Students often ask me, “What do employers want? Should I get a GIS minor, a GIS certificate, or a degree in GIS like a BS or MS?” The answer is “Yes!” Seriously, though, it depends on what you want to do. First, though, let’s describe the difference in these degrees. A GIS (or related) Bachelor’s…
Talking About Mental Health in the Classroom
Estimates range between 20% to 80% of students in higher education will experience mental health concerns during their undergraduate years (1, 2). It’s a concern in my discipline (3), yet despite the widespread prevalence of mental health issues in graduate school (4) – meaning that faculty should be aware of the problem – it still…
Just in Time Teaching with GIS: an experiment in teaching
(Note: This post is more of a confession than a scientific article. Any factual, useful, researched information that you take away from it is purely accidental and should be viewed with a healthy skepticism.) I recently completed my tenth year as an instructor in front of a college classroom. I’ve taught at community colleges and…
What can you do with a GIS degree?
GIS jobs include Climate Scientist App Developer Helicopter Pilot / Firefighter Conservationist GIS Analyst Health Geographer GIS Manager Civil Engineer Volcanologist Researcher Agricultural Analyst and Drone Pilot! Visit virtual job shadow to learn more!
Urban Heat Island Visualization 2017
This is a video generated by my research student, Joseph Reynolds, on the heat island effect at a microscale in Denver over two weeks in March 2017. The data was collected in my Spatial Databases class from Thermochron iButton sensors, interpolated, and then animated.
Call for Proposals: Sponsors for Customized ArcGIS Desktop Python Toolboxes
Call for Proposals: Sponsors for Customized ArcGIS Desktop Python Toolboxes This is a Call For Proposals for Sponsors for Customized ArcGIS Desktop Python Toolboxes. The MSU Denver GIS Programming Spring 2018 class is seeking businesses, agencies, non-profits, and other groups who have a need for a customized toolbox in ArcGIS Desktop version 10.2 through…
Teaching with OpenStreetMap – Bringing crowd-sourced mapping into the classroom
I doubt that anyone who wanders into this page is unaware of OpenStreetMap, the crowd-source mapping platform detailing the world’s locations since 2005. I’ve been using, studying, and most importantly, contributing to OpenStreetMap since 2010. As a platform, it hosts a tremendous amount of vector-based data about the world that has largely been created by…
Student Portfolios from Spatial Modeling Class, Fall 2017
We had some great examples of portfolios made in our Spatial Modeling class! Austin B. – https://austinbingham.wordpress.com/ Jared B. – https://brantleyportfolio.wordpress.com/projects/ Byron C. – https://byronclayton.wordpress.com/ Shauna E. – https://shaunaewald.wordpress.com/ Joseph F. – https://josephfischer91.wordpress.com/ Joshua G. – https://joshgasser.wordpress.com/gis/ Haley H. — haleyhampstead.wordpress.com  Ross H. – https://rhattel.wordpress.com/ Todd J. – http://jacobusgeospatial.s3-website-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/ Jen M. – https://gisjen.wordpress.com
Web Mapping Projects from Fall 2017
In the fall of 2017, we introduced a web mapping class at MSU Denver. For a final project, each student had to create a webmap using the Leaflet.js library and include some specific types of interaction. Below are the projects that the students created. Check it out! Ally A. – Bus Routes Around Denver -Â …
What I learned about GIS resumes from the Career Development Academy
I’m always curious about what type of advice students get on the job hunt. At the 2017 GIS in the Rockies conference in Denver, I sat in on the panel for the Career Development Academy led by Cerian Gibbes from UCCS. After the panel session, attendees offered their resumes for review, and I spent a…
Slides from RM/GP AAG: One Year Later: The Nepal Earthquake and the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Response
I presented some followup work on my research on OSM activity in Nepal at the Rocky Mountain-Great Plains American Association of Geographers Meeting in Colorado Springs, Colorado on October 22, 2016.
Dissertation: The Production of Volunteered Geographic Information Production: A Study of OpenStreetMap in the United States
My dissertation is now available online at The Digital Collections of Texas State University. Abstract:Â The arrival of the World Wide Web, smartphones, tablets and GPS-units has increased the use, availability, and amount of digital geospatial information present on the Internet. Users can view maps, follow routes, find addresses, or share their locations in applications including…
Slides: Data Quality and the Crowd: VGI for Mapping, Citizen Science, and Social Networking
I am pleased to have been invited by the Department of Geography at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, Oklahoma to give a talk. It was great to meet the faculty and students, and see a little of the campus and the town. And as for Oklahoma? Well, it’s OK.
Slides from Denver Geospatial Amateurs’ talk, August 11, 2015: The Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team and the Earthquake in Nepal: Data Quality and the Crowd
Having moved to Denver almost exactly a year ago, I’ve really grown to love the GIS community here. It’s a group of bright, funny, innovative folks from all fields – academia, industry, the government, startups, oil, urban planning, and humanitarian aid. If you live near Denver, be sure to check out the monthly Geospatial Amateurs…
How OpenStreetMap can help Nepal
The devastating earthquake in Nepal has impacted a large area, including the capital of Kathmandu, a city of over one million, and the surrounding regions. The earthquake has also caused large avalanches on Mt. Everest during a busy hiking season. Getting first aid, medical supplies, food and water in a timely manner to people in need is…
Intro Python w/ ArcGIS March 24-25; Advanced Python w/ ArcGIS March 26-27 in Denver, Colorado
I’ll be teaching (through Geospatial Training Services) two Programming ArcGIS with Python courses in Denver this March. Programming ArcGIS with Python Workshop – March 24th – 25th – University of Phoenix, 8700 Turnpike Dr., Westminster, CO 80030 This is our introductory level ArcGIS programming class, and will include the following modules: Chapter 1: Python Basics…