ES - TLT 394, Summer 2010 - Course record

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Last updated: Jun 24, 2010Version comment
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Session 1 - Tuesday, 18 May

Before class

  • If possible, peruse CourseSite and the wiki

During class (ppt )

  • Housekeeping
    • Introductions
      • Name
      • Program
      • What you want to be doing in 5 years
      • One thing you hope to get out of this course
      • One item of clothing you're wearing -- where was it made?
    • Weaving the Globe demo
      • kml file generated from class data.
    • Tour of infrastructure: software, wiki, CourseSite
    • Writing-to-learn (WTL), getting started
      • Log into CourseSite, enter class forum, start your thread (make a post on your thread).
    • Review of assignments / expectations
    • Check back
      • Questions?
  • Conceptual work: Topics to be addressed
  • Check-back
  • Closure

After class

  • Reading (available via Moodle)
  • Assignments
    • Do some WTL! (Writing-to-learn)
    • Brainstorm topics for projects (Google Earth markup, GIS dataset, final project).
  • Other
    • Download and play with Google Earth.

 

Session 2 - Thursday, 20 May

Before class

  • Do the reading (above), do WTL. If you don't know what else to write about, write about your brainstorming for assignment/project topics.
  • If you haven't already, please update your Profile in CourseSite to include a photo.

During class (ppt )

  • Let's go outside! Scaffolded geocache activity
  • Back inside: Debriefing, reviewing, discussing; what are the instructional implications? Things to address
    • Investigating our geo-locating tools. We have a 'dry' tool (the hardware) and a 'wet' tool (our brains), plus organizing frameworks (cardinal directions; equator & PM)
      • How does a GPS work?
      • How did our GPS equate with the popular usage of the term? ("I don't need a map--I have a GPS in my car") 
      • What else can a GPS do?
      • How did we orient ourselves outside? What cues did we use? 
      • Did we think in terms of N/S/E/W or Eq/PM? Did anyone make an 'airplane'?
    • Investigating the display & markup tool (Google Earth): What does that file look like? How did I make it? How can you make one yourself?
    • Extending the activity: Geospatial awareness/skills -> inquiry -> community investigation.
    • Remaining time: Playing with Google Earth
    • And an FYI: What we did was not geocaching, it was a scaffolded geocache. See geocaching.com for the real thing.

After class

  • Reading: Bodzin, Hammond, Carr, & Calario, 2009 (note addition from original coursemap); Hammond & Bodzin, 2009;  Bodzin, 2008
  • Assignments: Do some WTL, and also download and try out AEJEE and MyWorld--URLs are in syllabus and in the class bookmarks list

Session 3- Tuesday, 25 May

Before class

  • Complete reading; download and try out AEJEE and My World (links above); do some WTL
  • Read and respond to a classmate's assignment ideas in their WTL thread.

During class (ppt )

  • Housekeeping
    • Everyone is launched in Moodle -- don't forget to keep up with WTL
    • How is everyone for software?
      • Google Earth
      • AEJEE
      • My World (using trial download)
  • Conceptual work: Getting started in Google Earth, AEJEE, and My World
    • Task framework: LINIQES: Load, interface, navigate, inspect, query, edit, save
    • Google Earth
      • Load
        • Mix of client-side and server-side data.
        • Satellite imagery: What are we looking at? Mix of current and dated material (see imagery date in lower left); it's only as good as "they" let you have (e.g., contrast One Observatory Circle vs. 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW)
        • Layers -- my recommendation is to turn OFF as much as possible. But I do like leaving 3-D buildings on...sometimes turns up fun surprises (for example, Amsterdam!).
        • File > Open to load a .kml or a .kmz. For our demo, we'll use this file that I created for TLT 406. It's interesting b/c it has points, lines, associated images, etc.
      • Interface
        • Sidebar vs. display area vs. toolbar
        • Sidebar on and off
        • Navigation tools on, off, or auto
        • Sidebar fields: Search, My Places, Layers
      • Navigate
        • Search box, or
        • Double-click on an item in a list (Search or My Places)
        • Double-click on any point on the globe to go there.
        • Navigation tools: Tilt/pan, move NSEW, zoom in/out
      • Inspect
        • Single-click to open up info box.
        • Right-click and select "Properties" or "Info" -- gives more access to point/line/polygon data (e.g., lat/lon, URL of any imported images). More importantly, you can EDIT items in this mode (see below)
      • Query
        • Actually, not much we can do here.
        • One thing we can do is measure -- the ruler is handy
        • Other features I can't figure out what they're useful for...but maybe you can: time of day slider, year slider (I imagine this will be fun for tracking construction projects, or perhaps looking at observable environmental impact?)
      • Edit
        • Add something new: either
          • Search for it and then drag it into My Places and work on it, or
          • Click on Add Placemark, Add Polygon, or Add Path.
        • Editing something once it's been created: Open up Properties (or Info) and modify.
      • Save
        • For our purposes: Right-click the item, folder, or file name and "Save Place As"
        • You can also
          • Save out snapshopts
          • Record a tour
          • Move into Google Maps
    • AEJEE - Note that this runs on Java, so it requires a Java Runtime Environment...and some patience.
      • Load
        • All client-side data. We'll start by loading a blend of demo, downloaded, and self-generated data.
          • Loading demo data: File > open > us_hd.axl. (In case you need to browse to this: The file path is ESRI\AEJEE\Data.) What you're looking at: spreadsheets rendered visually. But we'll get to this in "Inspect"
          • Loading online data:
            • Here are files with the streets for Lehigh County streets (.shp; .shx ; .dbf ) and Northampton County streets (.shp , .shx , .dbf ). Download them all to the same folder / location, make sure you know how to find them.
            • Hit the "Add data..." button (between 'Print' and 'Remove layer') and browse to where you stored the data; you should see the .shp files there. Select them and they will become new layers.
          • Here is our scaffolded geocache data as tab-delimited text . Save this file to your machine, then do View > Add Event Theme. Browse to where the .txt file is, select it. BE SURE to specify 'lon' as the X Field, and 'lat' as the Y field.
      • Interface
        • Similar to Google Earth: tools across the top, left-hand layers, main area = display
        • Note importance of layers
          • Turn on/off
          • Re-order (e.g., pull cities layer down in the stack)
      • Navigate: Move about the map in at least three ways
        • Drag the map around
        • Zoom in/out
        • Zoom to full extent or active layer
        • BEWARE getting zoomed in or out too far -- correct using "Zoom to" tools (select layer and then zoom to it)
      • Inspect
        • Identify tool ('i') -- can be hard to use unless you're properly zoomed in.
        • Finder (Binoculars)
          • Try looking in the 'cities' layer for 'Denver'
          • Repeat this for 'San' -- select all the results and look at them on the map. What was expected? What was a surprise?
      • Query
        • Query-builder: Try POP_CLASS = 10. Repeat with POP_CLASS = 9, POP_CLASS >= 9
        • Table of results and displays on map.
      • Edit
        • Modify visuals
          • Right-click cities and select 'Properties'
          • Code cities by POP_CLASS, all one size, use color to differentiate ranks (e.g., red for highest rank -- largest cities -- and green for lowest rank)
          • Right-click states and select 'Properties'
          • Bring up 'Labels' tab and select STATE_NAME
        • Modify data -- all done in spreadsheet editor
          • Add new fields to existing layers: add a column, don't make the new column name more than 10 characters! Save as tab-delimited text
          • Creating new layers: MUST edit outside of AEJEE, bring it in. 
            • Can add point data fairly easily -- just give it a lat and a lon
            • Adding lines or polygons is much trickier. Take a look at the demo files of 10grid_hd.axl and 10gridpn_hd.axl to get a sense of this.
      • Save
        • Saves out as ArcXML (axl) files; viewable in Arc products.
        • HOWEVER: Note that each project file is pretty tiny (just a couple kilobytes) -- they're referencing the REAL data sources, down in the data folders. So if you're trying to move data around, move both the project file and the data sources.
    • My World
      • Load
        • Here, everything is built in: The "Construct" tab is where you assemble your data. You can add your own custom data, but for the moment, just
          • Set the Library to "United States"
          • Pull the following to the "Layer List" column: U.S. States, Counties, Rivers, Major Highways -- whatever you like.
          • To get our geocache data: Do File > Import Layer From File. Browse to wherever you stored the file, and note that this program is a little smarter -- given lat and lon, it recognizes them automatically.
      • Interface: You have the usual menus, but the tabs are the key
        • "Construct" is where you assemble the dataset
        • "Visualize" gets you more screen space and lets you see what's in each data layer. This is also a good place to re-order / re-stack layers, adjust colors, icons, turn layers on/off, etc. (You can do these in "Construct" as well, but you'll have a more cramped screen.)
        • "Analyze" is where you run your queries.
        • "Edit" lets you change your data set or add new layers from your own data.
      • Navigation:
        • The same tools and concepts apply: drag, zoom, zoom-to-active
        • Important new tool: Step forward / step back among views
      • Inspect: You still have an Inspect tool, but you can do a lot more browsing using the records fields to the right.
      • Query
        • This is actually pretty different: The Analyze tab is where you do this, and it's all split out by function. Note that this tool lets you do a lot of math (calculations, graphs) as well as maps. For example: Figure out a series of steps to see if the %age of older persons really is higher in Florida, Arizona, etc. 
        • Another bit of added value: You can save your queries / analyses as new layers. For students, this is VERY handy.
      • Edit
        • Obviously, the Edit tab is the place to be. Double-click on a layer and you can see the spreadsheet, add new records (entries) or new fields (characteristics to existing records).
        • You can make an entirely new layer (points, lines, polygons, etc.) by clicking the "Create A New, Empty Layer" button (the sheet-of-paper looking thing)
      • Save
        • The important thing here is to do "Save Project As..." to preserve (a) the integrity of the original data, and (b) whatever changes / analyses you've made.
  • Closure

After class

  • Reading
    • Doering & Veletsianos, 2007
    • Edelson, 2004 (intro to My World design concepts -- just skim)
  • Assignments
    • Work on Google Earth assignment
      • If you need help, correspond with one another, look at Google's help docs, and look at online communities. Email me after you've tried these other tactics.
      • To see what I've tagged in our bookmark list about GoogleEarth:delicious.com/tchammond/tlt394+GoogleEarth
    • Do some WTL

Session 4 - Thursday, 27 May

Before class

  • Do the reading, do a WTL post
  • Fiddle around with Google Earth and AEJEE and/or My World. Your longterm goal is to get to work on your project, but your intermediate goal is to get comfy (enough) with the tools, to develop your schema of what the tools can (and can't) do and lower your cognitive load when it comes to the procedures you'll need when working on your project (e.g., loading data, arranging visualizations, do queries/analyses, saving and re-opening projects, etc.)

During class (ppt )

  • Anyone doing anything interesting with their GPS unit? Any interesting fiddling with Google Earth, AEJEE, or My World? It's quiet in the 'Help Me!' forum and that means that either you're getting along swimmingly or you're not digging into things.
  • Meetings to discuss assignments, project: We will do these next Tuesday; sign up for a time slot , please.
  • I want more data! Finding data online . Raw data example: census.gov's MAF/TIGER database; processed data example: UIC's Bringing Historical Data Alive .
  • Instruction with GIS: Essential concept of scaffolding
  • Instruction with GIS: Examples
    • Example #1 (I'll demo): Pre-Civil War census data selections in AEJEE. If you want to play along, files = states.shp / .shx / .dbf / .prj / .sbn / .sbx / shp.xml ; census_1790-1860.shp / .shx / .dbf
    • Example #2 (you'll work on this solo or in pairs): The Great Migration via My World. You'll need the project file (uic.edu/educ/bctpi/historyGIS/greatmigration/GreatMigrationV42.m3vz ); note that there has been some weirdness in the past about how to get this. You may have to download it, open My World, then from inside My World do a File > Open. 
      • Question to answer in your WTL thread: Agree with, disagree with, and/or qualify the following definition: "Great Migration n. the large-scale movement of African Americans from the South to Northern cities in the early 20th Century" (Danzer, Klor de Alva, Krieger, Wilson, & Woloch, 2008, The Americans: Reconstruction to the 21st Century, p. R58)
      • Essential affordance: Screenshots! --Please include one in your WTL posting. For tips on how to do them, see the 'Help Me!' Forum.
  • Assignment discussion

After class

  • Reading
    • Shin, 2006
    • Edelson, Smith, & Brown, 2008
  • Assignments
    • Complete proof-of-concept Google Earth markup assignment
    • Starting thinking about GIS dataset assignment
    • WTL

Session 5 - Tuesday, 1 June

Meeting schedule

  • 1:00-1:20 Jeff
  • 1:20-1:40 Richard
  • 1:40-2:00 Japera
  • 2:00-2:20 Ann
  • 2:20-2:40 Julie
  • 2:40-3:00 Bob
  • 3:00-3:20 Yuanyuan
  • 3:20-3:40 Paul
  • 3:40-4:00 Joanna

Session 6 - Thursday, 3 June

Before class

  • Submit any changes to your Google Docs assignment
  • Do reading
  • Do WTL
  • Think about / work on GIS assignment and final project. I hope these are one-and-the-same, but they don't have to be.

During class (ppt )

  • Housekeeping: Next week = guest speaker on Tues, going outside on Thurs
  • (Geo-)spatial thinking
    • What is spatial thinking?
    • Looking at historical examples of spatial thinking in action
    • Challenges of spatial thinking: scale, misassignment of significance
    • Spatial tools: I'll be using VisualThesaurus , GapMinder , and VisEyes .
    • Spatial skills -- I'm going to be referencing Gersmehl & Gersmehl, 2006 (uploaded to CourseSite) and teachspatial.org, if you want to explore further.

After class

  • Skim NRC, 2008, Ch. 3-5. It's an online text, start here .
  • WTL -- get in the habit of including screen shots of what you're working on / looking at!
  • Work on GIS assignment

Session 7 - Tuesday, 8 June

Special session: Presentation by Doug Scott, ES / TLT 394 Emeritus. Some links to Doug's work to be cited during the presentation

Session 8 - Thursday, 10 June

Before class: Work on GIS assignment. Continue reading in NRC, 2008.

During class (ppt )

  • Housekeeping:
    • I'm still getting caught up on grading for my other class; your Google Earth assignments are (unfortunately) behind that.
    • How are things looking on the GIS dataset assignment? Does anyone need until next Thursday to turn it in?
  • Pedagogical stances: Inquiry v. didacticism; geospatial tools and inquiry
    • Doing it for ourselves: Rocket activity
    • Discussion of pedagogy / role of inquiry
    • Doing it with K-12 instructional materials: Energy analysis activity from Bodzin's energy unit (sweet pic on the opening page, btw). We'll be looking at just 3 out of 33 days of instruction
      • solar energy-we'll do the 'Where is the best place to locate a new solar plant?' activity-just the 2nd day.
      • fossil fuels--we'll do the natural gas lesson.
      • culminating activity: energy policy. (We're not doing this, just looking at it.)
    • De-brief. How does this connect to policy work or public awareness campaigns?
    • Interesting new context: Augmented reality

After class

  • Assignments: WTL; Finish GIS dataset assignment, upload to CourseSite
  • Reading: Dunleavy, Dede, & Mitchell, 2009

Session 9 - Tuesday, 15 June

Before class

  • Complete GIS assignment, turn in. If you need until Thursday: Email me please!
  • Read Dunleavy, Dede, & Mitchell, 2009 (augmented reality), so some WTL

During class (ppt )

  • Housekeeping
  • Conceptual work: Talking about maps, in four passes
    • Quickie overview of visual design
      • ...apologies for repeating items from TLT 406, but they're necessary stage-setters
      • To discuss correlation vs. causation, in addition to Snow's cholera map, I'm lifting a map from this article about maps and advocacy in The Economist.
    • Map design issues, examples
    • Warming up to maps and advocacy
      • Examples of (causal-use) geospatial / visualization tools, examples
        • NYTimes' visuals to summarize World Cup games. Example: England-US, 12 June 2010 .
        • Flickr
          • flickr.com/map -- more than 80 million geotagged images! (Warning--this thing tends to crash my browser. I'm using Firefox, so perhaps try something else?)
          • Example of a group's pooled images placed on a map: Islam group's map.
        • Playing with space and time: animation of immigration, 1820-2007 (note that there ARE bugs/errors in this thing)
        • Playing around with unconvention uses of data: "Seven Deadly Sins"visualizations from KSU (can also get the dataset and documentation from same site).
      • Playing with perception
    • Examples of maps used in advocacy

After class

  • Sign up for Thursday meeting, and don't forget that the 1:00-1:20 slot is saved for Japera's presentation.
  • No reading
  • Assignments: If you haven't already, complete the GIS assignment and turn it in. Prep for Thursday meeting by working on final project. Can you come with a mock-up of some visuals?

Session 10 - Thursday, 17 June

During class: Japera presents

Meeting times

  • 1:20-1:40 = Jeff S.
  • 1:40-2:00 = Richard A.
  • 2:00-2:20 = Yuanyuan Z.
  • 2:20-2:40 = Julie E.
  • 2:40-3:00 = Ann B.
  • 3:00-3:20 = Bob K.
  • 3:20-3:40 = Paul F.

Session 11 - Tuesday, 22 June

Presentations

  • Jeff S.
  • Richard A.
  • Yuanyuan Z.
  • Joanna C.

Session 12 - Thursday, 24 June

Presentations

  • Julie E.
  • Ann B.
  • Bob K.
  • Paul F.

Wrapping up:

  • Final work due Friday. If you need more time, ask for it.
  • Course evaluations: Paper form (volunteer?) plus this anonymous webform . 
  • Graduation exercise!

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