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Teaching with Open Source Software

Teaching with Open Source Software. Richard E. Plant Departments of Biological and Agricultural Engineering and Plant Sciences University of California Davis, CA. Definition of a geographic information system:.

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Teaching with Open Source Software

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  1. Teaching with Open Source Software Richard E. Plant Departments of Biological and Agricultural Engineering and Plant Sciences University of California Davis, CA

  2. Definition of a geographic information system: • “a computer system capable pf assembling, storing, manipulating, and displaying geographically referenced information, i.e., data identified according to their locations.”(Lo and Yeung, Concepts and Techniques in Geographic Information Systems 2007, p. 2)

  3. Spatial Data • Georeferenced data consists of two components: • Aspatial component: the phenomenon or phenomena being recordedThis is called attribute data • Spatial component: the location and spatial properties of the phenomenonThis is called geographic data

  4. The components of a GIS

  5. Applications of GIS • Display of thematic maps resulting from the analysis of geographic processes

  6. Example: change detection in a California oak woodland

  7. Aerial Photos 1952 1993

  8. Georegistered 1952 1993

  9. Map algebra result

  10. ArcGIS: The “Big Daddy”

  11. Quantum GIS: an open source alternative

  12. Course labs

  13. QGIS Version

  14. Graduate seminar (run by TAs) • Each week • One student presents the week’s lab • All students work the lab • Students turn in comments and criticisms

  15. Problems • Buggy software • Not ready for prime time • Necessary to carry out many operations in R • Version inconsistency

  16. Benefits • Anticipated • I got a constructive criticism of the labs • The students learned an ArcGIS alternative • Unanticipated • Some of the students really got into it • Enthusiasm for subject • Student involvement in program development • Contact with developers • Sense of ownership and participation • Sense of shared challenge among the students • Continuation of seminar into other open source programs

  17. Thank You!

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