Community Service with Web-Based Geographic Information Science and Technology (GIST): Blended Pedagogies for the Twenty-First Century
Submission Type
20-minute Presentation
Abstract
This past year a team of technoacademics from the Five Colleges joined together to design, build, and implement a new course on Web-based geographic information science and technology (GIST). As is common with many GIS courses students formed small teams that worked on different projects. The projects were service-oriented, producing Web sites and interactive maps that benefited our institutions and other community organizations, and interdisciplinary, running the gamut from the geological to the conservational to the sociopolitical. Blended learning was a foundation of the course, with most materials provided online, and before class students were expected to review it, work exercises, and answer quiz questions. Once in class they actively applied what they learned to real data sets relevant to their projects, where their efforts were not so clear-cut and needed more hands-on support. As a result the course on most days was “flipped” or “workshopped”. The course also had an explicit focus on open learning, relying on open-source technology, open data sets, and openly licensed content written by ourselves or others.
Session
Mapping & Digital Projects, Presentation
Start Date
5-18-2016 2:00 PM
End Date
5-18-2016 3:15 PM
Community Service with Web-Based Geographic Information Science and Technology (GIST): Blended Pedagogies for the Twenty-First Century
This past year a team of technoacademics from the Five Colleges joined together to design, build, and implement a new course on Web-based geographic information science and technology (GIST). As is common with many GIS courses students formed small teams that worked on different projects. The projects were service-oriented, producing Web sites and interactive maps that benefited our institutions and other community organizations, and interdisciplinary, running the gamut from the geological to the conservational to the sociopolitical. Blended learning was a foundation of the course, with most materials provided online, and before class students were expected to review it, work exercises, and answer quiz questions. Once in class they actively applied what they learned to real data sets relevant to their projects, where their efforts were not so clear-cut and needed more hands-on support. As a result the course on most days was “flipped” or “workshopped”. The course also had an explicit focus on open learning, relying on open-source technology, open data sets, and openly licensed content written by ourselves or others.