Resources for Using Remote Sensing and GIS to Teach Geoscience

Data sources for GIS/RS analyses

Online data sources for georeferenced data have become a critical component of spatial analysis. Our listings of online data sources contain links to the thematic, topographic, and remote sensing data sources most widely used by geoscientists, including an up-to-date and comprehensive list of links to data sources for individual states in the US.

Sample syllabi for GIS/RS courses

Looking for ideas on how to structure a GIS or remote sensing course? Curious about what goals other people have for their courses?

Our collection of GIS and remote sensing course goals and syllabi provides a variety of approaches that faculty use at the college/university level.
If you are interested in a practical strategy for designing an effective GIS or remote sensing course, try the Cutting Edge Online Course Design Tutorial
And, if you teach a GIS or remote sensing course, we hope that you will submit your course goals and syllabus to our online collection.

"THE LIST": Ideal student outcomes from an intro GIS or remote sensing course

At the 2010 On the Cutting Edge workshop on GIS/remote sensing, we asked both faculty and employers to describe the ideal profile of a student coming out of an introductory level course in GIS or remote sensing. We have synthesized that list into a useful composite profile that will help faculty design better GIS/RS courses.

Online collection of assignments/activities for teaching GIS and remote sensing

Our online collection contains over 150 college-level assignments and activities that range from teaching GIS or remote sensing concepts to using GIS or remote sensing to teach geoscience.
You might also be interested in our rubric (Microsoft Word 61kB Aug23 10) for evaluating the quality of assignments and activities. The rubric focuses on aspects of assignments and activities that help make them effective in terms of student learning. Using the rubric can help you identify both strengths and weaknesses in your own assignments and activities and help you revise to make them more effective not only for yourself but for sharing with others.
If you teach a GIS or remote sensing course, we hope that you will add your assignment or activity to our online collection.

Resources from two courses, one in GIS and one in RS

In addition to individual activities and assignments from a variety of courses, our resource collection includes all of the assignments and activities from two courses, one in GIS and one in remote sensing.

GIS for Geoscientists is a one-semester introductory level GIS course taught by Barbara Tewksbury at Hamilton College. The online resources include a syllabus with goals, all homework and lab assignments, a semester portfolio assignment, and a final project.
Introduction to Remote Sensing is a one-semester introductory level remote sensing course taught by Mohamed Abdelsalam at Missouri University of Science and Technology. The online resources include all of the course PowerPoint presentations plus all lab assignments. You can download a zipped folder of course materials (Zip Archive 249.6MB Aug25 10) that contains all PowerPoint slides from Mohamed's course plus all lab activities (note: this is a large file and may take time to download). At the moment, we don't have an explanatory cover sheet (that will be coming), but we wanted to put this up right away for those who are interested.

Tips for teaching GIS and remote sensing

At the 2010 On the Cutting Edge workshop on GIS/remote sensing, workshop participants lent their considerable experience in teaching GIS or remote sensing at the college level to developing tips for others who either teach these courses or are interested in developing such courses. Our online resource contains tips on the following. If a topic listed below does not have a hot link, the tips page for that topic is temporarily under construction:

focusing on analysis, not just keystrokes
writing effective final projects
preparing students for the future
integrating GIS across the curriculum
incorporating geoscience examples into general GIS/RS courses
teaching GIS for geoscientists

Teaching in the field using GIS and remote sensing

Geologic mapping can be done using a variety of electronic devices, generically known as GeoPads, for recording field data and making maps. The online GeoPads resource collection provides information and advice on teaching with GeoPads. If you are interested in teaching in the field in general, browse the resources developed for the August 2010 On the Cutting Edge workshop Teaching Geoscience in the Field in the 21st Century.

PowerPoint presentations from 2010 workshop

In August, 2010, On the Cutting Edge held a 3-day workshop in Bozeman, Montana, on Teaching Geoscience Using GIS and Remote Sensing in the 21st Century.The workshop was attended by 70 college and university faculty who teach GIS and/or remote sensing. The workshop web site contains the workshop program with links to all of the presentations given by participants and invited speakers at the workshop, a list of participants and their contributions to the online resource collections, and information about the workshop itself.