What’s so great about online geospatial education?

Anthony C. Robinson
The Pennsylvania State University
University Park, PA

Since 1999, Penn State has been engaged in supporting GIS professionals who wish to advance their education, but must do so on a part-time basis at a distance. Penn State offers a post-baccalaureate GIS Certificate as well as a Master of Geographic Information Systems degree. To date, Penn State has served over 3000 students across both programs through a curriculum that includes over 30 courses, most of which are now available through Penn State’s Open Educational Resources initiative. Demand for online geospatial education has increased dramatically over the past decade as established GIS professionals, as well as newcomers to the GIS world are seeking to distinguish themselves from their peers and ensure long-term career advancement potential.

Meeting the needs of GIS professionals through distance education poses unique challenges in addition to providing for exciting new opportunities. This presentation highlights both aspects of online geospatial education at Penn State, with a focus on instructional methods, individualized student experiences, and curriculum design that aims to ensure professionals can attain leadership roles in the GIS community.

Biography

Anthony Robinson is the lead faculty member in the Postbaccalaureate Certificate and Master of Geographic Information Systems (MGIS) degree programs at The Pennsylvania State University. Dr. Robinson instructs for the MGIS program and coordinates faculty and staff to handle student affairs and ensure the long term sustainability of Penn State's online geospatial education portfolio. Robinson also serves as Assistant Director for the GeoVISTA Center in the Department of Geography. His research focuses on the science of interface and interaction design for geovisualization and geovisual analytics tools in domains including epidemiology, crisis management, and homeland security.