Course Syllabus
Contact Information
TA Lab Help Sessions
My Teaching Assistant this semester is Martin Manu (martin.k.manu-1@ou.edu) who will be available to answer questions regarding the lab assignments via email, during the live zoom session or by appointment. Below is the link to the live lab zoom help session:
TA Help sessions: Wednesday 6:00PM-8:00PM (Central)
https://oklahoma.zoom.us/j/93616473756?pwd=rjYfOzTKgQ3GstW3J4QLS5chCXKTuD.1
Additional Assistance
For technical assistance (i.e. software access, installation, computer troubleshooting) please reach out to OU IT:
For general questions about the program, scheduling, classes, working, etc, please reach out the the director of the online program Dr. Dawn Drake.
Course Details
This course is designed to help students learn introductory to intermediate concepts of geographic information science (GIScience) and become proficient users of geographic information systems (GIS). The course covers a variety of topics but focuses on GIS data models, data structures, and spatial analysis, enabled by the ESRI software package. Teaching formats include video lectures, zoom Live Sessions, lab exercises, and practical projects. For a list of course activities, scroll to the bottom of this page.
Course Prerequisites
There are no prerequisites to enrolling in this course. It is expected that students have general knowledge and familiarity with personal computers, computer terminology, files and directories, and the Windows operating system. A background in geography and/or computer science may be advantageous.
Course Materials
There is no required textbook for this course. Instead, two optional texts are listed below for purchase at the discretion of the student. Other readings and software download information will be provided through the RESOURCES: Course Materials page.
Grades
Breakdown
| Activity | Description | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Lab Assignments | Practical application to re-enforce the theoretical materials you learn in lecture | 450 |
| Projects | Assess a student’s working knowledge of both the theory and practice in GIS towards solving spatial problems | 300 |
| GIS Literature Review | Familiarize with pertinent literature in GIS | 100 |
| Total | 850 |
Scale
Grades will be assigned using the following grading scale based on percentage. Note, I will not round grades for any reason so please do not ask. It is not fair to the students who legitimately earned the same grade. I do, however, factor in a course participation grade that accounts for up to 100 points (10%) of the final grade. The grading scale is as follows:
A: 90% or more, B: 80–89%, C: 70–79%, D: 60–69%, and F: less than 60%.
Course Components
Lab Assignments
There will be a number of lab exercises assigned throughout the semester. Labs will re-enforce the theoretical materials you learn in lectures each week in an applied setting. Generally, they will make use of ArcGIS or other open-source software. Labs will be administered, generally once a week, with varying due dates. These due dates are based on the length of each assignment and will be noted on Canvas. While your instructor expects each student to utilize the week efficiently to complete each lab exercise, your TA will hold two help sessions each week to guide you through the assignments should you need assistance.
Projects
To assess a student’s working knowledge of both the theory (terminology, concepts, analysis) and practice (use of ArcGIS software, spatial reasoning and problem-solving) of GIS, there will be a practical project at the end of each module. The purpose of each project is for students to demonstrate their comprehension of fundamental GIS concepts and terminology in a practical setting. The project format will be detailed in an associated handout found on the modules page and should be turned into Canvas.
GIS Literature Review
As graduate students, it is important to familiarize yourself with pertinent literature in GIS. A short literature review assignment will introduce you to the major journals used in GIS and start you on a path towards reviewing relevant literature in GIS. Further details will follow, but the literature review is designed to be very narrow in scope, tailored to GIS-based journals, and completed in a relatively short period of time.
Course Policies
Communication
While I do not have a campus phone number, I do check email and discussion boards regularly throughout the week, and try to respond within 48 hours M-F. While I am generally unavailable over the weekends, I'm available to chat "in person" over zoom after the Live Session. In the event I need to communicate with the class outside of our live sessions, I will post an announcement to the course Canvas page, including a weekly "to do" announcement outlining the materials each week.
Late Policy
In this course, there is an absolute due date for completing each of your lab assignments which will be indicated on Canvas. The reason for this is that each lab conceptually builds on previous labs, so it is important that students do not fall behind the schedule. If you do, you may find it hard to catch up. As such, late lab assignments will incur a 20% reduction in points for each day late; after that, no late labs be accepted after the assigned due date. Labs must be submitted on time and to the correct dropbox to be considered for grading. In the event of an emergency, contact me as soon as possible and we will work towards a solution on a case-by-case basis.
University Academic Policies and Student Support
Course Summary:
| Date | Details | Due |
|---|---|---|