University and Student-made COVID-19 Maps and Dashboards
Case News:
Mapping the COVID-19 risk - "A team led by Yanfang (Fanny) Ye, the Theodore L. and Dana J. Schroeder Associate Professor in the department of Computer and Data Sciences and the Institute for Smart, Secure and Connected Systems (ISSACS) at the Case School of Engineering, has developed and is testing
an online risk-assessment tool that would give the user updated location-specific information about the relative risk of going to any location in the United States."
Teaching and Learning
Penn State News:
Students keep learning communities alive virtually - "The halls and classrooms of Walker Building are empty and silent but undergraduate and graduate students in the Department of Geography are finding ways to connect and support each other during remote learning."
KNAU:
University Students Struggle With Technology Access During Pandemic - "Students without high speed Internet or reliable computers at home are struggling with their online coursework. Jeff Jenness teaches a GIS lab at Northern Arizona University. He says NAU has a 'virtual desktop' with the GIS software, but not all of his students have been able to access it."
Educate (American Public Media):
What good is a history major? - "As fewer college students opt to major in history, there's an effort by history departments to prove the practical value of their discipline." An interesting listen especially when you insert "geography" where they says "history."
Geographical:
Free online learning for students, teachers and curious minds - Another list of resources, mostly courses, but also lectures, podcasts, career information and activities .
Programs and Courses
Kamloops this Week:
TRU professor hopes to teach course on COVID-19 pandemic this summer - "Dr. Michael Mehta, who teaches geography and sociology at the [Thomspon Rivers] university, said he has received positive feedback from students looking to enroll in the potential summer course after missing out on credits when the novel coronavirus pandemic moved TRU’s winter semester courses out of the classroom and onto the internet."
Planet:
McGill University Partners With Planet To Track Earth Systems Changes Daily - "McGill University, one of the oldest universities in Canada, recently signed an agreement with Planet to provide students with subscription access to Planet’s data and satellite imagery."
University of California:
University of California Health Data Initiative Launches Daily Updates on COVID-19 Tests - "Today, the University of California Health will begin to distribute daily updates via its
@UofCAHealth Twitter account about SARS-CoV-2 testing volume, the number of positive tests and age distribution of confirmed cases gathered from its five medical centers across the state." Yes, there are maps.
People
UGA Today:
Three faculty members receive 2020 Russell Awards - One of the three recipients of this undergraduate teaching award is "Jerry Shannon, an assistant professor with a joint appointment in the department of geography in the Franklin College and in the College of Family and Consumer Science’s department of financial planning, housing and consumer economics."
U Toronto:
A&S launches Online Learning Academy - "... the Faculty is launching the A&S Online Learning Academy to bring those professors and instructors [with online experience] together to share their expertise in providing outstanding online learning opportunities for our students. ... The Academy is led by Don Boyes, an award-winning professor from the University of Toronto’s Department of Geography & Planning who is passionate about the role of technology in teaching and how it can be leveraged to transform the learning experience for students." Via @DonBoyes.
Mississippi State:
Thomasson returns to MSU as agricultural and biological engineering head - "A precision agriculture and cotton ginning expert is the new head of Mississippi State’s Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering."
AroundtheO:
OU geography prof urges change in pandemic fund oversightIn a journal commentary in The Lancet - "In a journal commentary in The Lancet Infectious Diseases, University of Oregon geographer Leigh Johnson and her colleague Susan Erikson, a medical anthropologist at Simon Fraser University, explain why a World Bank fund meant to mobilize private investors’ money for pandemic preparedness and prevention has repeatedly failed to disburse money – first for the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2019 and now for COVID-19."
