Abstract
One Hundred Percent Organic, Free Range GIS Curriculum
Track: User Presentations - Teaching
Authors: Christine Ambrose
Thomas University, a small private university in rural southwest Georgia, supports a unique student body consisting of traditional and mature working students, along with veterans returning to college to further their careers. With great vision and modest funds a Center for Geospatial Analysis, Planning and Presentation (GAPP) was created that has successfully integrated GIS into the curriculum while benefiting the local/regional community. The GAPP Center is available to students and faculty through GIS courses, class projects and internships, as well as research, work from grants and external contracts. In the GIS courses students collect data, develop and conduct geospatial mapping projects for planning and problem-solving in partnership with local and regional organizations. Students apply knowledge gained to real-world situations and share project results with community organizations. The GAPP Center and applied GIS curriculum at Thomas University is a young program where rural students are discovering a world of opportunity.