The primary goal of this project is to develop a vision and plan for a national geospatial technology resource center in order to facilitate the development of curriculum, develop a network of technical expertise, and serve as a clearinghouse for products and services that meet the needs of students, educators, government, business, and industry across a wide spectrum of disciplines. This project is forming a steering committee of leaders in geospatial education to research issues critical to industry and education. These issues include: workforce needs, geospatial core competencies, certification, curriculum, pedagogy, educational pathways (including articulation and internships), professional development, communication, geospatial awareness and diversity, future trends, and the qualities of a successful ATE Center.
Geospatial technology is a rapidly expanding industry that crosscuts nearly every discipline and every sector of our economy. The term 'geospatial technology' is a broad term referring to Geographical Information Systems (GIS), Global Positioning Systems (GPS), and Remote Sensing (RS). These are emerging technologies that assist the user in the collection, analysis, and interpretation of spatial data. The field of geospatial technology enables other fields to improve productivity, profitability, and efficiency, while evaluating environmental impacts on our ecosystems. Currently, no ATE Center or Resource Center specifically addresses geospatial technologies even though geospatial technologies are becoming essential to many of the economic sectors that existing ATE Centers address. Each year NSF funds new GIS-related projects under numerous directorates, but coordination among the Centers and projects involved in GIS/geospatial technology is minimal.
The project consists of five phases: (1) the project steering committee researches literature and conducts surveys, as needed, to produce a written synopsis of the current state of the critical issues described above; (2) a national forum is held that pulls from the expertise of geospatial technology leaders in industry, education, and workforce development, and the results of the research are shared, discussed, and modified as necessary; (3) the outcomes of the forum are assembled into a draft report that outlines a vision and plan for national coordination of geospatial technology education at the community college; (4) the draft plan is widely disseminated to a broader audience of community college, university, industry, and workforce development professionals for comment and review; and (5) the final report is published that provides a blue print for the national coordination of geospatial activities at the community college level and an implementation plan for a national geospatial technology resource center.
