[Ica-osgeo-labs] Open GIS Academics and educators please apply to AAG call before June 15th, 2015

Fri Jun 12 08:14:51 PDT 2015

Sergio,

What I am trying to suggest here is that it is not going to be appropriate 
in the context of designing learning objectives for an introductory course 
on GIS&T to lay out software requirements. So what I mean is that the 
learning objectives should be pure learning objectives. For example:

YES to “Students should be able to explain projections and choose an 
appropriate one for making a thematic map.”

NO to “Students should be able to explain projections and choose an 
appropriate one for making a thematic map using QGIS (or ArcGIS Online, or 
whatever).”

The latter will always be restrictive for educators, no matter how you 
qualify it. Learning objectives are not the place to define software 
platforms for use, unless the class you’re building is strictly focused on 
software training (e.g. it’s not education per se, but technical training 
instead).

At my university, and most others I’m aware of, if you propose a course 
outline that calls out a specific technology in the learning objectives, you 
will have it handed back for revision to make it more general. So that’s 
where I’m coming from here, and hopefully clarifies what I mean by “software 
agnostic.”

I know there is fear here that Esri stuff will find its way into the AP 
spec, because ConnectEd is mentioned in the press release. I took that more 
as part of the input that AAG provided to the AP testing folks to help 
persuade them that GIS&T is extremely relevant for K-12 in the US. Since we 
have no GEOG requirement in K-12 education in the US, institutions like the 
AAG have to point to whatever they’ve got available to show the relevance of 
our field – a high profile thing coming via the White House is a really good 
way to do that.

I know Michael Solem and his work and would be stunned if he or anyone else 
at AAG had it in mind to create an Esri-specific AP course. That also 
assumes that every academic who works on this task w/ the AAG will also feel 
the same way, which would be an incredible thing indeed.

Cheers,

-Anthony

From: SERGIO ACOSTAYLARA [mailto:sergio.acostaylara at mtop.gub.uy]
Sent: Friday, June 12, 2015 9:32 AM
To: Charles Schweik; Anthony Robinson
Cc: ica-osgeo-labs at lists.osgeo.org
Subject: RE: [Ica-osgeo-labs] Open GIS Academics and educators please apply 
to AAG call before June 15th, 2015

Hi all. I feel that I have to say that I completely disagree with that 
"software agnostic" point of view; otherwise I wouldn't be supporting this 
initiative, among other things. Or is -for example- OSGeo "software 
agnostic"? The MoU approved between ICA and OSGeo that gave rise to Geo4all 
leaves no doubt about it. I also agree -as Suchith- that the focus should be 
on the development of a set of core competencies and course objectives. But 
as we say in my country: one thing is one thing and another thing is another 
thing. We need to create consciousness about the importance of supporting 
the development of open-source geospatial software technologies, training 
and expertise. It is not at all only a question of money; it`s about 
independence, it's about freedom -to choose, to create, to disseminate-, and 
of course it's a question of sovereignty. When we developed the Batoví 
project for the Plan Ceibal (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orwN9K07XPo) we 
decided to use open-source software for these reasons (in addition to the 
"money" thing, obviously...); otherwise it would have failed. Now we can 
develop those above-mentioned competencies and course objectives any time, 
anywhere, free of charge and -most important- free of conditions. Sorry for 
this but I felt I needed to say it. Thanks Suchith for your first mail on 
this thread that inspired me to write this one.
Cheers,

Sergio Acosta y Lara
Departamento de Geomática
Dirección Nacional de Topografía
Ministerio de Transporte y Obras Públicas
URUGUAY
________________________________________
De: ica-osgeo-labs-bounces at lists.osgeo.org 
<ica-osgeo-labs-bounces at lists.osgeo.org> en nombre de Charles Schweik 
<cschweik at pubpol.umass.edu>
Enviado: jueves, 11 de junio de 2015 15:15
Para: Anthony Robinson
Cc: ica-osgeo-labs at lists.osgeo.org
Asunto: Re: [Ica-osgeo-labs] Open GIS Academics and educators please apply 
to AAG call before June 15th, 2015

Hi all,

Based on these emails, I've added to our meeting planning wiki for GeoForAll 
in Como [1]:

- Discussion of membership criteria;
- Closing BOF discussion of action items over summer, identification of 
people going to Seoul and starting a discussion of what we do there as a 
group.

Friendly reminder: If you will be in Como, please add your name to the 
various meeting times you can attend [1].

Cheers
Charlie

[1] http://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/FOSS4G_Europe_2015_GeoForAll_Agenda

On Thu, Jun 11, 2015 at 6:06 PM, Anthony Robinson <acr181 at psu.edu> wrote:

Are there plans for a follow-up on Como at FOSS4G in Seoul? We're excited to 
sponsor FOSS4G for the second year in a row and I would be keen to 
participate in a GeoForAll conversation over some Soju in Seoul.

Cheers,

-A.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Phillip Davis" <pdavis at delmar.edu>
To: "Anthony Robinson" <acr181 at psu.edu>, ica-osgeo-labs at lists.osgeo.org
Sent: Thursday, June 11, 2015 12:45:58 PM
Subject: RE: [Ica-osgeo-labs] Open GIS Academics and educators please apply 
to AAG call before June 15th, 2015

Thanks Anthony. We will discuss your points in Como @ FOSS4G EU and see if 
we can provide a more compelling value for membership.

________________________________________
From: ica-osgeo-labs-bounces at lists.osgeo.org 
[ica-osgeo-labs-bounces at lists.osgeo.org] On Behalf Of Anthony Robinson 
[acr181 at psu.edu]
Sent: Thursday, June 11, 2015 11:40 AM
To: ica-osgeo-labs at lists.osgeo.org
Subject: Re: [Ica-osgeo-labs] Open GIS Academics and educators please apply 
to AAG call before June 15th, 2015

Yeah, about that! I've been watching the discussion regarding what lab 
activity is required and what membership means with eager eyes. I would like 
to be able to make the case to my colleagues to join. I do think clarity on 
what activity means and what the benefits are would be helpful.

I know that the answers to these questions are under debate here. When I 
look at the criteria I can see that we have been doing all of those things, 
so that's not a worry I have. Instead I'd rather know that by committing to 
something we're doing something tangible for our students. Every move I make 
is evaluated in terms of whether or not it adds value to the educational 
experience for our students. Since we already do the things that GeoForAll 
asks for, I will be asked to explain what we gain from setting up yet 
another website and assigning someone to developing an annual report (a big 
deal for a program that has over a thousand students and dozens of faculty - 
that's not easy to summarize).

I also can't just sign up Penn State by my decision alone. It would have to 
be vetted by the Department, College, risk management, etc... If our 
university ends up on a list of institutions in a press release from 
GeoForAll, I have to answer to that, and that's perhaps the biggest question 
to sort out for my specific context.

-A.

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-- 
Charlie Schweik

Associate Professor, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Dept of Environmental Conservation and Center for Public Policy and 
Administration

Personal website: http://people.umass.edu/cschweik
Publications: http://works.bepress.com/charles_schweik/

Author, Internet Success: A Study of Open Source Software (MIT Press, 
2012) - see http://tinyurl.com/d3e4545

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