Open Geospatial Education

Mariana Belgiu,Gudrun Wallentin,Josef Strobl

doi:10.3390/ijgi4020697

Mariana Belgiu, Gudrun Wallentin + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/ijgi4020697

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Abstract

The advances in open data, free and open source software solutions and open access to research publications have influenced the emergence of open educational resources (OER) initiatives. These initiatives permit access to openly licensed learning resources including courses, webinars, training materials and textbooks. Thereby, an increasing number of users has the opportunity to broaden their knowledge and gain new skills. The goal of this paper is to evaluate open education initiatives in the geospatial domain and its synergies with open spatial data and software movements. The paper is focusing on the Massive Open Online Course (MOOCs) movement. The advantages and challenges of open geospatial education will be thoroughly discussed.

Highlights

Geospatial technologies and information have become ubiquitous nowadays [1,2]
Given the growing importance and recognition of these competences, Geographic Information System and Technologies (GIS&T) concepts are taught in various education frameworks: (1) Traditional on-campus education offering academic GIS degrees; (2) online distance learning programs leading to academic degrees and certificates [1]; and (3) open, mostly
Geo-Inf. 2015, 4 non-credit, geospatial education courses aiming at making GIS concepts and technologies accessible and understandable to as many people as possible for free

Summary

Introduction

Geospatial technologies and information have become ubiquitous nowadays [1,2]. The geospatial competences required to view and manipulate spatial data and to adequately use geospatial technologies are increasingly sought after by employers [2]. The “Maps and the Geospatial Revolution” course [5] focuses on the way in which geospatial technologies impact our lives and introduces the participants the key characteristics of spatial data (data type, projections, scale, etc.), how to create, analyze and visualize spatial data. This course uses Esri’s cloud-based ArcGIS Online platform for creating maps and performing spatial analysis. The “GIS on the Web” course is designed to introduce Web GIS concepts and technologies such as Google Maps, Google Earth, Google Fusion Tables, ArcGIS Online, the Esri Application Programming Interface (API) or the Bing Maps platform.

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