GIS C&A Training Units

Spatial data is common on our everyday routines and very useful for many disciplines. Understanding and analyzing this data is part of the goal of our GIS courses. By creating strategic training units and building didactically prepared story maps, this project aims to provide a tailored learning experience where the students are confronted with different data types and properties, and asked to critically analyze the content, the meaning and the display of the data and its potential usages and downfalls. Instead of only providing prepared datasets, this project aims to bring to table an array of data that is openly available to users and different communication approaches.

This project arises from a need noticed in previous courses, where the students struggled to find the right data, evaluate the usability for the required purposes and communicate it meaningfully. Additionally, the need for inclusivity in communication makes spatial data an interesting tool to raise awareness of this topic. By providing the students with this critical perspective and contact with different aspects of spatial data, our GIS courses will better prepare our students for a future where the data collections are growing exponentially and come from various providers.

The applicability of this project can go beyond our courses, as there are other departments training students in the use of GIS, and the fact that the content will be openly available facilitates the usage of our units by other courses.

More information will follow.