GITTA: Building a Virtual Campus for Higher Education in Geographic Information Technology Robert Weibel and Eric Lorup Department of Geography University of Zurich Optical 3-D Measurement, 22 September 2003

Contents 1. Project Objectives and Characteristics 2. Design: Pedagogical and Technical 3. Demo 4. Conclusions and Outlook

1 Project Objectives and Characteristics

Some Facts One of 50 projects of the programme “Swiss Virtual Campus”, supported by Swiss federal funding agencies Duration: 07/2001 - 06/2004 7 universities, 11 departments throughout Switzerland approx. 8-10 persons employed > 1 Mio CHF grant money, 1.8 Mio CHF matching funds by universities

The Consortium and the Project 7 Universities, 11 Departments: Unis: Zurich (Lead), Fribourg ETH: Zurich, Lausanne UAS: FHBB, HSR, SUPSI  large consortium Who are we? Geographers Forest engineers Geodesists  all 3 HE school types  85% of HE slots in CH  interdisciplinary  trilingual  several courses (12 ECTS) © Atlas of Switzerland

Recap of Pedagogical Objectives Truly nationwide Virtual Campus for HE in GIScience Cover a full program in GIScience (not just a single course) Integration into core curriculum Blended teaching: Complement traditional teaching Replace ex-cathedra teaching where possible Use capacity of teachers for coaching rather than ex-cathedra teaching Foster independent learning among students

2 Design: Pedagogical and Technical

Design Elements Full-fledged program in GIScience, covering several traditional courses Modular structure, re-combination of units possible Two types of ICT-based resources: ‚lectures‘ (Modules): web-based, complemented with face-to-face tutorials (blended teaching) ‚practicals‘ (Case Studies): practical work with GIS software (not necessarily web-based)

Overall Structure Modular structure Levels (Basic, Intermediate) 6 Modules per Level: Data Capture Spatial Modeling Spatial Analysis Data Management Systems Presentation Case Studies: Focus on problem solving skills INTERMEDIATE Spatial Analysis Spatial Modeling Case Study Data Mgt. Systems BASIC Data Capture Presentation Case Study

Unit = smallest self-contained object Pedagogical Design Hierarchical, modular structure Level (e.g. Basic Level) Module (e.g. Basic Spatial Analysis) Unit = smallest self-contained object Lesson (e.g. Terrain Analysis) 1x per Unit Unit (e.g. Slope & Aspect) - Entry - Clarify - Look - Act - Share - Self-assess All partners use same structure for units Learning Object: 1..n, mandatory Exercise and self test, optional

Content of Module “Basic Spatial Analysis” L1 Spatial analysis concepts: U1 Introduction L2 Discrete spatial variables U1 Nature of spatial variables and underlying models U2 Regionalization U3 Shape U4 Point L3 Continuous spatial variables U1 Sampling distributions U2 Spatial dependecy analysis U3 Basics of spatial interpolation L4 Terrain Analysis U1 Extraction of topographic info U2 Geomorphometry U3 Viewshed analysis L5 Spatial queries U1 Introduction to spatial queries U2 Attribute queries U3 Geometrical queries U4 Topological queries L6 Accessibility analysis U1 Distances and metrics U2 Unconstrained proximity analysis U3 Network characterization L7 Suitabillity analysis U1 Multi-criteria vs. multi-objective U2 Boolean overlay U3 Weighted overlay U4 Assigment of weights Level (Basic Level) > Module (Basic Spatial Analysis) > Lessons (7) > Units (22)

Contents and languages Basic Level: 6 modules / 29 lessons / 95 units 6 case studies d/f/i and e production in native language of responsible partner translation ‘on demand’ Intermediate Level: 4 modules / 22 lessons / 69 units 3 case studies English only

Technical Design Implements pedagogical design 1:1 (ECLASS at Unit scale) based on XML DTDs for all objects Separates content and form (XSLT) Metadata for all units

Learning Objectives and Story Boards

Technical View of Authors (XMetaL)

What the Student Sees navigation aides glossary, refs and pdf icons for ECLASS items texts hierarchies interactive Flash animation

Implementation, Technologies Web technologies: XML/DTD/XSLT, Flash, SVG Authoring tools: Word forms, XMetaL, Flash, DTP applications Groupware: BSCW for internal communication and file upload Progress monitoring database: PHP/Oracle E-Learning platform: WebCT (links only, plus student/course admin and quizzing) Cocoon server for XML contents storage and conversion to XHTML and PDF (real-time, caching)

3 Demo

Examples Basic Spatial Analysis Terrain Analysis (motivating entry part) Terrain Modelling (in/visible areas) Suitabilityanalysis (interactive exercise) Basic Cartographic Presentation Map Scale (interactive example) Readability (interactive exercise) Organisation of Mapelements (interactive self-assessment) Basic Data Capture Qualitycontrols (interactive calculation) Basic Database Systems Databasequeries (slideshow)

4 Conclusions and Outlook

Results of Field Tests Field test with students conducted in ‘real’ courses 3 modules at 3 partner sites 2 case studies at 2 partner sites Results positive to very positive Acceptance of e-learning is high (incl. statements “better than traditional lectures”) blended teaching appears to be the way to go --> independent e-learning complemented by face-to-face tutorials in small groups “PDF button syndrom” (e-learning is a different form of learning)

Status Basic Level: 26 of 29 lessons completed 5 of 5 Case Studies completed Intermediate Level: Lesson design completed 2 lessons completed, 20 more to go (until March 2004) 3 additional Case Studies to be developed

Open Problems and Outlook translation of Basic Level to d/f/I/ and e (before 06/2004?) maintenance and updating beyond funded period ? use in continuing education offerings ? use by others ? Outlook: Will put in proposal for follow-on project to SVC (starting fall 2004). Possible options for collaboration with others and/or extensions will have to be resolved before 06/2004.

Contact http://www.gitta.info weibel@geo.unizh.ch / coordinator@gitta.info