PHOTOGRAMMETRIC ENGINEERING & REMOTE SENSING
January 2017
11
SECTOR
INSIGHT:
.
edu
E
ducation
and
P
rofessional
D
evelopment
in
the
G
eospatial
I
nformation
S
cience
and
T
echnology
C
ommunity
I
n a few years, self-driving cars will become de facto,
and average working Americans could have 50 more
minutes of free daily commute time, according to the
U.S. Census Bureau’s statistics on average travel time
to work. In fact, the great majority of us do have some mo-
bile-use time throughout our daily activities. Different in-
dustries compete to capture this free time. Think of the video
gaming technology; capturing reality-augmented monsters
on our way home may not be a bad idea to refresh after a long
working day. Perhaps the most aggressive competition will
come from our families, wishing to do some online shopping
or arranging for a weekend vacation on our way home. Some
competition will also arise from our own bodies, which could
be begging for a few minutes of extra rest on the commute.
Still, chances are, with emerging technologies we will end up
with a good fraction of time to be used differently. So, are we
ready to use the extra time?
A relaxed ride with wireless earphones and music streaming
directly from a small, powerful and ubiquitous mobile device
is a soothing way to spend the time. Nevertheless, expecta-
tions are that some would prefer to use the time for profes-
sional development or pursuing career change opportunity;
an opportunity to get introduced to new knowledge or skill-
sets in an attractive field. What would be a better candidate
than our beloved geospatial analysis field?
Distance geospatial education has progressed significantly
during the past decade becoming what can be called the first
generation of geospatial distance education. Many degree and
certification programs (e.g.
emerged, and others transformed
to suit distance learner needs. Numerous training opportu-
nities are offered through businesses and professional societ-
ies (e.g. ASPRS online webinar series
. Education
delivery systems using synchronous software tools such as
Adobe Connect, Blackboard Collaborate, GoToMeeting, and
Skype Business can facilitate instructor-student interaction
from anywhere. Training recordings are made available for
time-bound students who can not attend specific class times.
In many cases, hybrid educational systems are adopted
where the students complete part of their instruction using
recorded sessions. They interact with the instructor live at
By Amr Abd-Elrahman
Are we ready for a 24 hour plus day?
a specific, preset time and space, mostly to have live discus-
sions and hands-on training, essential elements of tradition-
al geospatial education. Formal academic and commercial
applications and instruction can be augmented by individual
and experimental presentations gleaned from the growing
“builder” community and posted for viewing on platforms like
YouTube.
Glimpsing over currently available programs, I believe the
majority of ongoing distance education efforts do not yet meet
expectations for efficient geospatial learning experiences,
specifically if mobile device use is to be included. Many of the
existing programs started as traditional classroom-based ed-
ucation and evolved gradually into the distance realm, riding
on the advances in communication technology and pedago-
gy software development. The extra bandwidth in our home
and work internet access and the improvement in interactive
distance conferencing tools dominate the current distance
educationenvironment, but the unique nature of spatial un-
derstanding demands balance between highly visual repre-
sentations and deeply individual understanding of principles
and formulas.
Geospatial analysis education is somehow unique. It does
depend on hands-on experience and exclusively utilizes in-
tensive graphical interaction. Most of us probably agree on
the uniqueness of geospatial education and raise the ques-
tion of how we can prepare for the “extra time” opportunities
for mobile device use? Are we ready for innovative ways to
facilitate interaction and make it friendly to our magnificent
light-weight mobile devices? I am sure we will continue to use
the lecture and demo recordings heavily utilized in today’s
distance education programs. However, we have to think
about our next generation distance geospatial education tools
and methods, designing them for mobile accessibility. Nowa-
days, software training is geared towards full package desk-
top or laptop computer installations, probably using timed,
Photogrammetric Engineering & Remote Sensing
Vol. 83, No. 1, January 2017, pp. 11–12.
0099-1112/17/11–12
© 2017 American Society for Photogrammetry
and Remote Sensing
doi: 10.14358/PERS.83.1.11
