Rural GIS Applications
Geospatial Technology
Awareness
Mike Rudibaugh, Ph.D.
Co-PI NSF GeoTech Center
Geography/GIS Instructor
Lake Land College
217-234-5244
What is the GeoTech Center?
• http://geotechcenter.org/
▫ Resource center for community colleges in developing geospatial technology
▫ NSF-ATE Program
1. Curriculum
2. Faulty Professional Development
3. Student Recruitment
4. Workforce Studies
5. Hardware/Software
Topics?
• Introduction
• Overview geospatial technologies
• GIS Demonstrations
• Future Directions for Training
• Q/A
Growth of GST Technology
• GIS – Geographic Information Systems
• GPS – Global Positioning Systems
• Remote Sensing
• Geomatics (also known as geospatial
technology or geomatic engineering) is the
discipline of gathering, storing, processing, and
delivering geographic information, or spatially
referenced information. • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geospatial_Technology
Growth of GST Technology
• Globalization
• Internet
• Faster computers
• Sept 11, 2001
• August 28, 2005
• Geospatial Revolution Project
• Penn State University
• http://geospatialrevolution.psu.edu/
• Video series on GST history, awareness, applications, and ROI
• 10 Minute Demonstration
ROI for GST – The Business
Case • The Business Benefits
of GIS: An ROI Approach [Paperback]
• David Maguire (Author), Victoria Kouyoumijan (Author), Ross Smith (Author)
• Measuring Up: The Business Case for GIS [Paperback]
• Christopher Thomas Jou (Author), Milton Ospina (Author)
ROI for GST – The Business Case
Reading Examples
• Measuring Up
• Presents 75 articles from 22 business sectors. They tell us not only what people around the globe are doing with GIS, but how these new business processes have improved communities and organizations.
• Saving money and time
• Improving communication and collaboration
• Supporting decision making
• Aiding budget development
• Building information bases
• Managing resources
• Generate revenue
• Improving Access to govt.
▫ Geospatial Revolution Project Examples
Parcel Map – Foundation of
Local GIS Mapping
Parcel Level View
Parcel Level View
• Applications
▫ Tax Assessment
▫ Local Economic Development
Grants
Site Selection Studies
Emergency response modeling
Floods
Severe Weather
▫ Making government more available to citizens
▫ Healthcare
Parcel Map Technical
Demonstration • 5-10 Minute Overview Using Parcel Maps
Downstream Speed Relevance Approximate Time to Download
A 3 Megabyte Pop Song
56 Kilobits/Second
(kbps)
Top speed of dial-up modem 7 Minutes
200 kbps Minimum speed to qualify as “high-speed”
(broadband) under historical FCC definition
2 Minutes
768 kbps Minimum speed for an area not to be
“unserved” according to ARRA
30 Seconds
1.5 megabits/second
(mbps)
Lower speed tier advertised for many
broadband (DSL or cable) services
15 Seconds
3 mbps Minimum speed for an area not to be
“underserved” according to ARRA, and
minimum speed CASF considers necessary for
telecommuting
8 Seconds
6 mbps Upper speed tier advertised for many
broadband (DSL or cable) services
4 Seconds
10 mbps Speed of advanced services available in some
areas, including much of metropolitan
southern California
2 Seconds
100 mbps Speed of advanced services available in very
limited areas, including parts of metropolitan
Sacramento
¼ Second
The Power of Speed – Connecting
Communities to the Global Economy
Community Colleges:
The Role of Distance
Broadband Access
Ranking Counties County Views
How we get rural communities to better leverage
geospatial technologies? Barriers Solutions
• Technical literacy and training
• Hardware and software
• Appropriate training
• Training models (GTCM)
• Rural GIS Employer Video Series – YouTube
• New software deployments “Thin Clients”
• Other partnerships?
The DACUM Process
• A DACUM (Developing A Curriculum) is an occupational
analysis performed by expert workers (12) in the
occupation (in this case, GIS Technician).
• Results in a DACUM Research Chart, an occupational
skill profile that identifies Tasks and Duties of the
occupation.
• The research chart is then validated by a survey of the
regional user community.
• The validated research chart can used for instructional
program planning, curriculum development, training
materials development, etc.
• DACUM Workshop Event
▫ November 19-20 (2008)
▫ 2-days
• Employers Represented ▫ IDOT
▫ ADM
▫ USDA
▫ Illinois Water Survey
▫ Coles County Regional Planning
▫ Champaign County
▫ Effingham Tax Assessors Office
▫ Clinton County GIS Office
▫ ManPlan.Net (AG. Consulting)
▫ EJ Water Cooperative
▫ Meisenhimer and Gende Engineers
Grant funding from the National Science
Foundation
(DUE 0801896)
Recent curriculum development in GSTs
at Lake Land College
• New Geospatial Technology
Program
▫ Recent trends
▫ Little to no articulation in Illinois for GST
▫ More university programs are embedding GST into programs/curriculum
▫ GST technology is beginning to meet general education requirements in some states
▫ Some occupational programs are adding GST as part of licensing exam
▫ Price of hardware/software is coming down
Future Directions for Training
• Esri Online Courses
• Software included
• 20-30 hours training targeting basic GIS skills needed to leverage both local, state, and federal datasets.
• Learning to think global, but act local relative to information systems
• Training event in local rural communities
▫ Technical barriers
▫ Trainers
Questions and Comments