Teaching Geographic Information Science and Technology in Higher Education

by Unwin, David; Tate, Nicholas; Foote , Kenneth; DiBiase, David

• ISBN13: 9780470748565
• ISBN10: 0470748567
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2011-12-30
• Publisher: Wiley

Summary

Geographic Information Science (GISc&T) has been at the forefront of education innovation in geography and allied sciences for two decades. Teaching Geographic Information Science and Technology in Higher Education is an invaluable reference for educators and researchers working in GISc and Technology providing coverage of the latest innovations in the field and discussion of what the future holds for GI Science education in the years to come. Stemming initially from the challenges and opportunities of integrating advanced GISc&T technologies into existing college and university programs, GISc&T scientists were soon leading the way in the development of web-based instructional materials, distance education, professional training and certification. This book clearly documents these innovations and takes stock of lessons learned. The content will be of interest to both educators and researchers working in GISc&T as well as educators in other disciplines. More importantly, this book also anticipates some of the opportunities and challenges in GISc&T education in the next decade. As such it will be of interest to chairs, deans, administrators, faculty in other subfields, and educators in general. The book is edited by arguably the top people in the field who bring a wealth of experience through their own teaching and research in the subject. There is simply no other book on the market and as a result of the Editors standing in the field, they are able to invite contributions from a broad range of academics in a range of institutional settings from an international perspective at all levels of higher education.

Author Biography

David Unwin and Nicholas Tate are the authors of Teaching Geographic Information Science and Technology in Higher Education, published by Wiley.

Table of Contents

About the editors	p. ix
List of contributors	p. xi
Foreword	p. xv
Editors' preface	p. xvii
Gis&t in the Academic Curriculum - Introduction	p. 1
GIS&T in higher education: challenges for educators, opportunities for education	p. 3
Making the case for GIS&T in higher education	p. 17
The internationalization of Esri higher education support, 1992-2009	p. 37
Reflections on curriculum development in the US and abroad: from core curriculum to body of knowledge	p. 47
Issues in Curriculum and Course Design	p. 61
Using the GIS&T Body of Knowledge for curriculum design: different design for different contexts	p. 63
Scope and sequence in GIS&T education: learning theory, learning cycles and spiral curricula	p. 81
Building dynamic, ontology-based alternative paths for GIS&T curricula	p. 97
Addressing misconceptions, threshold concepts, and troublesome knowledge in GIScience education	p. 117
Active pedagogy leading to deeper learning: fostering metacognition and infusing active learning into the GIS&T classroom	p. 133
Where to begin? Getting started teaching GIS&T	p. 145
Issues in curriculum and course design: discussion and prospect	p. 159
Perspectives on Teaching Gis&t	p. 165
The University of Minnesota master of geographic information science (MGIS) program: a decade of experience in professional education	p. 167
Geospatial education at US community colleges	p. 185
The GIS Professional Ethics project: practical ethics for GIS professionals	p. 199
An exploration of spatial thinking in introductory GIS courses	p. 211
Teaching spatial literacy and spatial technologies in the digital humanities	p. 231
Discussion and prospect	p. 247
Digital Worlds and Teaching Gis&T	p. 255
Virtual geographic environments	p. 257
Using web-based GIS and virtual globes in undergraduate education	p. 289
Trying to build a wind farm in a national park: experiences of a geocollaboration experiment in Second Life	p. 301
From location-based services to location-based learning: challenges and opportunities for higher education	p. 327
GIS is dead, long live GIS&T: an educational commentary on the opening of Pandora's Box	p. 345
Distance and E-Learning	p. 359
Media and communications systems in cartographic education	p. 361
UNIGIS - networked learning over a distance	p. 383
The Esri Virtual Campus	p. 395
Delivering GIScience education via blended learning: the GITTA experience	p. 405
GIS&T in the open educational resources movement	p. 421
Experiences in 'e' and 'distance-' learning: a personal account	p. 439
Conclusion	p. 451
Ways forward for GIS&T education	p. 453
Index	p. 469
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