On and Off Campus
UMN: UNM Geospatial & Population Studies symposium helps inspire new book - "Population Change and Public Policy is the proceedings of the Second Biennial Population and Public Policy Conference, held in February 2019 at Hotel Albuquerque. The conference was presented by the International Association of Applied Demographers and hosted by UNM’s Geospatial and Population Studies (GPS) along with the Hobby Center for Public Policy at the University of Houston."
Resources for Teaching and Learning
StoryMap: Este Geraghty writes on LinkedIn: "New this morning: Artist Suzanne Brennan Firstenberg, with help from The George Washington University and University of Maryland Anthropology groups, has launched a digital version of "In America," an art exhibition that honors those who have died from COVID-19." GWU posted this press release. I for one love this short thank you from the artist in the ArcGIS StoryMap: "Thank you to all of the volunteers that helped collect these data and deinstall the installation."
Twitter thread: Nick Santos writes that he wanted "to guide learners in getting help online after the class is over. I couldn't find a good, succinct, resource, so I made a checklist to complement some of the longer-form stuff on the Internet already. I could use this myself!" I would add this sort of guide can also be helpful during the course to set the expectation that students can and should be learning how to learn, which in part, "getting help."
Computerworld: Apple's indoor maps format is now a standard; here's why that matters - The OGC Community Standard is documented here. Per author Jonny Evans, "[a]doption of the standard is a foundational step for new business opportunity and voice-first interface design."
One Chart at a Time (Video Series): "Welcome to the daily One Chart at a Time series that will expand your graphic literacy. With over 50 videos released on a daily basis in early 2021, this series will help you learn about more than just the standard bar, line, and pie chart. Join experts from all walks of the data visualization field--researchers, practitioners, freelancers, government, media, and the private sector--to learn more about how to effectively communicate your own data. Hosted by Jon Schwabish, founder of the PolicyViz blog and podcast, and author of the upcoming book, Better Data Visualizations, this series promises to help you do a better job using your own data." Via Kenneth Field who was in a video published earlier this week.
GIS of Middle Earth: Robert Rose, from William and Mary wrote: "A few years ago, we created a GIS of Middle Earth, including a 50m DEM and I used these layers as the basis for an advanced topics GIS course where students developed a least cost path analysis from the Shire to Mt Doom. After this course and resulting StoryMaps were written about on an Esri blog, a number of people reached out asking if I could share the data layers used in the course. I can finally share those layers..." He also shared the teaching materials (syllabus and PPTXs) via Google Drive. Via HigherEd-L.
Events and Opportunities
Seminar series at the intersection of Statistics, Epidemiology and Geography - The apparently free event is March 10-April 22. Via @0mgould.
Blue Marble: The company offers two webinars about new products: Global Mapper v22.1 and its LiDAR module. The company offers free academic licensing for colleges and universities in the U.S. and Canada. Via NEARC-L.
United Nations Global Geospatial Information Management Academic Network of the Americas (GGIM-ANA): “Education in the Ethical Use of Geographic Information” addresses the ethical use of geographic information in academia. The online event is March 22, 2021 at 11:30 am to 1:30 pm PST. "The aim of this symposium is to discuss the importance, need and strategies for teaching ethics in the GIS and Spatial Analysis classes." I see presenters from Cornell, Penn State, Berkeley, UCSB, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico and Brazil. Via HigherEd-L.
Programs and Courses
Harvard Gazette: Bloomberg Philanthropies & Harvard create new Bloomberg Center for Cities to support mayors - "Bloomberg Philanthropies, in collaboration with Harvard University, announced today an expansion of support for city leaders with a new, $150 million investment to establish the University-wide Bloomberg Center for Cities at Harvard University." Via Nadine Alameh.
UVM Drone Mapping Certificate Program: The two week all-online course requires about three hours of commitment per day.
Bowdoin: GIS: A Different Approach to History" - A history professor and a geographer/statistical consultant taught American History through GIS (HIST 2625) for the first time in Fall 2020. "The intermediate level class, which was taught remotely, used geographic information systems (GIS) to explore historical problems in nineteenth-century US history."
St. Louis Public Radio: St. Louis Organization To Expand Geospatial Training For High School Students - "Gateway Global American Youth and Business Alliance Academies is partnering with engineering company Leidos to add more than 100 students to Gateway Global’s “Entry to Executive” program, which helps prepare students for entry-level geographic information system and geospatial jobs."
WIU: WIU Emergency Management will Offer Classes to Emergency Responders and Educators in March - "The Western Illinois University Emergency Management (EM) program, in conjunction with the Emergency Operation Center Project (ILETSBEI) and the WIU GIS Center, will offer two classes virtually to emergency responders and educators in March." The classes will provide Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) certification by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
Daily Eastern News (Eastern Illinois University): CAA to vote on 7 items Thursday - "The CAA [Council on Academic Affairs] will also vote on multiple changes in the Geography Department. One change is being made to increase the difficulty of a geography course, Introduction to Cartography. The department is seeking to replace the course with Cartography and Visualization, GEO 4810. The course could be used for both graduate and undergraduate students and would be put in the techniques category of both options of the undergraduate geography degree." A follow up article reports the changes all passed.
The Coast (Halifax, NS, Canada): Turning Passion into Purpose - A sponsored look at the Master of Resource and Environmental Management (MREM) program at Dalhousie University includes praise for a GIS instructor.
Indiana Daily Student: IU to launch new masters program in food studies this fall - "The program will be offered through the anthropology and geography departments of the College of Arts and Sciences."
People
Drone Life: Diversity in the Drone Industry: Neurodiversity is a Super Power - Guest contributor Dawn Zoldi introduces Jason San Souci, co-founder of Neurodiversity Works, a 501(c)(3) non-profit that is helping to prepare neurodiverse students for STEM careers in drones, GIS and artificial intelligence.
Forbes: She Was The Only Black Person In Her Geography Class. So She Launched A Movement To Diversify The Field. - Contributor Vicki Philips from National Geographic introduces Francisca Rockey who created the nonprofit Black Geographers.
Penn State: Capstone project improves disease mapping tool for Penn State Cancer Institute - Nate Geyer, an MGIS student, updated a cancer visualization tool covering a 28-county catchment area in central Pennsylvania.
Esri
GIS in an Engineering Education: "Join us to learn about the value of GIS in engineering coursework" on March 31, 2021 at 10:00 a.m. (PST).
UCSB: Webinar: Dangermond Perspectives on Emerging Trends in GIS: The event is March 31. "Please join Jack Dangermond, Michael Goodchild (founding Dangermond Chair of Geography), and Trisalyn Nelson (current Dangermond Chair of Geography) for a discussion of trends in GIS. Bring your thoughts and questions to the Q&A!" Via @HarvardCGA.
MIT Tech Review: Data-driven humanitarianism - Esri sponsored content covers the World Food Programme (WFP) which won the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize.