ES - TLT 368, Summer 2013 - Course record
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Session 1 - Wednesday, 22 May
Before class
If you can, get into CourseSite and poke around
During class (ppt)
Introductions
Going through the first part of the syllabus
Online resources for you to use
Software tools–things you might want to download are here.
Going through second half of syllabus: Assignments we'll be doing
Topics of interest in this course
Guiding principles for the course
Activity: Where should we place the SuperMart? Here are the handouts (instructions, analysis form); choose your dataset
(If you want to see this activity in the context of the full unit on Land Use Change, it's part of the Environmental Literacy & Inquiry project.)
Back to "Topics of interest"
Closure
After class
Reading
Bodzin & Cirucci, 2009
Broda & Baxter, 2003
Optional: Snyder & Hammond, 2012
Assignments
Download and mess around with Google Earth (brief video introduction); find your Birthday Coordinates!
WTL
Post your selected Birthday Coordinates to the WTL thread.
Brainstorm topics for your upcoming assignments (Google Earth & GIS) and final project
Session 2 - Wednesday, 29 May
Before class
Complete reading
WTL
Download and try out Google Earth
During class (ppt)
Housekeeping
Conceptual work
Opening activity: Let's go outside! Scaffolded geocaching
De-brief of activity
Learning the concepts: Spatial thinking is...
Learning the tools: Google Earth how-to: You've collected your data, now what?
Example of a Google Earth project I'm fiddling with: Energy extraction in Pennsylvania – here's my current draft of the file.
Learning the pedagogy: Examples of K-12 instructional sequences following recipe #1 (students' hands-on collect / plot / interpret)
Closure
After class
Reading
Ferster, 2013, Ch. 1
Optional: Golledge, 1995
Optional: Bodzin, 2008 (the stream study)
Assignments
WTL – try reading and responding to a classmate's topic ideas
Download (and try out, but you may want to hold off) a GIS – see links in CourseSite. My recommendation is My World GIS, version 4.1, but you can choose whatever you like.
Session 3 - Friday, 31 May
Before class
Complete reading
During class (ppt)
After class
Reading
Ferster, 2013, Ch. 2
Doering & Veletsianos, 2007
optional: Edelson, 2004
Assignments
WTL
Work on Google Earth assignment
Session 4 - Monday, 3 June
Before class
Complete reading
During class (ppt)
Housekeeping
Conceptual work
Re-visiting our GIS discussion, this time with a mandated hands-on component: Download and try out this file: Af-Am_pop_1790-1870_ver02.m3vz. Basically, put this assertion to the test.
Main idea: A geospatial tool is only as good as its data. Especially a GIS. (Google Earth has such a wealth of info built in, from the satellite imagery to the terrain features to elevation to the layers that you can usually make SOMETHING good happen. But yes, a little external data goes a long way.)
Data-searching
It's a mess. Case-in-point: Federal Geographic Data Committee. Aim = "'one-stop'access to all registered geographic information and related online access services within the United States." Their portal (gos2.geodata.gov as of this writing) doesn't load. Best case scenario = hit-or-miss
US = most data-rich environment; Europe also pretty good. China = black hole. Other parts of the world: Data exists for some topics, depending on if a govt or NGO has taken an interest.
My master list = http://delicious.com/tchammond/dataSources+TLT394, but we can break it down for a little additional clarity.
Proving to yourself that you can do this
Download a file from the Census Bureau: http://www.census.gov/cgi-bin/geo/shapefiles/national-files
Import a file that you make yourself – for example, you can make this file pretty easily: geocache_locations.txt.
Finding maps
Advice
First, know what's in the built-in libraries for My World, AEJEE, ArcGIS, etc. In general, you can get a map from any one system into another
Things to know about going in: Map projections. Unfortunately, I don't have any slick suggestions with this. Just pay attention to the documentation, play around with it to get it to work. Or else cross your fingers and hope you get lucky.
Strategies
Census Bureau maps: http://delicious.com/tchammond/dataSources+census+maps – heavy on the built environment that's related to population (e.g., street grid), not so good for other topics.
Regional agencies: http://delicious.com/tchammond/dataSources+regional More idiosyncratic in terms of focus and datasets available. State-level usually has at least one agency looking at environmental issues. If someone gets a good lead on additional state-level data, let me know so I can add to the list!!
Historical atlases: If you need a map that does NOT reflect the current political or natural geography, it's seriously hit-or-miss. http://delicious.com/tchammond/dataSources+maps+historical
Raid other people's projects: http://delicious.com/tchammond/dataSources+projects
Finding fields
Advice
Again, pay attention to what's in the built-in data for your software.
Things to know about going in: You might get the data in a spreadsheet, not a GIS file. You then play with it to get it into your GIS, but that's a second step. First, just get your hands on it; worry about how to import and display it later.
Strategies
Census sources: http://delicious.com/tchammond/dataSources+census+fields
Again, looking at other people's projects and building on them: http://delicious.com/tchammond/dataSources+projects
Brute force and ignorance: You find the data in whatever format, you wrangle it into your GIS
Find some data and type it into your GIS in editing mode (e.g., http://delicious.com/tchammond/YadVashem) .
Find other someone's Google Earth coverage and re-construct into GIS. It's generally a tremendous pain to move from GE to GIS, but it can be done. For example: I took this file (http://www.cwoodcock.com/Civil_War_by_Campaign.kmz) and with a LOT of editing in Excel got it into ArcMap.
Closure on data-searching: Very much a topic in evolution. I learn from others (e.g., Shannon White: http://www.geog.missouri.edu/grad/white.html – see her delicious list at http://delicious.com/shwhite...it has 3500+ links!!). Talk it through, support one another, browse the master list (http://delicious.com/tchammond/dataSources+TLT394) and web-walk through delicious or other sources to find the right stuff for you. This is one of the biggest time sucks of geospatial tools, but there's no easy, magical way through it short of changing topics to something with more accessible maps or data fields.
After class
Reading
Edelson, Smith & Brown, 2008
Assignments
WTL
Complete and turn in your Google Earth proof-of-concept!
Session 5 - Wednesday, 5 June – class canceled due to travel. Meetings instead moved to Friday, June 7
Before class
Complete the reading.
Complete and turn in your proof-of-concept Google Earth documents
During class (no ppt)
Meetings
4:00-4:20 = Tierney G.
4:20-5:00 = Susan E. & Tiffany S
5:00-5:20 = (open)
5:20-5:40 = Matt S.
5:40-6:00 = Adi A.
6:00-6:20 = Joe K.
6:20-6:40 = Yesenia A.
6:40-7:00 = Dan P.
7:00-7:20 = Karina T.
After class
Reading – none
Assignments
WTL
Complete and turn in your Google Earth assignment. Don't forget the commentary / reflection file!
Session 6 - Friday, 7 June
Before class
Complete and turn in final Google Earth assignment. If you need more time, let me know.
During class (no ppt)
Meetings
4:00-4:20 = Tierney G.
4:20-5:00 = Susan E. & Tiffany S
5:00-5:20 = Dan P.
5:20-5:40 = Matt S.
5:40-6:00 = Adi A.
6:00-6:20 = Joe K.
6:20-6:40 = Yesenia A.
6:40-7:00 = Dan P.
7:00-7:20 = Karina T.
After class
Reading
(posted late): Read Milson, Demirici, & Kerski, Ch. 1. Read or skim two other chapters, just to get a sense of different models of instructional GIS use around the world. Some chapters are pretty boring / thin; others offer a lot of interesting detail. For example, the South Africa chapter offers three case studies that give a sense not just of the models of GIS use but also the very different educational ecosystems that exist within that country.
Assignments
WTL
(If you haven't already) Turn in your final Google Earth project.
Work on GIS assignment. Proof-of-concept is due Wed, 12 June!
Session 7 - Monday, 10 June
Before class
Complete readings
Turn in assignment
WTL
During class (ppt)
After class
Reading
Ferster, Ch. 6
Assignments
WTL
Complete and turn in proof-of-concept of GIS assignment. If you're working in My World, that's just a single GIS file. If you're working in another GIS, you'll have to turn in multiple files (e.g., .shp, .dbf., .shx, and the project file)
WTL
Session 8 - Wednesday, 12 June
Before class
Complete reading
Complete and turn in your proof-of-concept GIS assignment
During class (ppt)
After class
Reading – none between now and Monday
Assignments
WTL
Sign up for a meeting slot for Monday.
Complete and turn in your final GIS assignment
Start working on your final project!
Session 9 - Monday, 17 June
Before class
Complete reading
During class (no ppt – just meetings)
Meeting times
3:30 - 4:00 = Dan P.
4:00 - 4:15 = Matt S.
4:15 - 4:30 = Tierney G.
4:30 - 4:45 = Karina T.
4:45 - 5:00 = Susan E.
5:00 - 5:15 = Tiffany S.
5:15 - 5:30 = Joe K.
5:30 - 5:45 = Yesenia
5:45 - 6:00 = Adi A.
6:00 - 6:15 = Raj R.
6:15 - 6:30 = (open)
6:30 - 6:45 = (open)
6:45 - 7:00 = (open)
After class
Reading
Assignments
Session 10 - Wednesday, 19 June
Before class
Complete readings
During class (ppt)
Housekeeping
Conceptual work
Closure
After class
Reading
Assignments
Session 11 - Monday, 24 June
Before class
Complete reading
During class (ppt)
Project presentations
Dan P.
Karina T.
Raj R.
Matt S.
Tierney G.
After class
Reading
Assignments
Session 12 - Wednesday, 26 June
Before class
Complete readings
During class (ppt)
Project presentations
Joe K.
Yesenia A.
Susan E.
Tiffany S.
Adi A.
After class
Reading
Assignments
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