Date: Monday, March 6, 2017 at 4:38 PM
Subject: GEOG 4320 reminder This Week DUE - data quota
Hi everyone,
This week in class, and honestly before that if you haven’t finished, we will be focused on using the tools you’ve learned to use to create open data to do just that: create data on your tasks. This is the main valuable contribution you can make to these real projects, and in addition to quantity you should pay attention to quality of the mapping.
Although I’m expecting that you will make many more edits than this minimum by the end of the class time, to help you pace yourself, please remember that this week you have a deadline for your individual DATA QUOTA:
You will need to create at least 500 map edits by March 8 at the END of class time 8 pm. Julia will be in the lab to take attendance and answer any questions, but there is no other lecture or Skype planned. Please just come and knock out a bunch of map edits and have some fun.
I will count map edits on any task you have done in 2017, but I strongly suggest you focus on the one for your team project – I’ve posted links to tasks under your country name here.
Please use the following hashtags on ALL changeset comments: #YouthMappers #TexasTech #TTU4320
I’ll also be following your work by tracking your username using this tool.
HAPPY MAPPING!
Date: Tuesday, February 28, 2017 at 4:00 PM
Subject: JOSM Training
Hello again everyone! I hope your mapping is going smoothly.
Tomorrow night you’ll get a special lecture by Julia Kleine to introduce you to JOSM. If you WANT (optional) to install this on your own laptops you can bring them into the lab, but otherwise, the computers there have the software available for you to learn this tool for OSM. Once you have that introduction, you can continue mapping on your project tasks – many of you are close to quota, so congrats!
You should also take some time to figure out next steps on connecting to your collaborators in country – this sometimes takes time, so please don’t leave any of that until last minute. For your story map you’ll want to have an image or video of your exchange, so remember to take a screenshot or a screen recording when you are able to connect. Let me know if you are having trouble making or keeping contact.
Date: Tuesday, February 21, 2017 at 10:56 AM
Hi everyone. Just a reminder to upload your essay by class time tomorrow.
I've now been able to introduce all teams to some contacts. At class tomorrow you will work on your teams to start these projects and plan out your work and how to engage in the student collaboration aspect. Everyone except Colombia has a task you can also work on to get started on the data quota. Colombia team you can just go to any volcano area in the country and start poking around OSM outside of Tasking Manager. Just explore the imagery and state of mapping at least and make contributions where you can until OFDA sets us up.
Julia will be in the lab if you have questions and of course email me if you need something. Good luck making progress!
Date: Thursday, February 16, 2017 at 9:14 AM
Subject: IMPORTANT: What's due next week February 22nd and over the next few weeks?
Hello 4320 mappers!
I may be even more excited than you are to have you organized into your project teams after last night’s class! Here is how it sorted out:
Uganda: David, Cole, and Skyelar
Nigeria: Nick, Devin, and Michael
Colombia; Jesse, Ian, Travis and Evan
Philippines: Valeria, Courtney and Tyler
In the next week or so, I’ll be helping each of your teams connect to the mappers in your countries and make sure you have tasks to work on. Please watch for emails from me on that. If you have any adjustments you decide you need to make for your team, you should contact me about that no later than March 8th.
So what is coming up next?
ESSAY
February 22 by 6 pm you should upload your third and final reflection essay on Challenges and Service Learning.
Class time on 2/22 should be used in the lab with your teams to start up your projects and start creating remote data.
LEARN JOSM – on March 1st, Julia will give a training during class time on using JOSM, which is an offline version to add data to OSM – it has advantages and disadvantages compared to the iDeditor we have been using so far. You can choose whichever tool you like best, but you will need to attend and learn more about this one.
DATA QUOTA
You will need to create at least 500 map edits by March 8 at the END of class time 8 pm (I’ve extended this deadline from the syllabus). You can create map edits on any task, but I suggest you focus on the one for your team project – I’ve posted links to tasks to start on under your country name here (except Colombia, yours is coming soon.) Please use the following hashtags on ALL changeset comments: #YouthMappers #TexasTech #TTU4320
I’ll also be following your work by tracking your username using this tool and checking for quality not just quantity. This is for part of the Open Geospatial Data Creation grade.
SPRING BREAK
There will be no class March 15.
COUNTRY PROFILES AND ISSUE BRIEFINGS
These are due online by 6 pm class start time March 22, but it is a longer assignment and requires some research, activity and coordination, so please start NOW looking at these instructions. This is worth 20% of your course grade.
I will see you in person again on March 22nd to talk through progress, and look ahead to the story map final project work at that time.
Date: Thursday, February 9, 2017 at 4:33 AM
Subject: GEOG 4320 What's due next week February 15th?
Hi all! Did you have fun at the mapathon? We had a great turnout!
I wanted to introduce a new additional class member, Evan Conrad, who just joined the class – you may have met him at the mapathon or in another class. Welcome Evan!
For next week, we will discuss our last reading, and this is a really good set of readings, even if a bit long, on Service Learning and the Challenges of VGI. Please pay attention to the page numbers for the linked chapter copies so you can focus on which parts of the reading are actually assigned. The essay for this one is due on February 22nd and I’ll give you some specific instructions on what to focus on for that during class on the 15th.
As promised, we will begin sorting into the team projects next week as well. We have a number of options, but need to settle on about 3 groups of 4 more or less. I want you to play a big role in the process of selecting and organizing which projects, so please take this poll that begins to assess a little bit about what you may be interested in most among the best opportunities. Submit your answers by Wednesday February 15 at NOON please so Julia and I can review them prior to the class meeting. We cannot guarantee everyone gets their first choice, but we will share the results of the poll with you and discuss in class what are the best options. I’ll also answer questions about the sites at that time before we make a final decision on who is working with whom and where.
Date: Wednesday, February 1, 2017 at 7:18 PM
Subject: GEOG 4320 What's due next week February 8th?
Hi everyone!
Hope you are having fun getting into the OSM platform a bit tonight!
As promised, I am sending clear instructions on what is now due (later) than I had it originally on the syllabus.
Your Essay on the OSM readings / discussion is due uploaded to that page on the Wiki as an attachment by the start of class on February 8, 6 p.m.
On the evening of February 8th, we will not have any discussions (so you can wait on the next readings) because we will hold our Class Mapathon! I’m attaching a flyer, thanks to our YouthMappers chapter at TTU. Feel free to print this out and post it somewhere on campus where you think there might be interest in disaster prevention. Share with your colleagues who might want to join you. (Free pizza thanks to the TLPDC!) The mapathon starts at 5:30 – which is a good idea to attend as we will be giving some additional training and explanation of the project, but please be sure to arrive no later than our class time at 6 pm for it.
(The following week you will have to have done the readings on service learning and challenges, with the essay on that due 2/22.)
It is all laid out for you on this page of dates.
I’ll be there in person for the mapathon next week, so I’ll see you there!
Date: Thursday, January 26, 2017 at 6:00 AM
Subject: GEOG 4320 What's due next week February 1st?
Hi everyone,
Nice discussion last night.
You should by now have editing access to our class wiki, either on your ttu.edu email address or your gmail account (if you still need to add your preference, contact Julia or myself.) You also all now have OSM accounts and should have provided Julia with your OSM username. Please remember the OSM usernames are case-sensitive, so we need the exact spelling with caps/lowercase.
So what is due next?
As you may know, your first essay on Development and Resilience should be finished and uploaded as a file at the bottom of thetopic page by the start of class next week, February 1st at 6 pm.
Your essay should reflect on the readings, discussion, and independent thinking and reading about the subject (hint: we have a great annotated bibliography from past class participants as a resource.) Your essay should begin with the reflection question you are responding to. You are not required to use one of the ones listed at the bottom, but they are a good place to start. I’ll be looking for three things: 1) how thoroughly you demonstrate understanding the complexity of the topic; 2) how you provide substantive information to frame your perspective (not just pure opinion); and 3) how well you stay focused on the chosen reflection question.
You also need to read the next topic on Open Mapping and VGI by the time we meet again. We will work on better sound quality and connection issues (consider it practice for connecting with YouthMappers in other countries!)
Date: Friday, January 20, 2017 at 5:17 PM
Subject: GEOG4320: Instructions for next Wednesday, January 25
Hello everyone!
Thank you all so much to those of you (almost everyone) who attended class this past Wednesday for the orientation a day early. I really appreciated the chance to get to talk with you face to face for our first meeting and go over the syllabus. If you have any questions at all, please don’t hesitate to ask.
Here is what you need to do before next Wednesday, January 25, class time 6pm:
Read over this topic posted here on The International Development Landscape and USAID: What do we mean by resilience?
That’s it!
Then during class (in room HH204) we will Skype and have a discussion over what you’ve read in order to help you think through and reflect on what to write for your first essay on this subject. That essay will be due to be posted on the wiki by the start of class time on February 1st. After our discussion Julia will help you log on in the lab and get access to this wiki.
See you virtually next week!
Date: Wednesday, January 11, 2017 at 12:22 PM
Subject: GEOG 4320: Open Mapping for Resilience Class Orientation Wednesday January 18
Dear Students enrolled in the Spring 2017 course for Open Mapping for Resilience (GEOG 4320) !
Welcome! I look forward to an exciting semester with you. This class is very unique and I hope you will have a great time learning and serving with the international mapping projects we will undertake.
Our class is scheduled to meet Wednesdays from 6-8:30 pm. I realize that the semester does not officially start until January 19th, but I am only in Lubbock once per month (my duty point is Dallas), and I’m scheduled to be there next week. For this reason, I am giving an orientation for the class this coming Wednesday, January 18th, in Holden Hall GIS Lab room 204, from 6 pm until we run out of questions. I’d like to go over the syllabus, expectations, answer questions and get to know each of you in person at that time. Please let me know if you cannot attend.
I’m copying Julia Kleine who is our undergraduate TA – she will be helping monitor labs and also answer some of your questions for mapping, as she is very experienced with the course content.
Meanwhile, feel free to take a quick look at the Wiki site here that we will be using, and you can read the syllabus here. You can also see past class projects on the wiki.
See you next Wednesday!
Patricia