feature for its maps. "The new night map feature is a toggle-on map overlay designed to enhance campus safety and security by making it easy to find the best, well-lit routes and critical resources like emergency phones." That's certainly a nice feature and I suspect parents of college students will find it heartening. I do wonder about its impact compared to walking with a campus security escort or a friend.
Resources for Teaching and Learning
ILGISA: Webinar Series: Lions and Tiger and python, Oh My! - "ILGISA is excited to announce it will be hosting a webinar series on Python instructed by Burt McAlpine, GISP, GIS Coordinator for JULIE, Inc." Four weeks, one session a week, $10/session for non-members. Education opportunities are everywhere you look!
USGS: National Geospatial Program - "The release of new online, instructional videos will help users of The National Map work with 3DEP Elevation data and the National Hydrography dataset. New topics include importing data into GlobalMapper and LP360, and loading and viewing individual LAS files in ArcGIS Pro. These videos have been added to the list of more than 50 instructional modules available at www.usgs.gov/NGPvideos." Via POB. That's not a resource I've used but there are many, many topics covered.
CARTO Blog: Stop Using Zip Codes for Geospatial Analysis - "The problem is that zip codes are not a good representation of real human behavior, and when used in data analysis, often mask real, underlying insights, and may ultimately lead to bad outcomes." Via John Gravois. The article makes clear what ZIP Codes are for and when to use or not use them.
Esri (GeoNet): Fun with GIS 251: ArcGIS School Bundle Expands - "The ArcGIS School Bundle has grown! It now includes Insights for ArcGIS and Esri CityEngine, in license numbers matching the size of the Bundle in place. No special request is needed, these are now just built into existing and new ArcGIS School Bundles. And, like the previous elements, these are available to K12 schools and youth clubs at no cost for instructional use." More tools for students to explore!
Esri (GeoNet): Fun with GIS 251: ArcGIS School Bundle Expands - "The ArcGIS School Bundle has grown! It now includes Insights for ArcGIS and Esri CityEngine, in license numbers matching the size of the Bundle in place. No special request is needed, these are now just built into existing and new ArcGIS School Bundles. And, like the previous elements, these are available to K12 schools and youth clubs at no cost for instructional use." More tools for students to explore!
WaPo: How many pain pills went to your pharmacy? - There's a nice map; a free account is needed to see it.
Correction
Last week I linked to a piece I wrote looking back at my geography mentors. In it, I incorrectly stated that Roger Downs had retired from his position at Penn State. He continues to teach and do research there.