WebMappingFall2024

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SSJ 30262: Web Mapping & Open Source GIS

Instructor: Yanan Wu (YanaWu@clarku.edu)


Office Location: Jeff 220
Office Hours: Monday&Wednesday: 3:00 – 4:00 PM

Lectures: Physics/Math, 3rd Floor, Room 310


Monday: 9:00 – 10:50 AM
Tuesday: 16:15 PM – 17:30 PM
Labs: Physics/Math, 3rd Floor, Room 310
Thursday: 16:15 PM – 17:30 PM

Throughout this syllabus, bold light blue text indicates an active hyperlink. ----------
--- SSJ-30262: Web Mapping & Open Source GIS | Updated August, 2024 ---- 2 of 10

Course Description
Upon completing this course, students will have the ability to critically evaluate, create, and
publish web maps using online tools and identify different technical solutions according to
user needs. This will be accomplished through weekly exercises designed to understand web
maps better and build up a library of different data sets, which can be used in future projects.

The course is organized around:


• Web mapping, open-source GIS, and "digital geographies" more broadly.
• Understanding the social implications of creating and working with online tools. •
Hosting online tools such as GitHub (HTML & CSS), Google Earth Engine (Python),
Leaflet (via R) allow for online maps without needing to manage server-side
configuration.

Learning Objectives
Student evaluation during this course will depend on understanding and applying five
fundamental (non)technical skills in your assignments and assessments.

By the end of the course, students will:


✔ Technical Skills
• Understand different ways to create "web maps" and geographic content online for
various scenarios in international development or business.
• Ability to create online pieces (host and publish basic web maps with varying
interactivity) for your portfolio and develop an online presence for your projects moving
forward.
• Have familiarity with the architecture of the Internet and the ways different
technological or policy dependencies may affect your projects.
✔ Non-technical skills
• Understand and engage with broader debates about critical GIS, the Internet and
society, and digital geographies.
• Demonstrate the ability to critically read and summarize technical and academic
material in written form.

Student Responsibilities
Each student is responsible for the following:

• Completely reading the syllabus and understanding course requirements;


• Staying informed and up-to-date on all course-related work each and every
week;
• Reading announcements and participating in forums;
• Posting and answering questions about the course and assignments to the course
forum for the benefit of other students.

Course Format
Mondays will consist of lecture format only. This is where the instructor will introduce this
week’s topic, readings, and slides. All materials will be posted to Canvas before the start of
class, with the exception of Weeks 1.

Tuesday lecture will consist of partial lecture time and code demonstration time. This will
be a great time to bring questions regarding the week’s content or the assignment.

Thursday’s Lab session will introduce the assignment, and provide an opportunity to begin
working through it together. A weekly assessment will also be delivered at the beginning
of lab. Week 1’s assessment will cover the Syllabus content.

Technical Requirements
This course will incorporate a suite of software packages to explore a number of different web
mapping applications. In addition to setting up the appropriate software, students can
download the course textbooks (on Canvas), and ensure they have adequate data storage for
assignments and backups.

Free online learning source


Haverbeke, M. (2024). Eloquent javascript: A modern introduction to programming.

Software
•R
Download and installation

•R Studio
Download

•GitHub
Sign up for an account online.

•Visual Studio Code


Download the appropriate installer for your operating system.
• Anaconda
Download Anaconda

• Git
Download Git

Office Hours
The instructor holds student office hours twice a week on a weekly basis, and students are
encouraged to regularly attend. The instructor reserves the right to assist multiple students
simultaneously during scheduled in-person or virtual meetings – especially if students have
similar questions.

Communications Protocol
It is neither practical nor efficient to respond to technical questions via email. To ensure that
questions are answered in a timely manner and to benefit all students, the following
communication protocols for the course have been established.

Technical Difficulties
Direct questions about software issues, student accounts, Canvas, and Zoom to the ITS
Help Desk at (508) 793-7745.

Emailing the Instructor


For questions about grading or confidential matters, contact the instructor and schedule a
time to meet via Zoom or in person. The instructor will not discuss grades or grading via
email. Students must schedule a time to meet via Zoom. Use “SSJ-Web mapping” as the
subject of the email, and please include in the message a description of the purpose of the
meeting.

The instructor responds to emails within two business day (but usually same day) and from Monday
through Friday between the working hour.

This means the instructor will not be available over the weekends or in the evenings. Please
adhere to the suggested schedule provided in the syllabus, show up to Office Hours, and
schedule any one-on one meetings to avoid any last second assignment issues or
submissions.

Accountability
The instructor highly encourages taking measures to ensure both student and instructor are
held accountable. In addition to mid- and end-of-semester instructor evaluations, students are
invited to request all one-on-one meetings are held in a public or all-party, consensual audio-
recorded space. Otherwise, the instructor will request that students follow up via email with a
recap of any one-on-one conversations that are not confidential in nature. This recap should
include a detailed summary of what was discussed, as well as bullet points covering any
action items that the student, or instructor, are expected to complete with a clear deadline for
each item.
Course Requirements and Policies

Class Participation
Lecture attendance is mandatory. All students are expected to attend all classes and lab sessions on
time and remain in class for the duration of each class period.

Exams
The course includes one midterm project and final project, which must be taken on the
designated day unless prior arrangements have been made. An unexcused absence on the
day of the exam will result in a grade of zero.

Labs
This course has 11 lab assignments. It is each student’s responsibility to make sure the
corrected files are submitted before the due date. Additional files will not be accepted once the
assignment has been graded. For any graded assignment, if the student does not agree with
the grade received, the instructor must be notified within one week after the assignment is
graded. Any request made more than one week after the grading date will not be considered,
no matter whose negligence.

Extra Credits
The instructor reserves 30 extra credit points (3% of total grade) for those students who actively
respond to the questions from other students posted on Discussion Forum. The instructor will
strive to respond to questions within two business day, i.e., 48 hours excluding weekends.

Use the Discussion Forum to address any non-confidential questions regarding the
course or assignment. To ensure constructive engagement, please follow these
forum guidelines:

• Post all questions related to the syllabus, course requirements, course organization, weekly
assignments, and course content to the Discussion Forum.
• The Discussion Forum will be monitored closely on weekdays during the session and instructor
responses, when necessary, will be posted within one business day of the original post.
• Students are expected and encouraged to respond to unanswered questions on the Discussion
Forum, and can earn extra credit for doing so.

Forum posts should be specific and informative. Posts that contain questions that are ambiguous (e.g.,
“Help, I’m stuck!”). Any requests that ask others to complete any work (e.g., “What is the answer to X
quiz question?”), or that include non-constructive remarks (e.g., “This assignment is so dumb”), will be
ignored and may be removed. The instructor reserves the right to remove and modify forum posts in
accordance with the guidelines specified in the syllabus.
Weekly Schedule
Week 1 – Aug 26
Unit 1: Course Introduction & “What is a web map?”
Lab 0: Sign up GitHub Account

Week 2 – Sept 2 (University Holiday - No Class on Monday)


Lecture on Tuesday, Lab on Thursday
Unit 2: Introduction to GitHub Web Page
Lab 1: Setting up your first website

Week 3 – Sept 9
Unit 3: HTML: Formatting, Fundamental Tags, and Sectioning a Web Page
Lab 2: Setting up your first website

Week 4 – Sept 16
Unit 4: Cascading Style Sheet (CSS)
Lab 3: Intro to fundamental tags in CSS, Formatting, and Hosting Changes

Week 5 – Sept 23
Unit 5: HTML Static / Dynamic Web: Input, Variables, Conditional Statements
Lab 4: Expanding your personal webpage

Week 6 – Sept 30
Unit 6: Introduction to R and Leaflet
Lab 5: Building an Interactive Map in R with Leaflet

Week 7 – Oct 7
Unit 7: Interactive Mapping in R
Lab 6: Building an Interactive Map in R

Week 8 – Oct 14 (University Holiday - No Class on Monday, Tuesday)


Unit 7: Working on midterm project

Week 9 – Oct 21
Unit 9: Working with Spatial Data – Leafmap in Python
Lab 7: Create a web map using leafmap in Python

Week 10 – Oct 28
Unit 10: Working with Spatial Data 02 - Webmaps using open source spatial libraries
Lab 8: Create a web map using open source

Week 11 – Nov 4
Unit 11: Working with Spatial Data 03 - Webmaps using ArcGIS Maps SDK for JavaScript
Lab 9: Create a web map using ArcGIS Maps SDK for JavaScript

Week 12 – Nov 11
Unit 12: Dashboard, Experience builder
Lab 10: Programming-based map vs Non-programming-based map

Week 13 – Nov 18
Unit 13: geemap: A Python package for interactive mapping with Google Earth Engine
Lab 11: Create a web map using geemap

Week 14 – Nov 26 (University Holiday - No Class on Wednesday, Thursday)


Work on Final Project

Week 15 – Dec 2
Final Presentation Due

Week 16 – Dec 9
Work on Final Project

*Course content may vary or be adjusted in order to meet the needs of the class. The
instructor reserves the right to adjust the schedule or amend the content of this syllabus at
any time and without notice.

Grades

Breakdown of Final Grade


• 11 lab (70%): 700 points (70%)
• Midterm exam (15%): 150 points (15%)
• Final Project (15%) 150 points (15%)
1000 points total (100%)

• Extra Credit (3%) 30 points

A standard plus/minus letter grading scheme is used to assign final course grades for
all students who take this course on a letter grading basis. Grades will be assigned
according to the following scheme, with the percentages corresponding to final
weighted grades following the evaluation procedures described in the section below:

Letter Grade % of Points

A (above 93.0%)
A- (90.0 to 92.9%)
B+ (87.0 to 89.9%)
B (83.0 to 86.9%)
B- (80.0 to 82.9%)
C+ (77.0 to 77.9%)
C (73.0 to 76.9%)
C- (70.0 to 72.9%)
D+ (67.0 to 69.9%)
D (63.0 to 66.9%)
D- (60.0 to 62.9%)
F (0.0 to 59.9%)

A student who enrolls in this course on a pass/no-pass grading basis will earn a passing
grade only if their final course grade is equivalent to a “C” or better.

Late Policy
First Offense: No issue. We all need extra time every now and then. If students need additional
time to complete an assignment—excluding the midterm and final project—students will be
given three days, no questions asked.

Second Offense: Should students need extra time again—excluding the midterm and final
project—students will need to provide a reason and some information corroborating your
excuse. Failure to provide this info triggers the third offense protocol below.

Third (or more) Offense: For each 24-hour period that an assignment is late—including the final
project—beginning immediately after the deadline passes according to the Canvas system
clock, the assignment score will be adjusted downward by 20%. In other words, the assignment
is considered late if submitted at 11:55:01pm and the deadline is 11:55:00 pm. Work that is
more than five days late will not be graded and will receive a zero. Exceptions will be granted
only under the most pressing and urgent of circumstances and must be discussed with the
instructor in advance of the deadline.

Academic Honesty and Integrity


Students are encouraged to collaborate with one another in reviewing course material and
working on assignments. However, every student must turn in an original, unique, and
individual creation for every assignment; students working together may not submit the same
work. Collaboration with another student on an assignment will require students cite their
collaborators by providing the names of collaborators either within the assignment or
alongside the link that you submit to the course website.

All students are expected to demonstrate integrity in all academic endeavors. Students are
evaluated on their own merits. Cheating, plagiarism, unauthorized and/or inappropriate
collaborative work, or any other form of academic dishonesty are considered unacceptable
behavior and will result in a failing grade for the assignment, and a second offense will result
in a failing grade for the course and a referral to university administration for disciplinary
action.

Use of Large Language Models


Large language models, or generative AI like ChatGPT, are incredibly useful learning tools if
used responsibly. This course will not cover their use or application to GIS in detail, but
using LLMs for assignments and the final project may be tempting. As beginners in a new
technical skill, LLMs may seem magical in their ability to provide answers and ideas, but they
should be treated as overzealous interns from which students can test their newly acquired
knowledge. Despite having access to massive datasets (e.g. the internet) to mimic speech
based on user-specified prompts, they do not query these data or the internet to search for
answers. They should not replace existing internet or library search protocols, and whatever
LLMs produce will contain “hallucinations” or errors in accuracy. Only advanced individuals
in a technical skill will notice these errors.

The instructor placed the LLM section after the “Academic Honesty and Integrity” section
purposefully. If the instructor suspects LLMs have done the work for the student, similar
consequences will follow if proven.

Additional Campus Resources

Students with Disabilities


Clark University is committed to providing students with documented disabilities equal access
to all university programs and facilities. Students are encouraged to register with Student
Accessibility Services (SAS) to explore and access accommodations that may support their
success in their coursework. SAS is located on the second floor of the Shaich Family Alumni
and Student Engagement Center (ASEC). Please contact SAS at
accessibilityservices@clarku.edu with questions or to initiate the registration process.

FERPA
Clark’s policy regarding student privacy under the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act

Title IX
Clark University and its faculty are committed to creating a safe and open learning
environment for all students. Clark University encourages all members of the community to
seek support and report incidents of sexual harassment to the Title IX office
(titleix@clarku.edu). If students or someone students know has experienced any sexual
harassment, including sexual assault, dating or domestic violence, or stalking, help and
support is available.

Please be aware that all Clark University faculty and teaching assistants are considered
responsible employees, which means that if students tell the instructor about a situation
involving the aforementioned offenses, the instructor must share that information with the
Title IX Coordinator, Brittany Rende (titleix@clarku.edu). Although, the instructor has to
make that notification, the student will, for the most part, control how their case will be
handled, including whether or not they wish to pursue a formal complaint. Our goal is to
make sure they are aware of the range of options available to them and have access to
the resources they need.

If students wish to speak to a confidential resource who does not have this reporting
responsibility, they can contact Clark’s Center for Counseling and Professional Growth (508-
793-7678), Clark’s Health Center (508-793-7467), or confidential resource providers on
campus:

• Prof. Stewart (als.confidential@clarku.edu)


• Prof. Palm Reed (kpr.confidential@clarku.edu)
• Prof. Cordova (jvc.confidential@clarku.edu)
GIS Help Desk

---- IDCE-30262: Web Mapping & Open Source GIS | Ocón | Updated September 7, 2023 --
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