Abstract

The proposed effort is targeted at broadening undergraduate education and encouraging undergraduate students to acquire concepts, skills, and knowledge beyond those gained through study in their focused fields of specialization.  An interdisciplinary, campus-wide undergraduate level course, Introduction to Geoinformatics, will be developed and implemented.  It is meant to serve as a basic foundation and common platform for students who are interested in any of the disciplines that comprise Earth system science studies.  This course is also meant to strengthen UAF©ˆs educational outreach program in rural campuses around the state.
 
Currently remote sensing, GIS, and other spatial science courses are being taught at an upper undergraduate or graduate level at UAF and its associated campuses.  An introductory course on geoinformatics would serve as an excellent foundation for these courses.
 
The new course will have both a theoretical component (in the form of two lecture hours per week) and a practical component (supervised laboratory exercises and field and study excursions).  The proposed laboratory will be held once a week for three hours.
 
The course will be composed of distinct but interrelated units, each unit addressing a specific aspect of geoinformatics.
*    Orientation teaching:  Will bring students up to speed with basic mathematics, computer handling, Internet browsing, use of spreadsheets, standard word processing, and graphical software packages that will be used during the course.
Ø    Field data capture:  Students will learn the concepts, methods, and use of a global positioning system to track their spatial location in the field.
*    Photogrammetry and remote sensing:  Will introduce students to how spaceborne and airborne digital data are acquired and distributed by commercial services, and how data can be searched and ordered from the Data Acquisition and Archiving Centers.
*    Geographic information system:  Students will be introduced to the need, power, and application potential of the rapidly growing field of GIS. They will learn about data types, formats, and compatibility.  They will be taught some basic underlying principles of data storage, retrieval, integration, manipulation, and analysis.
*    Data structuring and management:  Fundamentals will relate to the concepts of building and managing spatial databases and performing spatial analyses using database management systems.  Key database concepts will be explained and modeling approaches to database design will be introduced.
*    Cartography and geo-information visualization:  Will aim to give a thorough training in the basic principles of map design and in the use and management of the techniques required to produce maps either on a computer display screen or on paper.