CGA 2014 - 2014 CGA Conference: Geospatial Technology and Online Education

Thursday May 1st 1:00pm-5:00pm: Contributors' Meeting (by invitation only)
Friday May 2nd 9:00am-6:00pm: Open to the Public (open for free registration)
In recent years, geospatial technologies have rapidly developed into online platforms, attested to by the rise of web-based GIS, the geoweb, and cyberinfrastructure. Although guided by different kinds of motivation and under other kinds of pressure, public and private institutions of higher education and for-profit education companies have increasingly turned to online platforms to enhance as well as diversify their outreach. From remotely delivered credit courses to massive open online courses (MOOC), education of any subject, including geospatial topics, is increasingly offered online.
What can be learned from these trends? How are they currently connected to each other, and how might new connections be made, to leverage one to enhance the other --
(1) using online education as a means to advance geospatial education, and
(2) using geospatial technology to enhance the online education of many disciplines?
This conference is aimed at reviewing the current status, achievements, lessons learned, unmet needs, challenges, potentials and perspectives of both geospatial online education and geospatial-enabled online education across the disciplines. Invited speakers will present their expert views, and engage the audience in a discussion on the following topics:
understanding the spatial-temporal background of the online education surge
teaching geospatial courses via an online platform
using geospatial tools in teaching an online course about non-geospatial subjects
evaluating online geospatial systems for use in online courses
applying geospatial tools and methods in studying the online education phenomenon and effects
The Friday event is free and open to the public.