Geospatial technologies are central to our daily lives and play an important role in the research of the natural and agricultural sciences. Spatial data and the technology to analyze that data is a central point for modern science. Because the audience will be primarily students from the natural and agricultural sciences, course topics will focus on data sources and analyses most applicable to work in those fields. This course surveys the broad spectrum of geospatial technologies and the concepts behind how they work, which is essential for better understanding how these technologies are impacting our daily life and can serve as a foundation for other GIS courses on campus to build upon. This course begins to fill the need identified in the hiring of our faculty positions in providing geospatial competencies to the students in these respective programs.
Fall Syllabus / Summer Syllabus
Credit Hours: 3
Semesters Offered: Spring
Prerequisites: none
Course outcomes:
By the conclusion of the course, students will be able to:
- Understand the fundamentals of working with spatial data.
- Be familiar with various spatial data types and methods of collecting, storing, displaying, and analyzing spatial information.
- Demonstrate how geospatial tools can be applied to problem-solving scenarios in a variety of natural and agricultural science disciplines.
- Be aware of the advantages of viewing the world with a geographic perspective and be able to describe how spatial thinking can contribute to problem-solving.
- Competently work in a profession reliant on geospatial technology.
- Be prepared to take in-depth courses utilizing geographic information science.
Assessment plans:
Thirteen graded lab exercises will walk students through examples of working with geospatial data and analysis. Two exams will then test the students’ comprehension and retention of key concepts.