Integrated Geospatial Education & Technology Training: Remote Sensing (iGETT: Remote Sensing) helped two-year colleges meet the growing workforce demand for geospatial technicians who are competent not only in their traditional domain of Geographic Information Systems (GIS), but also in remote sensing and the integration of remote sensing with GIS. The project accomplished this goal by: 

• providing 18 months of professional development for 34 GIS instructors from 20 states, enabling them to integrate remote sensing with GIS in existing courses and develop new remote sensing courses
• developing on-line teaching resources designed specifically for technician-level geospatial education  

The project was based on several developments that presented a unique opportunity to impact geospatial education.

• The cost of remotely sensed data and images was no longer prohibitive for many workforce applications and most educational purposes after 2008, when the results from four decades of Landsat missions became available without cost. Other sources of data and images also soon became more readily accessible.
• Analysis of remotely sensed data and images previously required skills typically acquired only by professionals with higher degrees. Beginning in 2010, however, major software advances made it increasingly feasible for technicians to use both data and images in many workforce applications, especially when integrated with GIS.  
• As a result, the U.S. Department of Labor approved a new Occupational Code for Remote Sensing Technicians as well as a Geospatial Technology Competency Model, which in 2010 identified this job category and described the required competencies.

This would have made two-year colleges well-positioned to address the workforce needs for technical-level remote sensing skills at affordable costs, but for the lack of trained instructors and appropriate educational materials. Addressing these issues was the purpose of the project. 

Specific outcomes:

Two cohorts of GIS instructors participated in the project for a period of 18 months. All were two-year college faculty, but for two high school and university instructors per cohort who helped address articulation issues. The program consisted of a two-week summer institute, ongoing mentoring during the academic year, monthly webinars (including presentations by remote sensing scientists), a one-week institute the following summer, and supervised work developing instructional materials during the final semester. The summer institutes were held partly at institutions with strong geospatial programs and partly at NASA and U.S. Geological Survey facilities directly involved in the Landsat program. 

As their culminating experience, the participants developed instructional materials consisting of student exercises and YouTube videos. They are accessible on the project website (www.igettremotesensing.org) together with resources developed by project staff. The exercises support contextual learning through case studies that have students downloading and analyzing data and images, integrating them with GIS, and using the results to examine and seek solutions to land use and land cover problems. The videos offer concise explanations of basic concepts in remote sensing and can be used in class or independently for student review. 

All of the participants have integrated remote sensing into their courses, and 68 percent had developed or were developing new remote sensing courses within a year of completing the project. 

Intellectual Merit

• The project advanced knowledge by enabling the participants to teach technician-level students remote sensing skills that were previously taught almost exclusively at higher levels of education. These students will be able to use remotely sensed data and images separately or integrated with GIS in order to address real world issues related to land use and land cover in many different workforce contexts.
• The participants formed an active community of practice that will far outlast the project. Most are the only geospatial instructors at their institutions, and sharing ideas and exchanging information offers intellectual support for their programs in ways that were previously non-existent.
• Instructors who did not participate in the project can freely access the on-line resources, both for their own learning and to teach their students. (The videos had over 48,000 views and almost 500 subscribers when the project ended in December 2017.)  The project has thereby made it possible to offer remote sensing instruction in geospatial programs that would not otherwise be able to do so. 

Broader Impacts

• Educating technicians who are skilled in remote sensing and in the integration of remote sensing and GIS has a positive impact on the geospatial workforce. Because they can take on work that was previously only carried out by practitioners with more advanced degrees, employers can use both workforce categories more efficiently.
• iGETT: Remote Sensing helped diversity the predominantly white male geospatial workforce by ensuring that most participating colleges were minority-serving institutions (largely Hispanic and also including two Tribal Colleges and one Historically Black College). The project also supported the role of women in geospatial education. Thirty-five percent of the participants were women, and their remote sensing expertise makes them stand out as excellent role models for other women who are interested in geospatial technology.

Last Modified: 01/28/2018
Modified by: Osa Brand