Digital Earth, Deeper Dive

Mapping and geotechnologies are an exciting way for you to put your interest and passion for all things about the Earth and the Environment into action in ways that are in demand in the workplace by nonprofit organizations, government agencies, academia, and private industry and incredibly relevant to our 21st Century world!

All 21st Century issues—water quality, inequalities, human health, habitat loss, energy, climate, natural hazards, invasive species, and many more—take place somewhere. These issues, including the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are global issues that increasingly affect our everyday lives, our society, and our environment. These issues often exhibit spatial patterns that can be mapped and analyzed and require the analysis of data in the form of 2D and 3D maps, aircraft and satellite imagery, real time data feeds from the Internet of Things, and much more. We have a dynamic planet with natural forces shaping what is on, under, and above the surface, along with 8 billion humans as change agents, and thus key to understanding our world as it was, is, and should be in the future is mapping and analyzing change over space and time!

In this course, through a series of readings, videos, and hands-on exercises covering a variety of social and environmental themes, issues, and scales, you will learn the fundamentals of exciting and dynamic mapping tools, including projections, symbology, classification, and analysis. You will build your own web mapping applications such as dashboards and multimedia story maps. You will collect and map your own field data. You will gain skills and confidence to empower you to be able to use maps as analytical tools to build a brighter, more sustainable, more resilient tomorrow!

This 10-Module course, designed for both audit and verified tracks, offers a comprehensive online, asynchronous learning experience.

Each module includes:

1. Learning Segment (Approx. 2.5 hours): Engaging readings and multimedia materials.
2. Reflective Phase (3 hours for verified track, 3.5 hours for audit track): Activities and reflection questions to deepen understanding and link concepts from the learning materials.
3. Exclusive for Verified Track (30 minutes): Graded tasks to enhance learning engagement.