GIS Education Weekly: SocialCops Course Covers Mapping Geospatial Data in R

On and Off Campus

The Edge: Business Briefs - Williams College has a new interactive map showing the college’s sustainability initiatives. A Williams senior and the college sustainability coordinator built it during fall 2018 on platform called Concept 3D. Middlebury has one, too, built on the same platform.

University of Wisconsin: Online MS in Cartography and Geographic Information Systems helps GIS professional map his future - A working professional is taking an online program for a Masters. His employer is paying of some of it and he's looking for a scholarship to pay for the rest.

GIS Education Weekly: New Online Programs, Updates to Existing Ones and More Free Courses

Resources

Patents granted per 1,000 children, by metropolitan area

NYTimes: Lost Einsteins: The Innovations We’re Missing - David Leonhard explains a favorite saying of Mitch Kapor: "Genius is evenly distributed by Zip Code [sic], but opportunity is not." Via @timoreilly.

Wandering Cartographer: Buffering (or haloing) text over complex backgrounds using the Screen blend mode - Tutorial on print mapping using QGIS and InkScape from 2014. Via @mappingmashups.

GIS Education Weekly: GAO Report on Geography, Giant Maps for School Children

GAO: Eighth Graders Do Not Know Geography

Geography Proficiency Levels

of U.S. Eighth Graders, 2014, from

the report

Here's something readers probably know: Three-quarters of eighth grade students in the U.S. weren’t proficient in geography last year. That's the conclusion of a last week's Government Accountability Office report requested by congress. Via: Politico

Responses to the Report

Says Michael Gould (@0mgould) on article about the report:

article misses the point on US kids' lack of geographic knowledge: the system fails them. thx @josephkerski http://ow.ly/TCixA

The AAG published an article (press release?) highlighting the executive director and others quotable responses and the importance of the report.

Giant Map to Help Memorizing Idaho's Counties

Kershaw Intermediate School students in Sugar City, Idaho painted a map of the state's counties on the school blacktop. They used a number of math and graphic skills. And, of course they'll learn some geography. Per the article in the local paper:

Via Rexburg Standard Journal

The map of Idaho will allow the students to better memorize Idaho’s counties.

Is that true? Is there any research on the value of these giant maps be they "visiting maps" or more permanent painted ones? I recall when the giant U.S. map came to my elementary school gym (c. 1973). The best part? Sliding around on it in our stocking feet.

I also found "map painting stories" from Iowa and Ohio this week.

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GIS Education Weekly: Geo Course Syllabi Database, QGIS MOOC, BOK News

Note from Adena

I'll be continuing my regular Thursday recap of GIS education news here on the Ignite Education Blog. Please share news and stories with me via e-mail.

BOK 2.0 Ready for Review

University Consortium for GIScience President Steven Prager announced availability of its GIS&T Body of Knowledge for review.
...we would like to invite the community to take some time to review, contemplate and comment on the future of GIScience education. The report, available on the UCGIS website, is a major milestone heading down the path toward the new BoK2.0. We have created a forum space for commentary and discussion in association with this product and the BoK2.0 more generally.

National database for GIST and GeoTech Syllabi

The GeoTech Center is trying to build a database of GIS and geospatial technology syllabi. You can add your information by filling out a form and sending on content (details here). The database will be publicly accessible; no license is noted. I'm hopeful this request will eventually be publicly available on the GeoTech Center website, perhaps under the "news" section.

In other GeoTech Center news, it's time for award nominations.

Please nominate your Awardee and help recognize them for their contribution to geospatial education! The Nomination Form with more information about the Awards is available http://www.geotechcenter.org/distinguished-geospatial-education-awards-for-2015.html.

Directions Magazine won one last year. The glass globe is on my mantle.

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.

MentorLinks Builds GIS Programs at Community Colleges

The Atlantic details the MentorLinks program, one I'd never heard of, but one that has touched GIS, but more on that later.

One good model for capacity building at the sub-baccalaureate level is the MentorLinks program, administered by the American Association of Community Colleges as part of the Advancing Technological Education program, which is Congressionally mandated and funded by the National Science Foundation. The MentorLinks program isn't big or flashy, but for a relatively modest investment in a select number of STEM programs at community colleges, it appears to achieve some significant, lasting results.

Here's how it works: through a national grant competition, AACC selects a small number of community colleges for a two-year grant program. The current 2011-2013 cohort has eight grantees, bringing the grand total of grantees since the program started in 2002 to just 33. Each grantee receives a modest grant to fund program development (for the current cohort, the two-year grant total was just $20,000) along with funding for travel to attending national meetings.  

The grantees represent a range of technical education programs from across the country, and each is matched with a mentor who has knowledge and connections in the area of STEM training the grantees plan to develop, with mentors receiving a small stipend. Working closely with their mentors, faculty and staff from the colleges endeavor to establish or strengthen a specific program, often in partnership with regional and local partners in government and industry.

I dug through the archives at MentorLinks to find grantee who tackled GIS. I found one, from Lincoln Land Community College in Illinois (where else?). Search this pdf for GIS and you'll find the write up about an intro GIS course offered in 2010 and some workshops with Esri. There was a plan for a certificate program in 2011. As of today I see just that same single GIS intro course in the course catalog.

Digging deeper into the past, I learned the City College of San Francisco worked on a "GIS Across the Curriculum" project (pdf of results) while Springfield Technical Community College, MA worked on "Advancing Workforce Education in GIS" in 2005-2007 (pdf of results). Kentucky Community and Technical College System, KY tackled "Geographical Information Systems Partnership" (ppt of results) back in 2002-2004. There's a 2009 article from the Community College Times explaining how the model pairs mentors from other community colleges with those trying to build programs and well as how some mentees turned mentors joined the GeoTech Center.
These efforts seem to pre-date and create the building blocks for work done by the GeoTech Center and other players, including Esri. Do we have enough experience, documentation and insight to build a best practices document aimed at creating or growing a successful community college GIS program?

- The Atlantic

The Geospatial Technology Competency Model in Plain English

I’ve gone to conference presentations and I’ve stared at the multi-colored pyramid on the Dept of Labor website, but when pigeon-holed at a conference (Thanks, Neil!) I could not recall the name, nature, or purpose of the Geospatial Technology Competency Model (GTCM). So, I did some homework. Here, in plain English is what you need to  know about the GTCM. 

1. The GTCM is one of many competency models.

The Dept of Labor has a whole bunch of models for different industries. I count 19 as write this; they range from Advanced Manufacturing (there is no basic manufacturing) to Water Sector. They all have that same pyramidal shape.

2. The GTCM defines GIS Technician workers' skills and competencies in the US.                  

Industry experts helped build it. Here’s the corresponding job description (which seems a bit dated to me based on the software products listed, but is a fine start).

3. The GTCM can be used by educators and trainers to develop course outlines and degrees/certificate programs that match these competencies.

It’s vendor and technology agnostic; that is, it's about skills, not specific software or hardware. There are some course outlines (including an open source software based one) from workshops done in 2011 by the GeoTech Center. You need a login/password to access them via a Moodle server.

4. There is a GTCM Assessment Tool.

The assessment tool is big spreadsheet that those with existing courses can use to see how their courses match the competencies. The assessment can then be used to enhance the course where there are weaknesses or confirm that topics missing in that course are covered in another course in a program.

5. The GTCM can ideally make it easier for business to hire qualified workers.

Since industry helps define the model, the argument is that schools (and other education providers) will address competencies in the model and thus graduate students who can tackle available jobs.

6. The GTCM can help in the creation of articulation agreements (agreements whereby schools accept each others credits).

For example, students who study GIS in high school may be able to transfer credit when joining a community college GIS certificate or degree program.

7. Industry organizations are beginning to use the GTCM as a basis for a variety of activities.

USGIF will be using the GTCM in its accreditation program for GEOINT (for schools, not for individuals) and GISCI is considering the addition of a competency-based examination aligned with the GTCM for its updated certification program. The GeoTech Center uses the model for a competition and URISA is looking into a management version of the model. (Source: Career One-Stop pdf)