A Review of NITLE Geospatial Event
Sean Connin, who helped put together the NITLE Geospatial Technology in the Liberal Arts event last weekend offers this recap, including some of the ideas I shared in my presentation. (And, special thanks to everyone for their kind hospitality to my Dad, who attended with me.)
I was pleased to be invited and to meet with instructional technologists and others interested in using technology in the liberal arts. This is a great group of folks, all passionate about what they do, and alas, all overworked! I’m more and more convinced that in the coming years the vast majority of students will learn about GIS in the context of a liberal arts course than in formal GIS/geography courses. I’ve been thinking about how our community can support this growing need for developing “good GIS users” instead of “technical experts with certificates.”
One final point. The night after I spoke at this conference I attended a family event in Burlington, VT. My Dad and I had dinner with a most interesting couple. After discussing teaching and biking, I learned the husband was involved in planning. He made a great point, with which I fully agree: People know quite a bit about GPS; many even understand how it works. But, no one really knows what GIS is. It’s interesting how these two events tied together.
