GIS Curriculum
The undergraduate and graduate GIS curriculum on the St. George campus is designed to provide students with the necessary understanding of GIS concepts and theory, as well as hands-on, practical, and marketable skills so that they are able to make informed decisions about how to approach and solve a GIS-related problem and apply their understanding to any GIS software. Whenever possible, I use examples of real GIS applications from a broad range of areas and build actual external projects into courses such as GGR 462/JPG 1914. Some of my students have completed course projects with organizations such as the Royal Bank of Canada, the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority, the Ontario Ministry of Culture, and Environment Canada.

Software
All my GIS courses include practical assignments and/or projects that use ArcGIS by Esri Inc. and, depending on the course, the ArcGIS extensions Spatial Analyst, 3D Analyst, Geostatistical Analyst, and Network Analyst. It should be noted that these courses are not meant to provide extensive software training, but are designed to link classroom theory to practical application, while providing as much software experience as is practicable.

Funding for Course Development
Ontario Online, Ministry of Training, Colleges, and Universities, GGR272 Geographic Information and Mapping I, 2014.

Online Undergraduate Course Initiative, Vice Provost of Academic Programs, University of Toronto, for GGR273 Geographic Information and Mapping II, 2013.

Online Undergraduate Course Initiative, Vice Provost of Academic Programs, University of Toronto, for GGR272 Geographic Information and Mapping I, 2012.

Curriculum Renewal Initiatives Fund, Faculty of Arts and Science, University of Toronto, with Virginia Maclaren, Bruce Huang, Collaboratory Learning Space for Geography and Planning. 2008.

Arts and Science Instructional Initiative Grant, Faculty of Arts and Science, University of Toronto, to develop interactive online course material using Dreamweaver and Flash. 2007-2008.

U of T Student Experience Fund to purchase equipment to use for teaching, including a set of global positioning system units, a tablet PC, and a video camera. This funding was jointly awarded to myself and Sarah Finkelstein, Joe Desloges, Marianne Douglas, Jorg Bollmann, and Ann Zimmerman. 2006-2007.

 

Teaching Experience
University of Toronto
Current Courses (Undergraduate)
GGR 272: Geographic Information and Mapping I (fall, winter, summer)
GGR 273: Geographic Information and Mapping II
GGR 373: Advanced GIS
GGR 462: GIS Research Project
Current Courses (Graduate)
JPG 1906: Geographic Information Systems
JPG 1914: GIS Research Project
Past Courses (not currently offered)
GGR 341: Arctic Canada
GGR 1907: Advanced GIS
MSA 9040: GIS Project Management Applications
Graduate Supervision
M.Sc. Charmalee Sandanayake (2007)

Other than my current teaching responsibilities at U of T, I have had the opportunity to teach in a variety of environments, including the following:

University of Western Ontario: Sessional Lecturer
Gphy 123: The Natural Environment
Gphy 280: Introduction to Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
Ryerson University: Sessional Lecturer
CODG 133: Map Algebra: Understanding Topology and Overlay
Aurora College (Inuvik, NWT)
Instructor Renewable Resources Technology Program: remote sensing and field studies
GEOIDE Geomatics Summer School
Invited Lecturer Delivered lecture on cartography and map projections
Private Instruction
I have provided customized, private seminars and training sessions and one-on-one tutoring for clients in the public and private sector.