The online environment provides many opportunities to develop unique learning opportunities not typically found within the traditional face-to-face classroom. This paper describes the development of an online geospatial learning lab, a lab designed to support online graduate and undergraduate GIS programs at American Sentinel University. The geospatial lab is conceptually similar to a learning commons, that is, an area that brings together resources and materials in a way that facilitates the development of an active learning community. Although the concept of the learning lab continues to evolve, the strategy for the use of a number of online tools, such as VoiceThread, will be discussed. In addition, a strategy for the use of online badges as a way to encourage students to participate in the learning lab will be described.

1. Developing an Online
Geospatial Learning Lab
Mike Johnsen, GISP
Educating the Next 25 Years of GIS Professionals
GIS in the Rockies 2012

2. What is an Online Geospatial Learning Lab?
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GIS in the Rockies 2012
Educating the Next 25 Years of GIS Professionals
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3. What is an Online Geospatial Learning Lab?
An area that brings together resources and materials
in a way that facilitates the development of an active
learning community.
GIS in the Rockies 2012
Educating the Next 25 Years of GIS Professionals
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4. What is an Online Geospatial Learning Lab?
An area that brings together resources and materials
in a way that facilitates the development of an active
learning community.
A one-stop shop serving as a destination for students to
learn and have fun.
GIS in the Rockies 2012
Educating the Next 25 Years of GIS Professionals
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5. How does the GLL fit into the big picture?
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rubik%27s_cube_v3.svg
GIS in the Rockies 2012
Educating the Next 25 Years of GIS Professionals
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6. How does the GLL fit into the big picture?
Lab is a complimentary
resource that will benefit:
 Overall GIS Program –
associate, bachelor’s, and master’s
levels of study
 University as a whole
GIS in the Rockies 2012
Educating the Next 25 Years of GIS Professionals
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7. How does the GLL fit into the big picture?
Lab serves many purposes:
1. Supplements GIS course curriculum
2. Provides more in-depth instruction for high-level
and specialized tasks
3. Mechanism for getting GIS into the entire
curriculum
4. Encourages students to think spatially
GIS in the Rockies 2012
Educating the Next 25 Years of GIS Professionals
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8. What is an Online Geospatial Learning Lab?
An area that brings together resources and materials
in a way that facilitates the development of an active
learning community.
A one-stop shop serving as a destination for students to
learn and have fun.
GIS in the Rockies 2012
Educating the Next 25 Years of GIS Professionals
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9. Resources
Dynamic database of web links for a variety of
existing resources
Generally fall into 3 main categories:
• Education
• Data sources/software
• Other interesting things
GIS in the Rockies 2012
Educating the Next 25 Years of GIS Professionals
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10. Resources
Education – links to tutorials, training, and other
learning opportunities
• ESRI – wealth of knowledge in a variety of formats
(virtual campus courses, training seminars, web courses, videos)
• SpatiaLABS – apply concepts and skills to real-world
scenarios
• Variety of other educational links
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Educating the Next 25 Years of GIS Professionals
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11. Resources
Other Educational Links (a few examples)
• Penn State’s Open Educational Resources (OER) Courseware Modules
http://open.ems.psu.edu/courseware
• Google Earth’s Classroom Resources: Projects for My Subject
http://sitescontent.google.com/google-earth-for-educators/classroom-
resources/projects-for-my-subject
• USGS Educational Resources
http://rmmcweb.cr.usgs.gov/outreach/gps.html
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Educating the Next 25 Years of GIS Professionals
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12. Resources
Data Sources – links to GIS data and map services
available for download online, organized by:
• Source (e.g., fed government, state/county, university,
commercial)
• Geographic coverage (e.g., global, country, state, region)
• Topic (e.g., transportation, renewable energy)
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Educating the Next 25 Years of GIS Professionals
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13. Resources
Data Sources (just a few examples)
• Bureau of Land Management (BLM) – organized by state office
• USDA Geospatial Data Gateway – http://datagateway.nrcs.usda.gov/
• USGS The National Map – http://nationalmap.gov/
• DIVA-GIS – http://www.diva-gis.org/gdata
• The GIS Data Depot – http://data.geocomm.com/
• OpenStreetMap – http://www.openstreetmap.org/
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Educating the Next 25 Years of GIS Professionals
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14. Resources
Other interesting things
• Innovative uses of GIS-related technology
• Fun activities (yes, even games)
GIS in the Rockies 2012
Educating the Next 25 Years of GIS Professionals
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15. Materials
Directly available in the GLL
• Step-by-step instructions/tutorials
• Case Studies
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Educating the Next 25 Years of GIS Professionals
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16. Materials
Step-by-step tutorials
• Fill in online content gaps
• Overview of tools used
• Present activity
• Provide self-assessment
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Educating the Next 25 Years of GIS Professionals
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17. Materials
Step-by-step tutorials
• Self-assessments include review
questions/puzzles
• Focus on advanced topics
• Focus on specific industries
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Educating the Next 25 Years of GIS Professionals
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18. Materials
Case Studies – real-world applications of GIS tools
• Rely on learned skills
• Develop spatial problem-solving skills
(prior knowledge of the case study topic is not necessary)
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Educating the Next 25 Years of GIS Professionals
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19. Materials
Case Studies – real-world applications of GIS tools
• Fill in content gaps
(e.g., compliment SpatiaLABS)
• Go into more depth
GIS in the Rockies 2012
Educating the Next 25 Years of GIS Professionals
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20. What is an Online Geospatial Learning Lab?
An area that brings together resources and materials
in a way that facilitates the development of an active
learning community.
A one-stop shop serving as a destination for students to
learn and have fun.
GIS in the Rockies 2012
Educating the Next 25 Years of GIS Professionals
20

21. Active Learning Community
Key to the success of the GLL
• Resources and materials challenge students
• Encourage student input on resources and
materials
• Discussion forums enhance learning
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Educating the Next 25 Years of GIS Professionals
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22. Discussion Forums
Online format
• Standard
text-based
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Educating the Next 25 Years of GIS Professionals
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23. Discussion Forums
Online format
• Standard
text-based
• Multi-media
(e.g., VoiceThread)
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Educating the Next 25 Years of GIS Professionals
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24. VoiceThread
A tool for having conversations around media
• Interact using images, videos, and documents
(comment by telephone, webcam, microphone, text, file upload)
GIS in the Rockies 2012
Educating the Next 25 Years of GIS Professionals
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25. VoiceThread
A tool for having conversations around media
• Interact using images, videos, and documents
(comment by telephone, webcam, microphone, text, file upload)
• Asynchronous
conversation
GIS in the Rockies 2012
Educating the Next 25 Years of GIS Professionals
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26. VoiceThread
A tool for having conversations around media
What VoiceThread looks like (example)
• Promotes better
understanding of
complex topics
• Enables students to
easily share GIS
solutions
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Educating the Next 25 Years of GIS Professionals
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27. Self-Assessment and Accountability
Learning at your own pace while providing
opportunities to measure success
• Simple self-assessments in step-by-step tutorials
and case studies
• Online badge system
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Educating the Next 25 Years of GIS Professionals
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28. Self-Assessment and Accountability
Learning at your own pace while providing
opportunities to measure success
• Simple self-assessments in step-by-step tutorials
and case studies
• Online badge system
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Educating the Next 25 Years of GIS Professionals
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29. Online Badge System
Documentation of skill building in the GLL
Core Concept Badge Topics
Basic Knowledge
Geoprocessing ModelBuilder
Python
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Educating the Next 25 Years of GIS Professionals
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30. Online Badge System
Documentation of skill building in the GLL
Understands and is able to implement basic
geoprocessing tools to solve spatial problems.
Demonstrates ability to develop and execute
geoprocessing models using ModelBuilder.
Demonstrates ability to use Python code to
execute geoprocessing tasks.
GIS in the Rockies 2012
Educating the Next 25 Years of GIS Professionals
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31. Online Badge System
Documentation of skill building in the GLL
Understands and is able to implement basic
geoprocessing tools to solve spatial problems.
Demonstrates ability to develop and execute
geoprocessing models using ModelBuilder.
Demonstrates ability to use Python code to
execute geoprocessing tasks.
Connect with the university ePortfolio requirement
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Educating the Next 25 Years of GIS Professionals
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32. Accessibility
Who can use the GLL?
• Students in the GIS program
• Students in other programs at the university
• Everyone else?
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Educating the Next 25 Years of GIS Professionals
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33. We would like your help
Community input will make the GLL a better
resource
• Resource links and data sources
• Content ideas
• Comments and suggestions
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Educating the Next 25 Years of GIS Professionals
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34. Stephen McElroy, Ph.D., GISP
GIS Program Chair
Stephen.McElroy@americansentinel.edu
Mike Johnsen, GISP
GIS Course Developer
Mike.Johnsen@tac-denver.com