| Abstract: |
For a number of years Amherst College's Academic Technology Services (ATS) has offered an introductory 1.5-day GIS short course for students during the January Interterm period. These courses have been attended by only a few students, typically in the sciences of geology and biology. Lacking a geography department, the use of GIS in the regular curriculum has also been relatively light. As a way to increase college interest in GIS and other information technologies, this past January ATS organized two three-week-long courses that applied these technologies in community service for two agencies, the Holyoke Health Center and the Quabbin Reservoir operated by the Massachusetts Office of Watershed Management. The courses combined consultation with the staff of these organizations, presentations by Five College faculty in science and social science, and training by ATS in the use of GIS, GPS, digital video, and web development. The response was overwhelming, with twenty-seven students participating, all of them learning GIS and GPS and approximately one-third actively applying them during this time. |