GEOG 1051 - Fundamentals of Geographic Information Systems 

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Instructor: David Tyler McKay

Course goals and outcomes: In this course students are introduced to concepts in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and have opportunities to gain practical experience working with GIS software. GIS is a computer-based set of tools, techniques, and concepts used in spatial analysis. Students will learn to use how geographic information is gathered, organized, analyzed, and produced into maps. GIS is used in many fields such as the environmental and social sciences.

Recommendation: Math 0030 with a grade of "C" or higher, or assessment score placement in MATH 0070. Assessment score placement in RDNG 1000 or above, or completion of RDNG 0090 with a grade of "C" or higher. Interest in and basic familiarity with computers is important. Completion of CAPL 1000 is recommended for those lacking basic computing skills.

Required Texts:

Getting to Know ArcGIS Desktop

Assignments.

Four quizzes, a mid term exam, a final exam and a final project of some kind and labs.  There will be two maps each week.  There will also be short participation exercises in class each week. 

The final project will also include a short paper explaining the map findings.  Students will also present their final project.  The final project will also use at least three maps.  The paper will be from 1,000 to 1,500 words.

I highly suggest using a thumb drive or Ipod for storing your work in progress.

Assignment Weighting

Assessment / Assignment	Points	Percentage of Total Grade
Weekly lab assignments.	500	50%
4 quizzes	100	10%
Midterm and Final exams	200	20%
Discussion Participation	100	10%
Final Project	100	10%
Total	1000	100%

Letter Grades

Your final grade in the course is based upon the number of points you have earned.

Total Points Earned	Letter Grade	Quality of Work	Grade Point
933-1000	A	Excellent	4.0
900-932	A-		3.67
866-899	B+		3.33
833-865	B	Good	3.0
800-832	B-		2.67
766-799	C+		2.33
733-765	C	Adequate	2.0
700-732	C-		1.67
600-699	D	Partially adequate	1.0
Below 600	F	No grade or credit	0.0

Grading Criteria

Quiz/Exam(s):  Online quizzes and exams utilize questions for which you must choose the most appropriate answer that works in most situations.  These quizzes are not meant to have "trick questions;" rather, you should choose the answer that best utilizes content and concepts presented in the course.

Take-Home Quizzes/Exams may consist of essay questions and will be submitted through the course Dropbox.  The essays should be logically structured and should properly cite resources, websites, and articles that support your points and recommendations.  Essays are graded on quality, not quantity.  It is to your advantage to be concise and precise in your statements.

Problem Papers/Case Studies: The purpose of this type of assignment is to have you demonstrate your ability to properly and sensibly apply concepts, processes, and information to a real-world context.  In your paper you will need to identify the critical issues or problems, identify the theories or processes that can be applied, and critique your sources and their findings.  Where appropriate, you cite materials from the textbook, course articles, and other research resources.  A wide variety of source will be allowed, but do refrain from using overly simplistic sources such as encyclopedias.  You must follow APA format.

This assignment is to be between 1,000 to 1,500 words.  You will be given feedback on your ideas beforehand in the discussion section and you will post these papers in the PROBLEM PAPERS/CASE STUDIES discussion section, so remember that your paper is also a class presentation.  This assignment will test your ability to present your findings in a formal college format. 

Research Papers:  The purpose of this type of assignment is to have you demonstrate your ability to create a statement of problem within a reasonable scope, investigate the research and studies by others that relates to your issue (using a balanced perspective from multiple, credible sources), and then compare and contrast those works in order to arrive at conclusions.  Research papers must follow APA guidelines for formatting and citations.

This assignment is to be between 1,000 to 1,500 words and use at least 3 sources (not wikipedia or similar less reliable sources).  At least one of these sources must be an academic source from a peer reviewed book or academic journal.  You will be given feedback on your ideas beforehand in the discussion section and you will post these papers in the RESEARCH PAPER discussion section.

Peer Critique:  Some weeks you will be required to critique the writing of another student.  The purposes of this exercise are twofold: first you are participating in peer-to-peer instruction, similar to expectations in a work environment; second, you will improve your written communication skills through studying comments of your peers about concepts that were difficult to understand or conclusions that were not well enough supported. 

As part of this process, you must be supportive and encouraging of your classmates.  Constructive feedback that provides suggestions that the author will find as both useful and helpful are your responsibility.  You may be graded in this process, and you will be expected to submit a one to two page critique of the paper that specifies:

• Suggested changes for mechanics and sentence construction (spelling, grammar, punctuation, run-on sentences or sentence fragments, etc.).

• Requests for additional supporting research and citations for arguments that are not obvious or which lack substantial facts to support a point.

• Questions that you have for which the paper did not answer or left inadequately addressed.

• Suggestions for changes to organization and structure (placement) as well as logic (lack of sufficiency, non-sequiturs, and hasty generalizations).

Additional sources of research that the author might consider.