ACS Symposium, Southwestern University

(These are notes I took during presentations, mostly phrases that went by and seemed especially evocative or eloquent. I've bolded those that seemed most significant to me. At the end are unconsolidated notes on the plenary discussions.)

Dave Bowne, U Richmond: Core Concepts

syllabi from GIS-teaching courses: a survey of 3 places: Davidson Biology/Anthro, Richmond Env Stud/Geog, Geology, Pol Sci, W&L Geology

promote "proper use" of GIS

personnel the "most essential" element

[in geography, 'large scale' means small area... in ecology, the reverse]

John Bienvenu, Rhodes: project-based GIS in an interdisciplinary course

A 1-credit course, 1 1/2 hours/week

managing 7 profs in 9 weeks... an interesting challenge in academic accounting and continuity

visiting lecturer with a specific project, showing the powers of GIS in practical apps

Mark Rush and John Blackburn, W&L: Redistricting

inspiration was the redistricting controversy, the possibility of getting and using data

hornet's nest of potentially litigatable issues

students active in learning, working with real data

network, bandwidth, storage and access issues forced into a lab setting

HOW to get data-intensive computing into classrooms?

support and logistics challenges --how can we iron out, leverage data preparation and othe issues?

look for synergies between research area and teaching opportunity

success is a terrible thing... so handling demand one creates is an issue.

Christine Drennon, Trinity: urban studies

8 students recruited, Mike Kaminski was at CET course

problem-based environment

Mayor's office: proposal for southern-side development by creating new school district, carved out of existing districts (little kingdoms) --how to configure it?

center the problem, not the technology: students came to realize the skills they needed, and connected to REAL issues of local politics, getting students OUT into the community they'd otherwise be isolated from

people buy houses by which school districts they're in; more ethnic distinction between than within districts;

GIS revealed to meet student questions... identify data... then THEY start to ask how to analyze data.

you're telling a STORY...

? how much of the San Antonio data is digital, and how much does the Library do with managing and collecting digital data? (seem to be moving toward "GIS data clearinghouse" notion)

infrastructure for Info Commons... but not really clear to administrators what the upshot will be.

Larry Blumer, Morehouse: GIS in case study learning

context, not GIS per se: GIS as a TOOL but not the center of the course

case studies as stories, narratives, framed to suit the teaching situation: problem, dilemma, decision to be made. Students become engaged with the story, and become active learners

lecturing makes people passive... we need to put ourselves more into the background. Cases provide real-world context in a completely artificial surroundings of the university. Cases get you right to the issue. And a good frame for collaboration on group projects. Instructors as guides.

www.bioquest.org/lifelines for examples of effective cases

just another tool, in this case to deal with environmental injustice and racism. facstaff.morehouse.edu/~lblumer

what do you know? what do you [think you] need to know, in order to pursue the case?

looking at relationships of things like polluting industries, childhood cancer, etc... making the map is not the goal.

objective is to get a flavor, a sense for what can be done, maybe shake some preconceptions

Larry is doing this as overload... yet another freewill offering...

Jon Evans, Sewanee: Pulse of the South Project (using GIS to track environmental and social change in the South)
a means to integrate ACS... sampling points of unique landscapes... generate information for the use of decision-makers... 50-mile radius, standardized basic GIS coverages for each campus... add special coverages (public lands, urban planning areas, others...) Research institutions CAN'T do it... we are the ones who can skip over the disciplinary boundaries. We have the capacity to do this... GIs as cement

Carol Ekstrom, Rhodes: Campus Community and GIS

team of faculty, relentless and indefatigable, fortnightly meeting to strategize. Mission Statement stressing interdisciplinarity; teaching, research (including staff and students), service, tangible product. Guerrilla activity.

GIS Day 20 Nov to showcase projects

new strategy: get beyond the campus for funds, to get the whole campus involved. IF grant via ACS: cross-campus seminar. kudzu, admissions, groundwater examples, then enrolling 18 faculty/staff participants --stipend, GIS Help Desk 8 hrs/wk

examples: state health records, community theater potential patrons, soils of Napa Valley... presented at 2nd annual GIS Day open house

Took the seminar to Millsaps, which is taking up the model.

9 in interdisciplinary group, and a bunch more showing interest. Getting more decanal interest, $$ for a workshop, georeferencing historic maps

licenses and data-acquisition being picked up, various offices getting interested, and community projects beginning. Almost to the point of being institutionalized. Work-study GIS support essential. Expand student research possibilities. Modules? other forms of collaborative projects...

David Bowne, Richmond: University in the Community

local non-profits Pat's idea: Jesse Ball duPont grant to hire GIS specialist to offer instruction to community (part of the connection to community that UR has had for years) --none of the money allowed to be used for "active lobbying"

www.connectrichmond.org information clearinghouse

"offer instruction"? (1) GIS primers/info sessions (2) training sessions, short and then one-day (40 attendees so far) (3) project pre-configured

team faculty and students with non-profits, to connect with on-campus GIS resources. 3 faculty-NPO collaborations now underway --wanted to have more

DataShare Richmond, aiming to create data warehouse/clearinghouse

Bob Churchill, Middlebury: Supporting GIS in the Liberal Arts

Why don't you take my camel?

NITLE last summer 2 1-week courses, and one here

NOT software courses: emphasize concepts, not products

various exercises in the courses, across a broad range if subjects --scripted exercises took far too long to create

One size simply doesn't and can't fit all.

Ann Knowles' book?

More introductory short courses? Disciplinary-focused advanced courses? Work on projects at some center? Train the Trainers workshops?

tremendous value in pedagogy... but how to DO it? "Too innovative..." says the granting agency

looking at substantive problems and community issues

At Middlebury, grant-funded summer internship programs produced hardware and other support

at some places GIS becomes part of the local turf battles

So WHERE does it go, this GIS?

Who pays for licenses? Where's the plotter? Who pays the staffing costs?

Work-study students

Information Commons, where that model is being implemented

Stats model might be the most natural for developing and housing --John notes that faculty take a lot of responsibility for that model, and that's going to have to happen with GIS. The downside is that a large-scale project across schools doesn't have a central point for contact... who's the Gis Guy? Designate GIS Fellow at each institution

BASIC support structure needs to be clear, and clear to all players

Ann Johnson, ESRI

It sounds like we could get 24 copies via ACS site license.

Pulse of the South desiderata: LAYERS

Obvious coverages
free SPOT images 20x20 km
basic census (long-form census data for 2000: $1500)
every campus with a CD local atlas
(start out simple, manageable, accessible)
local, regional, state government data
hire somebody to CREATE the basic data for 16 schools?
centered on environmental issues?
what is happening out there that we need to make a CASE for?
land use inventory
good pedagogical models for students driving the definition --liberal arts
what faculty are locally researching
call for contributors
standardizing the metadata standards
can always search thematically... it's a database
the protocols, the metadata need to be standardized
tie into course development? (so not necessarily the same contents in the CD)
undergraduate research focus
changes as focus: snapshots updated (Pulse)
for an institution to be involved, $ had to flow to, to do certain set of things.
IS there really interest in doing this kind of study-surroundings?
funding GIS fellows to TAKE the initiative, one for each institution
local coordinator, point person
collaborate on specialty layers
student internships to be funded for summer data creation
could there be an ACS GIS blog to handle the continuing conversations?
the recurring theme is SHARING
central clearinghouse for links to many different kinds of sharing -syllabi, etc
scoping document the first thing to do
(Deans prioritize)
Steering Committee: John Fraser, Hugh, Jon Evans, Suzanne, Pat Shoknecht, Elizabeth as ex officio