CaGIS+UCGIS Symposium

The goal of this workshop is to describe experiences, challenges, prospects, and needs for using open-source GIS tools in the classroom for both undergraduate and graduate courses. We plan to discuss barriers and the pros and cons of using open-source GIS software for GIS instruction by asking participants to share success stories and to share their visions for integrating a wider variety of tools into classes. In essence, we will try to capture what works, what doesn't, and what we'd like to see.
We will explore the prospect of developing training materials for instructors who would like to expand into open-source tools, and resource-sharing for instructors who would benefit from a library of course materials. These materials should be free and available to instructors, and can include curated datasets, step-by­step GIS labs, instructional videos, exploration activities, and back-end programming assignments for a wide range of undergraduate and graduate students in the humanities, social sciences, physical sciences, and computer science.
As part of this workshop, we will also discuss the prospects of applying for federal funding to help support and develop shared open-source GIS infrastructure and resources for higher education.
Participants do not need any prerequisites to join, although this workshop will be held primarily for instructors and faculty. There are no technical requirements for this workshop.