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My GIS curriculum review: what to leave in, what to leave out
I have now completed a systematic inventory of my teaching material as part of my GIS curriculum review and renewal process. It has been a challenging and enlightening exercise, as I forced myself to take a hard look at what I have, as well as what’s missing. The result is I can now make more…
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Taking an inventory of my teaching material
I have tried many times, in many ways, to create a well-organized and complete inventory of all my teaching material, and so far it has always eluded me. I want to have one document where I can track all of my lecture topics, concepts, skills, tools, readings, and assignments. I’m not talking about all of…
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How do we reach and teach casual GIS users?
Simultaneously published at V1 Magazine with thanks to Matt Ball, co-founder and editor, Vector1 Media. There are many people who don’t consider themselves geospatial professionals, but instead are casual GIS users. They probably don’t go to GIS conferences, or keep up with everything that’s happening in the field, and yet I’ll bet they perform a…
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Reference management methods for GIS teaching material
I have spent the last couple of days reviewing my reference management system (or lack thereof) and looking for alternatives. I like to save articles and website links I find online and through journal alerts and blogs so I can use them for case studies and examples in lectures and assignments. For the last couple…
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GIS instructors and teaching with technology
It’s not much of a stretch to say that most GIS instructors are likely also techies (Mirriam-Webster: “a person who is very knowledgeable or enthusiastic about technology”), myself included. It follows then, that we would also be interested in exploring the use of technology for how we teach, not just what we teach. I attended…
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Should programming be part of a university GIS curriculum?
In my last post, on GIS training vs. education at university, I referred to a paper by Fagin and Wikle (2011) who had conducted a survey of GIS instructors in the U.S. regarding perceptions of the importance of various GIS subject areas. One finding that I thought deserved its own post was that “Most respondants…
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GIS training vs. education at university
Many undergraduate university students take GIS courses with the expectation that these courses will increase their chances of finding gainful employment upon graduation. While I believe that the GIS courses I teach can help students develop marketable skills, I think that there are sometimes differing opinions between instructor and student about what students should learn,…
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Watching students write their final exam
This morning I spent 3 hours watching my students write their final exam. It’s a strange experience, as I want them all to do well, but know that some will and some won’t, for a whole host of reasons. You might think that spending 3 hours pacing around a room might be dull (and I…
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I’m going on sabbatical, not vacation
I had my last class of the term on Tuesday and will not be teaching again until January, 2012. I have been approved for a half-sabbatical which officially starts July 1, but I am gearing up for it already. The official term is “study leave”, but most people tend to call it a sabbatical. The…
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My annual GIS curriculum review
Every summer, I perform a self-imposed curriculum review of the five GIS courses I teach each year. I think about the topics included and their sequence, and which course they belong in. I make notes to myself throughout the year about what topics need work, what examples worked well or fell flat, or what new…