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GIS Workshop 2011

Erin Moore and Ben Reckelhoff at the Center for Media Design are promoting this year's GIS Workshop with a nice article (below) and short video as part of their February Emerging Media Initiative Update.


Geography students provide GIS services to local non-profits
by Erin Moore, Emerging Media Initiative; video by Ben Reckelhoff, Center for Media Design 
In spring 2010, Matt Wilson, Emerging Media New Faculty Fellow in Geography, launched a unique GIS course that partnered geography students with local organizations in need of digital mapping services and analysis. Last year, student teams provided mapping solutions for four community organizations, including Delaware County United Way and Open Door Health Services, a community health center for the uninsured and under-insured.
United Way and Open Door have continued their partnerships with Ball State into 2011, offering opportunities for a new class of geography students to apply their skills to important social issues. For these organizations, student teams have been assembled to map health service provision and analyze links between U.S. Census data and student performance in Muncie and the neighboring community of Gaston.
Wilson has also secured new partnerships for spring 2011, including the City of Muncie Community Development Department, the Delaware County Soil and Water Conservation District, and statewide WorkOne employment offices. Students will complete a comparative analysis of farming practices using historical maps and EPA sediment load calculators, document stream bank conditions using GPS enabled cameras, work with preservation students to catalog conditions of homes in Muncie’s Kimbrough Historic District, and create a central web-based portal of support services for the unemployed, focusing on southeastern Indiana counties.
The students work with their community partners throughout the semester, and each project culminates in a student presentation and delivery of assets to each agency.
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