We encourage peer-to-peer interactions in as many ways as possible. Blogs are just one way GIS Online supports a strongly student-centered learning environment. Blogging promotes learning, professional networking and portfolio building.
Instructors choose students to showcase or spotlight on the main GIS Program blog based on stellar work throughout the semester. Online GIS staff point potential employers (for regular and internship positions) and prospective students to the program blog on a regular basis. The following video outlines why we blog in more detail.
Why we Blog
Visit our Program Blog to see up-to-date examples of the course work that our students are completing. Our students are really top-notch!
"With minimal additional effort, the blog itself can be put into a PowerPoint slideshow, which can immediately catch attention from supervisor, colleagues, newbies, and any other interested party, and potential future employers."
Since our courses are 100% online we lack a laboratory setting where students can peek over shoulders and ask each other questions, blogs allow students an informal avenue to view other's work, ask questions, share ideas and provide feedback to their peers.
Some students' maps have been linked by other professional bloggers and websites. One student's map was recently published in a textbook! We cannot emphasize enough the importance of the blog to our students and program as a whole.
Create Your Student Blog
We require that all of our students create and maintain a student blog for the duration of their certificate courses. Watch this short video to find out how to create your own Student Blog.
Download this How-to document and follow along!
By posting a brief description of their weekly GIS assignments, our students share their experience with fellow classmates, other GIS enthusiasts, and earn participation points in their courses. By the end of the GIS Certificate Program, our students will have created a sort of GIS Journal or portfolio showcasing examples of work completed for all 7 courses.
Utilizing a personal blog to share work is a great way to view classmate’s maps, see how others complete the same task (for style), provide feedback to fellow students’ work, build a sense of community, and ultimately help each other make better end-products. It is important for our students to practice communicating what they did, why they did it and what information is displayed on their map clearly and succinctly.