Do you want to use online GIS with your students?

The title comes from a tweet from an Instructional Technology Resource Teacher. The whole tweet reads:

Do you want to use online GIS with your students? @EsriCanada has extensive resources. http://bit.ly/VvLiQ4 Start with Map My Community.

While I think the goal is to point out the valuable resources at the website, I'm more interested in the question posed, ideally to educators, "Do you want to use online GIS with your students?" The tweeter used to teach geography and finds GIS and GPS interesting, so the question seems quite natural.

And yet that question causes me some discomfort. While I'm a fan of GIS and GPS, as an educator, I've been trained to lay out, or learn of, existing educational objectives (what the students will learn to do) before determining the form of the course or the tools to be used.

I recall a similar discomfort when meeting one of the geography textbook publishers at a conference. He assured me his text was the best for my World Regional Geography course at the community college. The problem was, in my version of that course, there was no text, just an atlas.

While I'm hopeful more and more students will be able to take a dedicated geography course in their K-16 experience, I believe most will only "run into" geography and its related technology in small "injections" along the way. John Caris at Smith College and  Sharron Macklin at Williams College take that approach in their small liberal arts colleges. David DiBiase, of Esri presented a vision for that sort of "injection" at in a presi titled Spatial Thinking Across the Curriculum at the Specialist Meeting on Spatial Thinking Across the Curriculum, Santa Barbara CA, December 10-11, 2012. I think as geographers we need to think about a geography curriculum that addresses both those taking a dedicated course or degree, and one that injects key ideas across a broader liberal arts or engineering program.

How would I rephrase the question for the latter vision? Here's a starting point:

Do you want to ...

• practice critical thinking
• develop spatial literacy skills
• explore visual communications
• evaluate Web data resources
• learn to use Web services
• consider epidemiological spread of disease

with your students?

The answer? Then you might want to consider teaching with GIS!

Enhancing Engagement in Geospatial Topics through Authentic Learning

Below are the key links from my presentation from NEARC Educators Day 2012 (Nov 11) titled: Enhancing Engagement in Geospatial Topics through Authentic Learning.

Notes from my Talk

Below are the notes from my session, taken by one of the attendees (thank you!). These are the standards/skills/learning objective the attendees felt could be addressed based on the "teachable moments" we discussed.

AFL Indigenous Players Map 2012

cartography
symbolization
culture
language distribution
relation of climate to cultural groups/language
relationship of native and non-native Australians
why create such a map?
connect to real world: have students document how to make the map better and share them with the AFL Players Association.

Khartoum Bomb Attack

change detection
estimate size of craters
image collection/limitations of satellite collection/timing of collection
connect to real world: confirm analysis, compare to other events to explore what kind of munition was used, share what was learned in school or local paper

Failed GPS Story

geocoding
precision/accuracy - when is it important
health skepticism/tech literacy
comparison of geocoding on different platforms
how is data collected/created
connect to real world: learn how to and actual correct/submit corrections to map or data providers

Apple Uses OpenStreetMap

licensing
attribution
crowdsourcing
legal action
metadata
connect to real world: explore under which license data used in class is offered, work with non-profit or local government in finding an appropriate license

Links Mentioned

Are We Ready for Advertising Funded Degrees?

I'm a sucker for new education business models, so when the Chronicle detailed the still fuzzy plans for World Education University, I took note. Scott Hines, the university’s chief executive holds firm to the idea that students will know that their degrees are being funded (mostly) through advertising.

What degrees? The programs website notes, "WEU expects to be able to offer credentialed diplomas in a variety of industries, Associate Degrees, Bachelor Degrees, Master Degrees, and Ph.Ds." About 20 disciplines from computer science to theology are listed as possible areas to earn a degree.

The school doesn't share its location, nor the specific accreditation it hopes to capture. A commenter found an address in California and suggest accreditation via DETC (one of the national level, lower level, accreditors focusing on distance education) or WASC (one of the six highest level or regional accreditors in the U.S.) would be logical, though that would require a few years at least in the making. WASC, by the way, recently earned kudos from a Chronicle commentator when it denied accreditation, publicly and tightened its stance of graduate percentages.

For his part Hines shares the plan for national, regional, and international accreditation. There's also a plan for competency-based accreditation where corporate partners "stamp" the university as properly preparing students for a particular industry. ("GIS company X says students who complete a course of study at WEU are competent to do GIS.")

The article shares three methods of monetization of students via advertisers (Remember, if an online product is free, you are the product!):

- targeting advertising to student interests (like running)
- outright advertiser sponsorship of students
- academic achievement points that can be exchanged by students for advertisers prizes or discounts

A fourth money maker does not involve adverstising. The school may charge for tutoring or premium content (unclear if that means specific lessons, courses, degrees or what). That last option is essentially a freemium model. (You read Free, right? Worth a read if not.)

The source of the content? In the long term the school plans to create original content; at the outset materials from two undisclosed institutions will be offered.

The faculty? Here's the recruiting blurb regarding salary.

We pay our professors based on academic performance. Each student will grade you, the professor, and the course you create for our online community. The more students who rate your course highly, the more students will take your course and the more you will get paid. We can’t wait to meet you and have you join our team.

If something sounds too good to be true....