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This course follows the Digital Earth course and provides a deeper dive into the theoretical foundations and practical applications for social and ecological problem-solving through the application of geotechnologies. Geotechnologies include Geographic Information Systems (GIS), examining the world through imagery collected by drones, aircraft, and satellites (remote sensing), and positioning from GPS or Global Navigation Satellite Systems.
Mapping and geotechnologies are an exciting way for you to put your interest and passion for all things about the Earth and the Environment into action in ways that are in demand in the workplace by nonprofit organizations, government agencies, academia, and private industry and incredibly relevant to our 21st Century world!
All 21st Century issues—water quality, inequalities, human health, habitat loss, energy, climate, natural hazards, invasive species, and many more—take place somewhere. These issues, including the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are global issues that increasingly affect our everyday lives, our society, and our environment. These issues often exhibit spatial patterns that can be mapped and analyzed and require the analysis of data in the form of 2D and 3D maps, aircraft and satellite imagery, real time data feeds from the Internet of Things, and much more. We have a dynamic planet with natural forces shaping what is on, under, and above the surface, along with 8 billion humans as change agents, and thus key to understanding our world as it was, is, and should be in the future is mapping and analyzing change over space and time!
In this course, through a series of readings, videos, and hands-on exercises covering a variety of social and environmental themes, issues, and scales, you will learn the fundamentals of exciting and dynamic mapping tools, including projections, symbology, classification, and analysis. You will build your own web mapping applications such as dashboards and multimedia story maps. You will collect and map your own field data. You will gain skills and confidence to empower you to be able to use maps as analytical tools to build a brighter, more sustainable, more resilient tomorrow!
We recommend you take the Digital Earth course before taking the Digital Earth, Deeper Dive. It is advisable, for you to be comfortable with operating a web browser, understanding the difference between file types (DOCX, JPG, PNG, XLSX), and be comfortable with managing files and folders on your own device (laptop or tablet).
The purpose of this course is to continue the foundation gained in the Digital Earth coruse for your successful use of mapping tools by introducing you to the ways that digital maps from GIS can be created, symbolized, and used in visualizations to solve problems and serve as communication tools to address key 21st Century issues. Through this course, you will gain fundamental skills in problem solving through spatial analysis through hands-on work. But equally importantly, you will gain understanding of the technological and societal implications that these tools have on 21st Century society and how you can chart your own pathway forward using these tools and perspectives.
This 10-Module course, designed for both audit and verified tracks, offers a comprehensive online, asynchronous learning experience.
Each module includes:
