Geography 353 Cartography and Visualization
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Syllabus, Fall 2019
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Class Meeting: MW 2:10 - 4:00: 207 Science Center (GIS Lab)
Instructor: Dr. John Krygier
- Office: 206 Science Center
- Office phone: 740-368-3622
- Office hours: MW 12-2 pm and by appointment or chance
- E-mail: jbkrygier@owu.edu
- Office phone: 740-368-3622
Text and Readings
The extensive material for this course on the WWW is the primary text for the course. Making Maps (3rd edition, 2016) by John Krygier and Denis Wood is a piquant book with many good examples to back up the WWW materials and lectures, and is required. The book was written with this course (and Geog 222) in mind, as there are no other texts that really fit the needs of these courses. There is a awesome blog for the book that has some extra material related to the topics in the book. I cover about 1/2 of the material in Making Maps in Geography 222 and cover the entire book in this course (so some review for those of you who have taken Geography 222; this is because Geography 222 is not an official prerequisite for this course). It is possible that I will hand out a few extra things to read over the semester. Probably not. Maybe. Nah.
Laboratory Exercises
The individual laboratory exercises in Geography 353 build step by step into a final course project. It is important that you attend class when the exercises are explained, as the I will often lead you through the steps necessary to complete the exercise. Take advantage of the in-class work time, as I can help you with the myriad of problems and glitches that you are bound to run into. It is also important to complete the exercises on time, as new exercises often depend on completion of the previous exercise. A significant part of your grade on individual exercises is determined by completing the exercise on time.
Each student will keep a dated blog for the course, containing documentation of all work pertaining to the lab project. This Lab Blog will contain comments on problems and solutions you run into while working on lab exercises, information on useful resources (such as WWW sites), and any work you are asked to complete in particular exercises (for example, some exercises ask you to define terms, or review a WWW site). The content on the blog will be evaluated and used to determine your final project grade
Lab Computer Skills Required
Students in Geography 353 will acquire basic competence in the meh Windows operating system, Excel spreadsheet, ArcGIS software, and HTML. This course will provide basic instruction in all of these software applications, but students will be expected to take initiative to learn additional details about the software and to solve problems as they arise. Students should expect to spend time outside of scheduled hours to complete the course project although I have included in-class time to work on the project. The GIS and Mapping Lab is open between 7am and 7pm Monday through Friday. Students in Geography 353 will be provided with access to the Lab evenings and weekends.
Evaluation
- 2 Project Evaluations (Labs 6 & 10) @ 100 pts each = 200 pts.
- Lab Project = 530 pts total.
- Participation and effort will be rewarded.
Other Rules and Regulations
- Late Exercises: deduct 15% each day late.
- Plagiarism will be punished by a crippling blow to the head.
- You must inform instructor if you are going to miss a lecture or exercise due date.
Writing Option
If you are interested in adding a writing option to Geography 353, please contact me by the end of the first week of classes. If I agree to supervise a writing option for the class, a written 1 page proposal for a writing project is due by the end of the third week of classes. A draft of your writing option work is due by the end of the eighth week of classes. The final draft of your writing option work is due by the end of the fourteenth week of classes.
Legal note pertaining to Academic Accommodations (from OWU)
"The American with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a federal anti-discrimination statute that
provides comprehensive civil rights protections for persons with disabilities. Among other
things, the legislation requires that all students with disabilities be guaranteed a
learning environment that provides for reasonable accommodation of their disabilities. If
you have, or think you may have, a disability (e.g., mental health, attentional, learning,
chronic health, sensory, or physical), please contact Disability Services in Corns 315 or
call 740.368.3925 to arrange a confidential discussion regarding equitable access and
reasonable accommodations. If you are registered with Disability Services and have a
current letter requesting reasonable accommodations, please contact your instructor as
early in the semester as possible to discuss how the accommodations will be applied in the
course. For more information, consult the
Disabilities Services website."
E-mail: jbkrygier@owu.edu