Karen Kemp, NCGIA, Santa Barbara
In 1988, the National Center for Geographic Information and Analysis (NCGIA) was established by the US National Science Foundation to conduct basic research in GIS as well as to initiate projects designed to enhance the quality of GIS education. During the 1988-89 school year, with the assistance of GIS educators in the US, Canada and the UK, the NCGIA developed a comprehensive set of lecture notes intended to identify and describe a core set of knowledge about GIS that should be taught to beginning GIS professionals. During the following year, over 100 higher education institutions around the world used the materials in their GIS courses and provided thorough evaluation of the contents and structure. Based on this detailed review, the materials were extensively revised and the final version was ready for distribution in August 1990. Now 6 years later, the Core Curriculum continues to be recognized as a landmark in the evolution of GIS education. Over 1400 copies have been distributed by the NCGIA. National distribution sites distribute additional copies in 14 other countries and it has been translated into French, Russian, Japanese, Chinese and Hungarian. This paper reviews the aims of the original Core Curriculum project, its development process and its long-term impacts on GIS education.For more information see http://www.ncgia.ucsb.edu/pubs/core.html.
Karen K. Kemp
National Center for Geographic Information and Analysis
University of California
Santa Barbara, CA 93106-4060
email: kemp@ncgia.ucsb.edu
Karen Kline, Remote Sensing Research Unit, UCSB
The "Remote Sensing Core Curriculum" sponsored by NASA's Mission to Planet Earth, developed as an outgrowth of the NCGIA GIS core Curriculum and research Initiative #12 titled "Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Systems". The American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS) has accepted this national collegiate curriculum project as an education initiative to be administered from the association's Bethesda, Maryland offices. The project will continue to produce university-level educational materials to advance broad-based scientific understanding of the field of remote sensing. The large target audience community includes environmental engineers and scientists, resource planners and managers, and geographers in colleges and universities nationally and internationally. At a time of rapidly increasing types of sensors and satellite platforms, an urgent need exists for developing educational materials stressing the integration of remote sensing, GPS, and geographic information systems. A network of expert researchers and educators, specializing in key areas of remote sensing, are creating a series of lecture material outlines, exercises to build on theory and technique, and applications encompassing a robust set of real-world applications. All educational materials will be distributed via World-Wide Web, CD-ROM, and hardcopy formats. Internet technology enabling rapid updating of educational materials has shifted the core curriculum design to maintain timely links with the most current research advances in remote sensing technology.For more information, see http://research.umbc.edu/~tbenja1/index.html.
Karen Kline and John Estes
Remote Sensing Research Unit
University of California
Santa Barbara, California 93106-4060
Phone: 805-893-3845
email: kline@geog.ucsb.edu
Timothy W. Foresman
Department of Geography
University of Maryland Baltimore County
Baltimore, Maryland 21228-5398
Phone: 410-455-3847
Karen Kemp, NCGIA, UCSB
Given the continuing demand for copies of the original 1990 NCGIA Core Curriculum in GIS, NCGIA has decided that a major revision is warranted. While it was initially felt that widespread diffusion of the original set of lecture materials would eventually make the Curriculum redundant, it is apparent that the continued rapid development of the technology and the awakening of the concept of geographic information science continues to make such materials of value. This time, the Curriculum will be developed and distributed over the Internet. Using the World Wide Web (WWW) as the main distribution channel has many advantages, including ease of revision, ability to adjust content and structure as the project evolves, reduction of physical distribution demands and the provision of a direct means for referencing related resources on-line. In this new project, we will revive some of the most successful aspects of the original project; in particular, to encourage the full participation of the international GIS education community. However, the new Core Curriculum project will be based on a completely new outline which takes into consideration the many changes and advances during the past 6 years. Contents will evolve gradually as units are added to the web site, new topics suggested and hyperlinks between related subjects established. In order to ensure the quality of the contents, all submissions and suggested links to other web based materials will be subject to peer review and approval by an international Editorial Committee. This paper reviews some of the issues faced during the development of these new materials and some of the insights gained by developing materials in an adaptable, public, on-line environment.For more information see http://www.ncgia.ucsb.edu/education/curricula/giscc/welcome.html.
Karen K. Kemp
National Center for Geographic Information and Analysis
University of California
Santa Barbara, CA 93106-4060
email: kemp@ncgia.ucsb.edu
Stephen Palladino, NCGIA, UCSB
The CCTP project is directed toward the development of curriculum materials for use by instructors at two year technical colleges. Using the new On-line Core Curriculum in GIScience as a foundation, the project team will create a set of teaching materials specifically designed to help the community colleges meet the increasing need for people trained in the rapidly growing areas of employment utilizing GIS. Beginning at a week-long workshop, a working group of college instructors and education advisors will investigate the unique content and methods that are necessary for effective GIS education in the community colleges. After reviewing the content of the new Core Curriculum in GIScience, they will identify elements which are missing and develop guidelines for authors charged with the development of new units. A panel of community college instructors will be recruited to test the resulting materials and suggested revisions will be incorporated. Once complete, the materials will be distributed via Internet and CD-ROM. This paper reviews progress on this project to date and outlines the content identified for this special audience.For more information, see http://www.ncgia.ucsb.edu/education/curricula/cctp/cctp.html.
Stephen D. Palladino
National Center for Geographic Information and Analysis
University of California
Santa Barbara, CA 93106-4060
email:
spalladi@ncgia.ucsb.edu