Going Online in Response to COVID-19
ANNOUNCEMENT sent to the class on 3-16-2020
Hello GIS Class. Please read through this entire announcement as it has important details about how we will be proceeding with class for the rest of the semester. As you have already heard, everything will be online from now on. There will be no in-person meetings. Here’s some notes on how we will handle each element of the class:
Announcements
I will stay in touch with you via Announcements in Canvas. Please make sure you have your notifications and emails set up in Canvas so you get Announcements immediately. You don’t want to be waiting for delayed digests of the Announcements. Also – please read the announcements as there will be important instructions. I am assuming that you are receiving, reading, and acting on Announcements. If you need any clarification, please contact me via phone, email, or Slack (see below).
Lectures
There will be no in-person class, and I am not planning any activities during our regular class time. All lectures will be recorded and posted online. I think I’ve worked out a process for recording lectures that generates small enough files that you should be able to download and watch on your computer (if you have slow Internet at home), or you may watch them directly in Canvas where they are embedded in the Lecture Materials Page. I will post two lectures per week. I’ll get them posted as early in the week as I can. Obviously, since we are not meeting in person, you can watch them on your own schedule as soon as I post them. Also – rewind and watch them as many times as you want! I will continue posting PowerPoint slides and datasets for the demos I do in the lectures. The lectures for this week have already been posted.
Assignments
We will not do Assignment 5. I have left it up in Canvas if you want to have a look, but I have made it so that it does not count toward your final grade. The cancellation of class and lab through Tuesday the 17th means we can’t work on it, and I cannot ask you to be on campus. So, the data collection part was not going to work out. I repeat - you do not have to complete Assignment 5. All subsequent assignments will be posted to canvas just as they have been in the past. I will try to make assignments due on the Friday of the week following the week in which they are assigned so you have a little more time to work on them. Assignments will be similar in format to those you have already completed. I may add an assignment or other activities to make up for Assignment 5 depending on how things go toward the end of the semester. Assignment 6 has already been posted to Canvas and you can begin work on it whenever you choose.
Labs
Lab on March 16 is cancelled per the University’s cancellation of classes. Moving forward, there will be no in-person labs. The computer labs remain open (for now), so you can work in there if you want (keep social distancing in mind), but I cannot require you to be on campus and I cannot require you to be in the lab. I will be online via the Zoom videoconferencing system during the regularly scheduled two hours of the lab to answer questions. I will post a Canvas page and add a link to it at the top of the main page in Canvas with connection details for my personal Zoom meeting room, which you can join from wherever you are. You can share your screen and show me what you are working on. You can use the chat option to type questions, or you can use your computer’s microphone and speakers for an audio connection (preferred). You can also call in on your cell phone if you want to talk directly in the event that your computer does not have a microphone/speakers. I DO NOT recommend using the headsets in the computer lab. I am also working on getting Amber and Joseph online at the same time so you have multiple options.
Office Hours
Starting March 18th, I will hold office hours via Zoom at the same time I was holding them before (9:30 – 10:30 AM on Mondays and Wednesdays). You will be able to connect via Zoom in the same way as you can for the lab period (see Canvas page with connection details). If these times are not well used/attended, I may go to appointments during my office hours so I know if I need to be online or not. I don’t want to sit and stare at an empty screen and talk to myself.
Final Projects
These will be tricky, and we will just have to do our best. I am dropping the oral presentation assignment. It will no longer be part of the semester project. Given this, I will also be modifying the points available for the other parts because I will want the final project report to be weighted more to compensate for the loss of the oral presentation. I am going to have to leave it to you to figure out ways to collaborate on the projects. Your project groups are smaller than the meeting size banned by the University. However, again, I cannot require you to be on campus to participate, so I encourage you to use collaboration tools like Google Docs, Google Hangouts, USU’s WebEx system (see https://cidi.usu.edu/tools/webex/index Links to an external site.) or any other tool that is going to work to facilitate communications for your group. I’ll get you feedback on your progress reports as soon as I get ahead of getting some class materials online.
Software
I have a license for the ArcGIS software for all of you. The very best scenario is that you are working from home on your own machine and you don’t have to go to the lab. So, I strongly encourage you if at all humanly possible to get yourself set up. If you do not have a computer or cannot run the software because your computer is an old clunker, AND you cannot access the computer lab, you need to contact me ASAP. In looking at the responses to the survey I sent out on Saturday, I don’t think anyone is in the category, but I need to know ASAP so we can deal with it. I have a couple of other options we can explore if needed.
Instant Messaging
I have set up a Slack channel for the class for instant messaging. You can join the Slack channel for the class using the link below. I can’t guarantee to be online all the time, but Amber, Joseph, and I can monitor the communications here and provide feedback as needed. Additionally, if enough of you are on there, you can all help answer questions. For questions that are general and everyone in the class might benefit from, use the “general” channel. If you want to message me, Amber, or Joseph individually, you can send direct messages. If you don’t know how to use Slack, there are online resources to help you out.
Internet
If you do not have access to campus computers and your Internet access at home is not adequate to download lectures, datasets, etc. please contact me ASAP so we can work something out. You may also want to check out deals on Internet service that have recently popped up as you may be able to get better Internet service for low cost.
Remote Access to Lab Computers (NEW 3-17-2020)
Scott Glaittli, the ENGR lab System Administrator has configured some of the Engineering computer lab PCs so they can be accessed remotely. I have uploaded a PDF document Download PDF document with instructions that Scott put together for how to connect to one of the lab machines. I suspect that there will be relatively high demand for these machines, so please only use them if you really need to. Also - read the instructions in the document - particularly those about disconnecting when you are done - as you don't want to stay connected to those machines when you are done because it will block anyone else from using them.