Abstract
A small-enrolment graduate-level remote sensing course moved online in 2010, to solve timetabling problems without sacrificing preparation of students for an advanced seminar course. We also wanted qualitative indication of any change in resource and time commitment. The course was presented 8 times, serving 100 students. Two courseware systems and two laboratory software packages were used; upgrading for organization and content was continuous. Student outcomes are equivalent to the traditional course. Advantages include asynchronicity and personal agenda control. The course framework also permits students to complete the course as an independent study without synchronizing with the primary course. A modified flipped laboratory has been tried. Costs are in technical and administrative support. Most online course support assumes large lecture sections. This course’s success tests possible future directions at the institutional level. Learning Objects for advanced topics serve a small group of instructors linked by common institution or professional contact. Their relevance and wider availability await effective governance and accessibility of learning object repositories (LORs). It is not yet clear if there is a need for LORs for advanced technical material or if specialized webinars will better fulfill this function in a discipline heavily interdependent with major software development.
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Notes
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All statistics are reported in the local time zone of the university server. This course has never enrolled a student more than two time zones away, so these figures fairly represent all students’ local time. In a course enrolling students from around the world, LMS statistics would need to convert time zones . To my knowledge no 603 user’s group social media page has been established outside of the course structure.
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Comment by “sibyledu” self-identified as A. Michael Berman, in response to J. Kim, “DOCS not MOOCS” on Inside Higher Education online blogs: Technology and Learning, February 3, 2015. https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/technology-and-learning/docs-not-moocs
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All URLs as listed were accessible in early 2016.
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http://www.brightspace.com/products/learning-repository/ is attached to the D2L courseware used in 603.
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http://www.editlib.org/noaccess/20615/ is one example in a rapidly shifting world. No endorsement is implied and no attempt is made to survey the current offerings.
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Hall-Beyer, M. (2019). Using an Online Format to Teach Graduate-Level Remote Sensing Basics. In: Balram, S., Boxall, J. (eds) GIScience Teaching and Learning Perspectives. Advances in Geographic Information Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-06058-9_6
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