Course Syllabus

PDF of Syllabus

Contact Information

Instructors	Telephone	Email
Todd Fagin, PhD.	(405) 325-4700	tfagin@ou.edu
Kaitlin Williams	(405) 325-6524	kaitlin.h.williams@ou.edu

 

Office	Office Hours
235 South Campus Bldg. 134 (OBS)	By Appointment (See below)
SEC	By Appointment (See below)

Live Session: M/W 3:30-4:45 (Lecture); F 11:00-12:50 or 3:30-5:20 (Lab)

Zoom link: Placeholder if University moves to online learning

Meeting ID: N/A

Password: N/A

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Course Overview

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) is an ever evolving field. Within the past several years, alone, there has been a proliferation of GIS and related technologies in a variety of sectors, from academic and industry to government and, even, recreation. Today, GIS and associated technologies (e.g. remote sensing and GNSS) are regarded as among the top most important emerging and evolving fields. As the demand GIS grows, so too does the need for skilled, knowledgeable practitioners.

The goal of this class is to serve as a broad introduction to GIS and related technologies, with attention focused on its applicability to a broad range of disciplines. The course will focus on presenting the practical applications side of GIS, along with the underlining spatial theories required to properly utilize GIS for analysis and interpretation of spatial phenomena.

Course Objectives

Fundamentals of Geographic Information Systems will introduce students to the core foundation of both geographic information systems and geographic information science. By the end of this course, students will be able to effectively apply this knowledge in the use of standard GIS software. Key learning objectives include:

• Digitally represent spatial data
• Work with coordinate systems and map projections
• Execute attribute and spatial queries
• Perform basic relational database management tasks on spatially-enabled databases
• Acquire, covert, and create data for use in standard GIS software
• Perform basic vector and raster spatial analysis
• Design and implement geodatabases

Course Design

It is the firm belief of the instructor that the only way to truly learn GIS is by actually doing GIS. In keeping with this maxim, the instructor believes an ideal GIS class should be structured to maximize student use of various spatial technologies. The class is designed to guide students through the trajectory of developing a working knowledge of GIS for a broad range of applications.

The class consists both of lecture section and a lab section. The lecture section of the course will meet in a GIS-equipped computer lab to introduce students to a series of fundamental concepts of GIS necessary to become a knowledgeable and proficient GIS practitioner. Lab sections will continue along this trajectory, with each lab module designed to aid students in the GIS application process. While the lectures and labs will complement one another, they will not always be in sync. The lecture and lab sections are described in more detail below.

Nonetheless, given the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, this class is structured to be flexible. The instructors will work to accommodate the needs and concerns of students within the University and Department guidelines for an in-person class. If conditions necessitate a change to fully online learning (University-level decision), we are prepared to make this transition as seamless as possible.

Lab Section

Once a week, students will meet for in a designated lab section to complete assigned lab modules. Modules will vary in length and cover a range of topics related to GIS. Students will be able to complete some modules in a single lab session, while other modules will require several lab sessions for completion (see tentative schedule). 

A primary objective of the lab section is to provide enough GIS training to enable students to design and implement a semester GIS project. Project topics are to be selected by the students and subject to approval of the instructor (lab or lecture). Throughout the semester, students will be permitted to work on projects during the lab section and will, at times, have assignments designed to specifically aid in the timely completion of projects.

It is impossible to achieve the goals of this course without lab attendance. Labs meet only once a week and every effort should be made to attend each lab. Once again, though, since we are in the midst of a global pandemic, the instructors will work to make reasonable accommodations within University and Departmental policies.

Lecture Section

The lecture section of the course meets two times a week. Despite the name, the lecture section will actually consist of instructor led discussions, student led discussions, in-class exercises, application demonstrations, and more. Students are expected to come to each class prepared to discuss the topic at hand. This will require completion of all assigned mini-lectures (see below), readings, and associated exercises prior to class. Participation in discussions is mandatory and, by extension, attendance is absolutely crucial.

In order to maximize class discussion and to address the ongoing pandemic, the instructor has pre-recorded a number of so-called mini-lectures (typically 5 to 10 minutes each) related to course topics. Students are to watch assigned mini-lectures prior to attending class. Class-time will then be spent reviewing and reinforcing these concepts and put them to practice.

Students will be tested over both the content of the mini-lectures and the in-class discussions thereof. Viewing the mini-lectures is not a surrogate for attending the lectures.

To help gain a better insight into the use of GIS in a variety of disciplines, students will be assigned small groups (3 to 4 individuals) and select either a recent (preferably within the last five years) peer-reviewed journal article or four (4) recent GIS-related blog entries to discuss in class. Topics are completely open-ended subject to the following criteria: 1. Articles or blog entries must have a GIS component; 2. Articles or blog entries are related to GIS application in a given field (rather than broad theory); 3. Articles have undergone peer-review (this does not apply to blog entries); and 4. Articles or blog entries are timely.

Towards the beginning of the semester, each group will be assigned a tentative day to lead a discussion on the article or blog entries. This is not a formal presentation and your fellow classmates will be required to participate in the discussion. The instructor will also serve as a discussion co-leader. A week prior to the discussion, the discussion group will distribute the selected article (preferably in PDF format, if possible) or URLs to the blog entries to the class. The article or blog entries do not need to be pre-approved by the instructor and would ideally be related to a topic of interest to the discussion leaders. See supplemental material for additional guidelines.

As the semester progresses, the instructor will be able to better identify interests of each of the students. Each student will be assigned to a thematic discussion group. Examples of such groups include “GIS and Marketing” and “GIS and Environmental Management” (of course, topics will be based on student enrollment). Once article discussions are complete, each discussion group will lead a panel discussion on their assigned topic. The goal of these panel discussions (as well as the aforementioned article discussions) is to introduce students to the breadth of GIS and related research being conducted across multiple disciplines and industries.

Course Materials

Textbook:

Bolstad, P. 2019. GIS Fundamentals: A first text on Geographic Information Systems. Sixth Edition. Eider Press. ISBN: 978-1-59399-552-2

Weekly readings will be provided by instructor or fellow students and posted to Canvas. We will be reading and discussing research articles and GIS-related blog entries throughout the semester.

Ancillary Readings

As assigned by the instructor

Graduate Credit

Students enrolled in the class for graduate credit must either submit a literature review on a research topic of interest to the student or give a short (10 to 15 minutes) presentation to the class on GIS in their discipline. Though topics should be in the realm of GIS applications, students are strongly encouraged to select a topic related to the student’s current research objectives (e.g. thesis or dissertation research), if possible. Topics may also be related to the student’s semester project. The literature review or project presentation will be due towards the end of the semester (date of presentations is contingent on available class time).

Guidelines for the literature reviews and presentations will be provided at a later date.

Course Prerequisites 

GIS 2023 Introduction to Spatial Thinking is a prerequisite for this course. Though this is an upper division course, it is nonetheless and introduction to GIS fundamentals. It is assumed students have had some introduction to GIS theory and practice. Additionally, a background in geography, database management, and/or computer science may be advantageous (but is not required).

Grades

GIS 4013 (undergraduate credit)

• Class participation (discussions, attendance, in-class assignments): 15%
• Lab Grade: 30%
• Quizzes (several): 10%
• Exams (several): 30%
• Term Project (all deliverables combined): 15%

GIS 5013 (graduate credit)

• Same as 4013 (above)
• Graduate literature review or presentation (pass/fail---fail will drop you 1 letter grade; failure to complete will drop you 2 letter grades)

Grading scale: A: 90% or more, B: 80-89.99%, C: 70-79.99%, D: 60-60.99%, and F: less than 60%.

• All assignments should be submitted by the due date. The late submission penalty is 5% per day. All assignments are to be submitted into appropriate “dropboxes” on Canvas.
• Quizzes and exams must be taken at the designated time. Exception are granted with valid proof of a medical condition or observance of a religious holiday. While the preference is for students to inform the instructor about any possible conflicts prior of the scheduled exam, this rule will be relaxed (unless it is abused) during the pandemic.

Term project deliverables are grades as follows: brief project proposal—10 points; in-depth project proposal—20 points; progress reports—10 point each (20 points all together); final report—25 points; final presentation—25 points. The term project will be developed in both the lecture and lab section of the class. Final presentations will be the during the last scheduled lab

Lab Section

Lab instructor: Ms. Kaitlin Williams

Friday: 10:30 to 12:20

Friday: 3:30-5:20

Holidays and Vacation Days

Monday, September 7, 2020: Labor Day

Wednesday November 25 through Friday November 27, 2020: Thanksgiving Break

Fall Break: TBA

Final Exam Date

Friday December 18, 2020 8:00 AM

Office Hours

The instructor’s office is located on South Campus in office 235 South Campus Bldg. 134 (Oklahoma Biological Survey). However, due to COVID-19 protocols, the instructor spends limited time in this office and primarily telecommutes. The University also has restrictions on the number of individuals in an office at a time. As a result, all in-person office hours are by appointment only. Virtual office hours will be held from 9:00 to 10:00 am on Monday and Wednesdays. Students must contact the instructor via email and, if desired, a Zoom call will be initiated. Students are free to contact the instructor via email at any time. However, replies may be delayed and there is no guarantee a Zoom call can be setup at a requested time outside of virtual office hours.

The lab instructor is available during normal lab times in room M104 or by appointment only outside of these times.

Generalized Course Outline (Lecture)

Some topics spread over multiple weeks. Subject to constant revisions as needed.

Topic Number	Topic Description
1	Introduction to GIS
2	Spatial Data Representation
3	Map Projections and Coordinate Systems
4	Attribute Data Management/Queries
5	Spatial Data Creation and Acquisition
6	Vector Data Analysis
7	Geodatabase Design and Implementation
8	Raster Data Analysis
9	WebGIS
10	Spatial Statistics
11	GIS Extensibility and Open Source GIS

Generalized Course Outline (Lab)

Some topics spread over multiple weeks.

Lab Module	Topic Description
Module 1a	Introduction to ArcGIS Pro
Module 1b	Spatial Data Representation
Module 2a	Coordinate Systems
Module 2b	Map Projections
Module 3a	Data Classification
Module 3b	Queries
Module 4a	Data Capture
Module 4b	Mobile Data Collection
Module 5a	Geoprocessing
Module 5b	Spatial Statistics
Module 6a	Raster Analysis
Module 6b	Image Analysis
Module 7a	WebGIS

Masking

As outlined by the University of Oklahoma¹s Chief COVID Officer, until further notice, employees, students, and visitors of the OU community will be mandated to wear masks (1.) when they are inside University facilities and vehicles and (2.) when they are outdoors on campus and social distancing of at least six feet is not possible. For the well-being of the entire university community it is important that everyone demonstrate the appropriate health and safety behaviors outlined in the University Mandatory Masking Policy (https://www.ou.edu/coronavirus/masking-policy). As this mandate includes all campus classrooms, please make sure you are wearing your mask while in class. If you do not have a mask or forgot yours, see the professor for available masks. If you have an exemption from the Mandatory Masking Policy, please see the professor to make accommodations before class begins. If and where possible, please make your professor aware of your exemption and/or accommodation prior to arriving in class.

If a student is unable or unwilling to wear a mask and has not made an accommodation request through the ADRC, they will be instructed to exit the classroom.

Additionally, our classroom/lab (M104) is designated as a lab and has additional departmental and University procedures:

• All students, faculty, and staff must wear full personal protective equipment at all times while in the classroom.  This includes a mask, googles and gloves.
• The students are responsible for bringing their own masks and googles to class. DGES will provide the gloves.
• Please email the students in your class so they are aware that they will need to obtain both googles and a mask before the start of the semester.
• There will be boxes of gloves at each entrance to the room.  Please make sure that the students pick up the gloves in a socially distanced manner before the start of class.
• Each instructor and TA will also be provided a few extra googles and masks to provide to those students that do not have them. Please collect the googles at the end of class as they can be cleaned and reused.
• At the end of class, please hand out sanitizing wipes (to be provided in the labs) for the students to wipe down the computer keyboard, mouse, and their table space. 
• At the end of class, please dismiss the students by row or some other similar manner so as to space out the students leaving the classroom.

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University Academic Policies and Student Support

Course Catalog 

Search the OU Course Catalog.

Student Handbook

Please familiarize yourself with the OU Student Handbook.

Online Library

Access digital materials and other resources at OU Libraries.

Copyright Policy

Sessions of this course may be recorded or live-streamed. These recordings are the intellectual property of the individual faculty member and may not be shared or reproduced without the explicit, written consent of the faculty member. In addition, privacy rights of others such as students, guest lecturers, and providers of copyrighted material displayed in the recording may be of concern. Students may not share any course recordings with individuals not enrolled in the class, or upload them to any other online environment. 

Academic Integrity

Academic integrity is one of the most important aspects of education at the University of Oklahoma. Therefore, if you are suspected of cheating or plagiarism, you will be formally charged with academic misconduct under the terms of the Student Code, copies of which are available at the Office of the Vice President for Students Affairs. You may not turn in work for this class that has been researched or completed for another class. See me if you have any questions concerning the meaning of academic dishonesty.

Plagiarism 

Plagiarism is the most common form of academic misconduct at OU. There is basically no college-level assignment that can be satisfactorily completed by copying. OU's basic assumption about writing is that all written assignments show the student's own understanding in the student's own words. That means all writing assignments, in class or out, are assumed to be composed entirely of words generated (not simply found) by the student, except where words written by someone else are specifically marked as such with proper citation. Including other people's words in your paper is helpful when you do it honestly and correctly. When you don't, it's plagiarism. 

For more information about plagiarism, watch this video and then take this short course offered by University Libraries.

Religious Observances

It is the policy of the University to excuse absences of students that result from religious observances and to provide for the rescheduling of examinations and additional required classwork that may fall on religious holidays without penalty. It is the responsibility of the student to make alternate arrangements with the instructor at least one week prior to the actual date of the religious holiday.

Students with Disabilities

The University of Oklahoma is committed to providing reasonable accommodation for all students with disabilities. Students with disabilities who require accommodations in this course should contact their professor as early in the semester as possible.

Students with disabilities must be registered with the Disability Resource Center prior to receiving accommodations in this course.

If you have a disability and you would like to make a request for reasonable accommodation, please see the Graduate Student Handbook or get in touch with the Accessibility and Disability Resource Center.

Title IX Resources  

For any concerns regarding gender-based discrimination, sexual harassment, sexual misconduct, stalking, or intimate partner violence, the University offers a variety of resources, including advocates on-call 24/7, counseling services, mutual no contact orders, scheduling adjustments, and disciplinary sanctions against the perpetrator. Please contact the Sexual Misconduct Office at 405-325-2215 (8-5, M-F) or OU Advocates at 405-615-0013 (24/7) to learn more or to report an incident. 

Adjustments for Pregnancy/Childbirth Related Issues

Should you need modifications or adjustments to your course requirements because of documented pregnancy-related or childbirth-related issues, please contact me as soon as possible to discuss your options. Generally, modifications will be made where medically necessary and similar in scope to accommodations based on temporary disability.  Learn more about the rights of pregnant and parenting students by consulting the FAQ sheets provided by the Institutional Equity Office.

Registration and Withdrawal

If you choose to withdraw from this course, you must complete the appropriate University form and turn the form in before the deadline. If you stop attending the course and doing the coursework without doing the required paperwork, your grade will be calculated with missed homework and examination grades entered as zero. This could result in receiving a grade of F in the course. Deadlines are shown in the Academic Calendar, which is available from the Office of the Registrar.

Student Grievances

In addition to any policies outlined related to submitting an informal or formal grievance by your professor in the Course Syllabus in the online classroom, please review the Graduate Student Handbook for more information about the process of submitting a formal grievance.

Final Exam Preparation Period

Pre-finals week will be defined as the seven calendar days before the first day of finals. Faculty may cover new course material throughout this week. For specific provisions of the policy please refer to OU’s Final Exam Preparation Period policy (https://apps.hr.ou.edu/FacultyHandbook#4.10).

Emergency Protocol

During an emergency, there are official university procedures that will maximize your safety. 

Severe Weather: If you receive an OU Alert to seek refuge or hear a tornado siren that signals severe weather 1. LOOK for severe weather refuge location maps located inside most OU buildings near the entrances 2. SEEK refuge inside a building. Do not leave one building to seek shelter in another building that you deem safer. If outside, get into the nearest building. 3. GO to the building’s severe weather refuge location. If you do not know where that is, go to the lowest level possible and seek refuge in an innermost room. Avoid outside doors and windows. 4. GET IN, GET DOWN, COVER UP. 5. WAIT for official notice to resume normal activities. 

 Link to Severe Weather Refuge Areas , Severe Weather Preparedness - Video

Armed Subject/Campus Intruder: If you receive an OU Alert to shelter-in-place due to an active shooter or armed intruder situation or you hear what you perceive to be gunshots: 

1.GET OUT: If you believe you can get out of the area WITHOUT encountering the armed individual, move quickly towards the nearest building exit, move away from the building, and call 911. 2. HIDE OUT: If you cannot flee, move to an area that can be locked or barricaded, turn off lights, silence devices, spread out, and formulate a plan of attack if the shooter enters the room. 3. TAKE OUT: As a last resort fight to defend yourself.

For more information, visit http://www.ou.edu/emergencypreparedness.html   

Shots Fired on Campus Procedure - Video

Fire Alarm/General Emergency: If you receive an OU Alert that there is danger inside or near the building, or the fire alarm inside the building activates: 1. LEAVE the building. Do not use the elevators. 2. KNOW at least two building exits 3. ASSIST those that may need help 4. PROCEED to the emergency assembly area 5 ONCE safely outside, NOTIFY first responders of anyone that may still be inside building due to mobility issues. 6. WAIT for official notice before attempting to re-enter the building.

OU Fire Safety on Campus 

Mental Health Support Services

If you are experiencing any mental health issues that are impacting your academic performance, counseling is available at the University Counseling Center (UCC). The Center is located on the second floor of the Goddard Health Center, at 620 Elm Rm. 201, Norman, OK 73019.

To schedule an appointment call (405) 325-2911. 

For more information please visit http://www.ou.edu/ucc.