Education - All Points Blog

Students Prep for Dam Failure and other Education GIS Tidbits

Adena Schutzberg — Thu, 24 May 2012 03:55:04 -0500

Students from Indian Hills Community College [Iowa] Geo-spatial Technology class worked with the Army Corps of Engineers at Red Rock. The group made six maps utilizing data from the Corps of Engineers, Mahaska County GIS Coordinator Brian Knudtson, along with data from the Iowa Geological Survey of the Iowa Dept of Natural Resources. The purpose of the maps was to help better...

Presentations Can Make Great Sessions, But so Can Good Questions! #LI12

Adena Schutzberg — Tue, 22 May 2012 10:42:37 -0500

I've been moderating sessions today at the Location Intelligence Conference. I'm very pleased all my speakers have stayed within their time; it makes my life so much easier. It also means we have time for a good number of questions. The session on Embedded Geospatial Capabilities in Enterprise Computing and BI Solutions included presentations on how the FCC implemented its...

GITA Cancels Oil and Gas Conference; Board Examining Future of Organization

Adena Schutzberg — Fri, 18 May 2012 12:30:35 -0500

The GITA website explains that its Oil and Gas Pipeline Conference, set for Oct 22-24 in Houston, has been cancelled. This would have been the 21st iteration of the event. The website text goes on to note the status of the organization is unclear: The GITA Board of Directors is meeting in the near future to discuss what the future holds for the association. More information...

Three Geographers Recognized as Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science

Adena Schutzberg — Thu, 17 May 2012 08:04:02 -0500

Peter Rogerson (State University of New York at Buffalo), John Kelmelis (Penn State University) and Daniel A. Griffith (University of Texas at Dallas) were recognized as 2011 Fellows by their peers for their scientifically or socially distinguished efforts to advance science or its applications. Special shoutout to John, one of my grad school officemates back in the day. - AAG...

Matchmaking for Higher Ed GIS Students and other Education GIS News

Adena Schutzberg — Wed, 16 May 2012 03:00:04 -0500

EduContribution is a non-profit hoping to link up students with knowhow and non-profits with GIS needs (Directions Magazine coverage). The organization is looking for graduate students for a pilot project that will match them with a non-profit. The student will perform the work as part of a thesis requirement for a degree program. - press release The Floating Sensor Network...

Two Geographers Among National Geographics’ 15 Emerging Explorers

Adena Schutzberg — Tue, 15 May 2012 12:12:46 -0500

There are many innovative and interesting people in the list of 15 people in the 2012 class of Emerging Explorers (11 men, 4 women for those counting). Each receives a $10,000 grant from National Geographic. I was happy to recognize two names with which I've become very familiar. Patrick Meier (Ph.D.) pioneers the lifesaving new field of crisis mapping and makes it available,...

Summer Ushahidi Course and other Education GIS News

Adena Schutzberg — Tue, 15 May 2012 04:39:59 -0500

Ushahidi: Frameworks for Effective Platform Management is a four-week, online course from TechChange, running this summer from June 4th – 29th. What has us most excited about this course is our approach toward one the highest-profile and most utilized programs in the current generation of ICT4D tools. Working closely with Patrick Meier, Ushahidi’s Director of Crisis Mapping and...

Tell a MrSid Story for its 20th Anniversary and other GIS Competitions

Adena Schutzberg — Tue, 15 May 2012 03:00:43 -0500

LizardTech is celebrating the 20th anniversary of the MrSID imagery format: We'll be hosting events throughout the year to celebrate MrSID's 20th anniversary. In the meantime, we’re holding a contest, inviting people like you – in fact, you – to say a word or two about how MrSID has come to their rescue. Send us your recollection or tribute at celebrate@lizardtech.com by July...

Kickstarter: Zombie Based Geography Education

Adena Schutzberg — Sat, 12 May 2012 02:48:58 -0500

Update: fully funded as of 5/11/12. Next goal is being considered. --- original post 5/10/12 --- Aimed at 5-8th graders, David Hunter of Seattle's project involves a curriculum based on a Zombie Apocalypse. He's NOT a geographer but seems to have done his homework. He's looking for $5000 by June 1 with about $2000 funded by 72 backers as I post this. The intro video is below;...

Wednesday is National Bike to School Day

Adena Schutzberg — Tue, 08 May 2012 03:51:32 -0500

The National Center for Safe Routes to School and the League of American Bicyclists are behind the first-ever National Bike to School Day on May 9, 2012. There have been local and regional efforts in the past to celebrate a day of young people pedaling to school, but this is the first nationwide event. It's a spin off of Walk to School Day (that was every day of my K-12...

Best of the Road and other GIS Competitions

Adena Schutzberg — Tue, 08 May 2012 03:00:33 -0500

Rand McNally and USA Today are taking votes in the Best of the Road Contest. Rand McNally and USA TODAY's second annual search for the Best Small Towns in America has begun! Voting ends May 15 so learn more to get started. You can also submit a video to be part of a team in the 2012 Road Rally (RM only sponsors that). I found the website kind of confusing with so many...

ESL Students Learn and Teach GPS and other Education GIS News

Adena Schutzberg — Mon, 07 May 2012 03:00:28 -0500

Teaching high school stduents and elementary students about GPS and having them use it to make maps is not a new idea. What is new in Urbana, IL is that the older students are teaching the younger ones. And, both groups are English as a second language students and the teaching and learning is occurring in English. My head spins considering how much learning could be going on in...

Teacher Seminars on Climate Change and Health and other Education GIS News

Adena Schutzberg — Thu, 03 May 2012 05:01:16 -0500

This summer, IAGT and CIESIN are offering two opportunities for high school teachers and educators to learn how they can get their students to explore the impacts of climate change on human health. During these two Institutes, educators will use a geographic information system (GIS) called CHANGE Viewer, developed from NASA World Wind, to explore how a change in climate will...

AAG Grants for Geography Career Outreach and other Education GIS News

Adena Schutzberg — Wed, 02 May 2012 03:00:56 -0500

The AAG, through the Enhancing Departments and Graduate Education (EDGE) project funded by NSF, announces a grant program to support outreach, professional training, and related activities aimed at improving [student] awareness of and preparation for business, government, and nonprofit careers in geography. Twenty-four awards of $500 are available and will be granted on a...

AAG’s International Encyclopedia of Geography and other Crowdsourcing GIS News

Adena Schutzberg — Tue, 01 May 2012 05:27:08 -0500

The AAG has announced that the Association of American Geographers (AAG) will undertake one of the most ambitious and potentially far-reaching publication projects in the recent history of the fields of geography and GIScience. This will be a 15-volume work, to be published both in hard copy and online, tentatively entitledThe International Encyclopedia of Geography: People,...

Sensing Pollution During the Olympics and other Education GIS News

Adena Schutzberg — Tue, 01 May 2012 04:16:01 -0500

The 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games are expected to draw 11m visitors from around the world to the UK's capital for seven weeks, and 3m extra car journeys are anticipated on the busiest day. The team of researchers [from the University of Leicester] will use their CityScan technology, which gathers scattered sunlight to scan whole cities and take readings of air quality, to...

NOLAYouthMap and other Education GIS News

Adena Schutzberg — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 03:33:27 -0500

NOLAYouthMap.org is a new project from the Partnership for Youth Development, a local nonprofit that works with the full spectrum of after-school and summer programs in the metro area, helping them provide better experiences for local kids. Eric Jensen is the group’s director of youth engagement, and he says NOLAYouthMap.org started as an effort to connect young people and...

NY State Regents Consider Dropping Required Geography Exam and other Education GIS News

Adena Schutzberg — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 03:34:49 -0500

The Board of Regents next week will consider state Education Department recommendations to make the global history and geography exam optional. Instead, students could take an additional math, science or vocational exam, starting with freshmen who enter high school in 2013. Why? To focus on STEM topics that relate to jobs. Historians are noted as complaining, but no...

Most Connected College Student in Philly and other GIS Competitions

Adena Schutzberg — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 04:13:29 -0500

Interact, a new geospatial social discovery application, is, first and foremost, about making connections. To prove it, the application is scheduled to officially launch on Monday (4/23) and by Thursday Interact found Anthony Coombs, 32, will be giving away an iPad to the most connected college student out of five Philadelphia universities. Yes, it's another of those "find...

Recirculating Farm Map and other Earth Day GIS News

Adena Schutzberg — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 03:15:30 -0500

The Recirculating Farm Coalition announced a recirculatingfarms.org of such farms for Earth Day. Too bad the press release didn't include a link to it. I found it though on the website. What's a recirculating farm? It uses no soil to grow plants or fish (or both) and is generally environmentally friendly. - press release The Chicago Tribune used Earth Day to highlight NASA...

Academic Appointed to Alabama Geographic Info Council and other Education GIS News

Adena Schutzberg — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 03:00:43 -0500

[Alabama]Gov. Robert Bentley has appointed Terry Winemiller, an associate professor of anthropology and geography at Auburn University at Montgomery, to the Alabama Geographic Information Advisory Committee. Winemiller is the only higher education representative on the board. - Montgomery Advertiser Google will host two Google Geo Teachers Institutes in Europe this summer:...

Geography Educators Visit DC Today to Support TGIF

Adena Schutzberg — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 05:28:02 -0500

Apparently, a group of educators is visiting Washington DC today to encourage passage of the Teaching Geography is Fundamental Act (TGIF) to fund geographic education. How do I know? Today, I will join educators from around the country in Washington, D.C., with one mission: urging Congress to pass the Teaching Geography is Fundamental Act to ensure that America's children are...

Towson Gets NSDI Grants and other Education GIS News

Adena Schutzberg — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 03:00:24 -0500

The Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) has awarded Towson University’s Center for GIS (CGIS) two National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI) cooperative agreement grants. The grants are intended to enhance the accessibility and delivery of geospatial data and services in Maryland. CGIS has been helping government, businesses, and non-profits gain cost-effective access to...

MapStory.org Soft Launches

Adena Schutzberg — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 09:08:29 -0500

I got a preview of MapStory.org (or is it Mapstory - the site has it both ways) last week at FOSS4GNA. It was scheduled to launch last Thursday and is now up an running. What is it? There is no "about" page, so I can only tell you what I think it is. It's a platform for collecting datasets (StoryLayers), amd MapStories (animaged maps of these datasets over times). The intro video...

Guardian Datablog Learns about Selecting Colors for Choropleth Maps

Adena Schutzberg — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 04:51:45 -0500

It came up this week with this map on poverty and deprivation in London, part of our London: the data series. Recently we've been using the colour scale on the map below, which is a variation on the famous traffic light collection of colours - for the Guardian, this tends to go from green, meaning good, or low - up to red, meaning bad or high. It's used by map makers and...

Univ of Georgia Geography Prof in Princeton List and other Education GIS News

Adena Schutzberg — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 04:01:19 -0500

University of Georgia's John Knox, an associate professor of geography is among the best undergraduate teachers in the nation, according to the Princeton Review and RateMyProfessors.com. He's a physical geographer. - press release via @theaag The GIS Mapping Replication and Expansion Project, a unique partnership between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and 4-H, was...

Students Build City Basemap and other Government GIS News

Adena Schutzberg — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 03:00:45 -0500

A pair of California State University Stanislaus students are conducting the mapping project for the city as interns, using equipment on loan to Newman from Stanislaus County. There is no word if they or the school is getting paid. - WestSideConnect.com Allen County will abolish most fees previously charged for county maps and will join 85 other counties participating...

Australian e-Learning Project and other Education GIS News

Adena Schutzberg — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 03:00:15 -0500

A pilot project is underway to boost entrants into the spatial information industry and raise skill levels for technicians through greater use of e-learning in the vocational education and training sector. The project has been supported through co-investment of $100,000 from the Australian Government’s National VET E-Learning Strategy, backing over $260,000 in...

Remarks delivered by Ambassador Betty King at the GIS Conference

Adena Schutzberg — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 03:00:16 -0500

UN Ambassador Betty King spoke to the conference “Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for the United Nations and the International Community”organized by UNITAR’s operational Satellite Application Programme (UNOSAT) and Esri, at the WMO in Geneva, Switzerland April 3-5. It's very rah, rah GIS and includes a few specific exmaples of GIS use and a nod to STEM education. - U.S...

Diploma Boot Camp and other Education GIS News

Adena Schutzberg — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 04:57:23 -0500

The College of the North Atlantic's GIS diploma (campuses in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada has a bit of a twist I've not seen in parallel U.S. certificate programs. The diploma involves two semesters of class work followed by eight weeks of hands-on project experience in order to gain practical skills in the field. Initially, students go through a five day boot...