Abstract

Teaching Mobile GIS with Esri ArcGIS Runtime SDK for Android
Track: User Presentations - Learning and Research
Authors: Jennifer Swift, Edward Pultar

A course titled “Mobile GIS” is taught to graduate students at USC in the Spatial Sciences Institute. The class is designed as an introduction to mobile GIS, and more importantly, to the programming concepts underlying mobile GIS development. We use the most recent online resources such as the ArcGIS Android API. Students are required to buy a Google Nexus 7 Android tablet for the class so everyone has the same mobile device. The USC GIST programs are online certificate and master’s degree programs so everyone having the same device helps the course run more smoothly. The course is time intensive and heavy in programming so we recommend only the students who really enjoy coding take this elective course. Towards the end of the semester, students choose an independent project where they design and implement a mobile GIS app. After completing the course students are able to:
• Evaluate the advantages, disadvantages, and major challenges of creating and working with mobile GIS applications.
• Describe how mobile GIS and spatial concepts create powerful communication tools.
• Critically assess contemporary mobile GIS technologies
• Design and implement a mobile GIS application

This presentation will detail our experiences in creating and teaching this course.