As a teacher of GIS I have worked with University students at all levels - from undergraduates to professionals undertaking short courses. I have designed, implemented and evaluated courses in different modes (short course, traditional lecture/practical courses, Web supported courses and distance learning courses) for groups of students ranging from around 10 to over 150. The practicalities of teaching large numbers, and distance learning, have led to an interest in CAL and on-line learning resources, and have led to my involvement in a number of pioneering projects (such as the TLTP House Hunting Game, the UNIGIS 'learning station' and the RIDE 'virtual classroom'). My main teaching interests lie in professional development and distance learning, reflected in my role as Course Leader at Manchester Metropolitan University for the UNIGIS distance learning postgraduate diploma/MSc. I was a member of the team that designed and implemented this course, and have been involved with the writing of distance learning materials, development and evaluation of this course ever since. In addition I am co-author of a new introductory text in GIS to be published by Addison Wesley Longman, with supporting web-based materials, in autumn 1998.
During 1997/8 I am a visiting lecturer at the Free University of Amsterdam, a position that has allowed me to spend time pursuing my research interests in GI education, and led to registration for a PhD in this area. Building on interests in GI education, and the diffusion of GIS in private sector organisations, this work will aim to evaluate the appropriateness of virtual learning environments for professionals in GI. The work will assess the education and training needs of GI professionals and attempt to evaluate the role of education and training in the GIS diffusion process. A model for an effective learning environment, based on theories of adult learning and approaches to teaching and learning with IT, is proposed in the thesis and tested in on-line, and off-line modes, with private companies in a training context, and within the context of academic education for GI professionals. It is hoped that the work will result in guidelines for the development of GI educational products and curricula, and set a research agenda for further developments.
Participation in the Interoperability meeting would allow me to present some of my ideas for the development of learning resources for professionals in GI, together with results from some of the research work. As part of the research a major survey of UNIGIS students, all professionals in GI industries, was undertaken. Results from this reveal something of the nature of the GI professional in education, and their requirements.
To be able to participate in a workshop would be more than helpful for
my own research - comment from experts in the field would help refine and
evaluate the model for GI education that I have developed, and help appreciation
of differing perspectives on the problems I am investigating. In return
I would hope to be able to contribute ideas and experience from almost
10 years in the GI education field.
The fire, police and medical agencies are attempting to clear up after a major disaster. The fire service is being routed to their destinations by their on-board computers. The directions to the driver are spoken, and changes in routes due to new obstructions immediately relayed to the cab. Meanwhile, the computer provides floor plans of the buildings the fire team head for, and details of dangerous substances and the measures needed to tackle them. The team leader radios a request for a pollution dispersion model for one of the deadly chemicals contained in the building. Back at emergency planning headquarters, real time GI handling products provide instant updates on the situation, produce new maps, and predict the impact of the disaster. Maps and data are fed to the press in real time for distribution to the general population via TV and the Internet (Synergy, Hewlett Packard, 1994).
This is a vision of the not-too-distant future. GI will soon be ubiquitous and available at the touch of a button. The technical issues and even some of the organisational issues of geographic data exchange will be overcome. Spatial analysis tools will be available embedded in a wide range of computer software and the results will be instantly disseminated to all the users who need them. This is, perhaps, the goal of interoperability for GIS. But the education of future users also needs to be 'interoperable'. In a single day the fire fighter may need to use the on-board computer in the fire fighting vehicle, assess the results of analysis predicting the spread of major pollutants if the fire is not tamed quickly enough, and add new data to the corporate spatial database using GPS and hand held technology. To meet this challenge, skills in map interpretation, data collection and communicating spatial thinking are necessary. The fire fighter will need to be continually updating his skills and knowledge to keep up with changes in technology. The same will be true in many other professions.
There are a whole string of issues that need to be addressed if users such as the fire fighter can be educated to effectively apply and develop these new widely available tools. Clearly, whole new sectors of everyday GI users need to be made spatially literate to use spatial data effectively. At the same time, more sophisticated users need to know which analysis tools to apply to a particular problem solving situation. And there will still be the need to educate the next generation of GI software engineers and developers. To meet the differing educational needs of these users some of the training and education needs that can be anticipated are:
Most, or even all of these tools have limitations from an educational perspective. Few offer opportunities for users to assess their prior knowledge, or to evaluate the preferred learning style of the user. Few have suggested learning paths for learners with different needs or expectations. Few offer the support of a 'learning community' of educators and fellow learners, to guide, motivate and assess.
Recognition of these issues has led to the development of a model for
the development of virtual learning environments to help in a range of
scenarios. The model is summarised in Figure 1. The pedagogic framework
for development is a goal-oriented model of the functions that such a system
should perform.
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1. UNIGIS 'learning station'.
The UNIGIS distance learning programme offers a Postgraduate Diploma
and MSc in GIS to professionals in GI and those wishing to enter the profession.
The goal-oriented ideas of the virtual learning environment were implemented
first in an off-line learning environment. This lacked the community element
shown in Figure 1. Evaluation of the system highlighted the need to maintain
motivation and continually 'delight' the student, as use of the environment
decrease with progression through the course. Technical issues were also
important for home based learners (Cornelius and Heywood, 1998).
2. The IMCOME project and the RIDE course.
With funding from the Dutch ministry of science the GIS group in the Department of Regional Economics at the Free University are developing a web support environment for a course in Spatial Economics. Implementing the system architecture in Figure 1 for a regular course has led to evaluation of the model above with students in a 'controlled' situation. The lessons so far include the importance of re-evaluation of course content to avoid an overly structured learning path, pointers to effective interfaces for the presentation of information to students, and the importance of motivation and encouragement for the development of a learning community.
3. Evaluation in the commercial environment
The application of the model in a commercial training environment presents additional challenges. Issues of support, group working and learning within the work context will be addressed in trials with several large GIS user organisations in the Netherlands (like RIVM, RABO Bank and Ahold).
The main lessons from these studies to date have been
Cornelius S and Heywood I 1998 The UNIGIS ‘Learning Station’: An Evaluation of an Interactive Learning Environment for Distance Learners in Geographical Information Systems. Alt-J 6(2) in press.
Employment
1990 - present Lecturer/Senior Lecturer, Department of Environmental
and Geographical Sciences, Manchester Metropolitan University
1997/8 - visiting lecturer, Department of Regional Economics, Free
University of Amsterdam
Qualifications
1986 BSc (Hons) 2:1 Geography/Geology, University of Keele
1987 MSc DIC Environmental Technology, Imperial College, University
of London
1988 EEC traineeship in Geographical Computing, University of Durham
1993 Postgraduate Certificate in Education (Further, Higher and Adult
education), Manchester Metropolitan University
Relevant responsibilities and teaching experience
£1,800 (1994-1996) British Council (with Dr I Heywood) For ‘GIS and Video-conferencing: the development of a virtual classroom’
£100,000 (1994-1997) TEMUS JEP award for Environmental Applications of GIS (MMU with University of Salzburg and Jagellonian University, Krakow, Poland)
ECU 274,000 (1997-2000) Value of EU grant (ECU 140,000). The distributed geographic information education classroom and training lab in the WWW. U 2041. From DGXXII Education, Training and Research. Joint projects with several EU and USA partners.
£20,000 pa in royalties and concept fee from licence agreements for distance learning materials developed as part of UNIGIS (with Ian Heywood and Jim Petch)
£100,000 (1997- ) IMCOME - the integration of modern communication technologies into the curriculum. Award to the Free University of Amsterdam by Dutch Ministry of Education.
Cornelius S, and Heywood I (1998) The UNIGIS learning station: an evaluation of an interactive learning environment for distance learners in Geographical Information Systems. ALT-J (6) 2 in press
Hernandez T, Bennison D and Cornelius S. (1997) ‘Organisational issues in the use of Geographical Information Systems’, European Retail IT Decisions, 1, pp. 42-45.
Hernandez T, Cornelius S and Bennison D (1998) The Diffusion Of GIS Within The Retail Sector. Presentation at GISRUK 98
Heywood D I, Cornelius S C and Cremers P H M (1998) Developing a virtual campus for UNIGIS: an international distance learning programme for geographic information professionals. Proceedings of BITE 98, Maastricht, March 1998
Heywood I and Cornelius S (1997) Educating European GI Professionals:
Issues from the UNIGIS Distance learning programme. Peckham R (ed.) Proceedings
of 3rd EC-GIS Workshop. Leuven, European Commission