About this course: Learn how advances in geospatial technology and analytical methods have changed how we do everything, and discover how to make maps and analyze geographic patterns using the latest tools. The past decade has seen an explosion of new mechanisms for understanding and using location information in widely-accessible technologies. This Geospatial Revolution has resulted in the development of consumer GPS tools, interactive web maps, and location-aware mobile devices. These radical advances are making it possible for people from all walks of life to use, collect, and understand spatial information like never before. This course brings together core concepts in cartography, geographic information systems, and spatial thinking with real-world examples to provide the fundamentals necessary to engage with Geography beyond the surface-level. We will explore what makes spatial information special, how spatial data is created, how spatial analysis is conducted, and how to design maps so that they’re effective at telling the stories we wish to share. To gain experience using this knowledge, we will work with the latest mapping and analysis software to explore geographic problems.
Who is this class for: No background is required; all are welcome. If you're already a Geospatial Guru, then you might find this class a bit basic, in which case I hope you'll consider taking the online geospatial education courses that we offer at Penn State: more information on our online certificate and Master's in GIS programs is available at: www.pennstategis.com.
Taught by: Dr. Anthony C. Robinson, Lead Faculty for Online Geospatial Education
Department of Geography
| Level | Beginner |
| Commitment | 6-8 hours / week |
| Language | English |
| How To Pass | Pass all graded assignments to complete the course. |
| User Ratings |
Each course is like an interactive textbook, featuring pre-recorded videos, quizzes and projects.
Connect with thousands of other learners and debate ideas, discuss course material, and get help mastering concepts.
Earn official recognition for your work, and share your success with friends, colleagues, and employers.
I had some previous training on GIS, but still I have found this course interesting, enlightening on some aspects , instructive on many others and, above all, very well organized and designed for distance learning. Totally worth the time.
I thought the course had good overall information and provided an online mapping tool using ArcGIS despite access and technical issues which I recorded in the forums. I felt getting rushed at the end of the course for the major map project and peer review and final exam all in the last week. The map project itself should be Week 3, peer review Week 4, then final exam Week 5. All students should use the same ArcGIS Online too for the final map project, instead of allowing everybody a free-for-all to use whatever map tool they wanted to including images. I was steered to be more lenient in reviewing submissions of simple PDF or image map without interactive content. This made for an awkward and rushed peer review with little time to address access or technical issues. The final map project should be standardized for all students using ArcGIS Online for an equal playing field and applied learning.
A Fancy course for learning the basic of cartography and interpreting maps!!
Excellent!
Coursera provides universal access to the world’s best education, partnering with top universities and organizations to offer courses online.
Awesome MOOC