Meeting Workforce Needs for Skilled Geospatial Technicians through Virtual Geospatial Information Science Technology Education

该项目旨在开发全国首个地理空间信息技术应用科学副学士学位课程之一，该课程可在校园内和在线上完全访问。预计该计划将有助于满足纽约州北部对地理空间技术人员日益增长的需求。该学位课程旨在为学生提供平等的最先进的地理空间教育机会，无论他们住在哪里。该项目的创新方面包括可定制的面对面和在线学习、在线实习、在线指导，以及在大学图书馆和公共图书馆的实际技术支持。除了培训新技术人员外，该项目还将通过开发以数据管理、编程和网络制图等主题为重点的在线九学分微型证书，满足区域对在职地理空间教育的需求。该项目的目标是让学生为更高级的地理空间信息科学技术职业做好准备。它计划通过建立地理空间证书项目来实现这一目标，该项目是在NSF高级技术教育项目的先前奖励的支持下开发的。行业确定的要求将指导现有课程的改进和三门新的高级课程的开发。这些课程将构成新的应用科学副学士学位和微证书的核心课程，这两个学位都可以在网上获得。虚拟地理空间实习将用于支持需要地理空间信息但无法雇用地理空间专家的农村组织。该项目包括对在线教育的研究。本研究将包括在线辅导、远程实习和图书馆在线学习支持的有效性比较。该项目还将评估虚拟实习在培养学生以满足对能够远程工作的地理空间技术人员日益增长的需求方面的有效性。此外，该项目还将考察在线教育在多大程度上能够满足服务不足的学生的需求，这些学生可能是在线学习的新手，或者宽带连接有限。通过社交媒体、网站和会议上的演讲传播将提供信息，其他大学可以将其作为开发自己的虚拟技术教育项目的模型。该项目由先进技术教育计划资助，该计划侧重于为推动国家经济的先进技术领域培养技术人员。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This project aims to develop one of the nation’s first Associate in Applied Science degree programs in geospatial information technology that is fully accessible both on campus and online. It is expected that the program will help meet the growing demand for geospatial technicians across Upstate New York. The degree program will be designed to provide students with equal access to state-of-the-art geospatial education, regardless of where they live. Innovative aspects of the project include customizable in-person and online learning, online internships, online mentoring, and hands-on technical support at the college library and public libraries. In addition to educating new technicians, the project will also address regional demand for on-the-job geospatial education by developing an online nine-credit micro-credential focused on topics such as data management, programming, and web mapping. The project goal is to prepare students for more advanced Geospatial Information Science Technology careers. It plans to achieve this goal by building on the geospatial certificate program that was developed with support from a previous award from the NSF Advanced Technological Education program. Industry-identified requirements will guide improvements to existing courses and development of three new advanced courses. These courses will form the core curriculum for the new Associate in Applied Science degree and micro-credential, both of which can be earned online. Virtual geospatial internships will be designed to support rural organizations that need geospatial information, but are unable to employ a geospatial expert. The project includes research on online education. This research will include comparisons of the effectiveness online mentoring, remote internships, and library support for online learning. The project will also assess the effectiveness of the virtual internships in preparing students to meet the increasing demand for geospatial technicians who can work remotely. Additionally, the project will examine the extent to which online education can meet the needs of underserved students who may be new to online learning or who have limited broadband connections. Dissemination through social media, websites, and presentations at conferences will provide information that other colleges may use as a model for developing their own virtual technical education programs. This project is funded by the Advanced Technological Education program that focuses on the education of technicians for the advanced-technology fields that drive the nation's economy.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.