Aneta Szablowska-Midor, Jacek Kozak, Wojciech Widacki

UNIGIS studies in Poland – learning GIS at a distance

Aneta Szablowska-Midor, Jacek Kozak, Wojciech Widacki

GIS Laboratory, Institute of Geography and Spatial Management,

Jagiellonian University

Abstract

The use of e-learning in the GIScience field is rapidly expanding, and involves both commercial companies and academic institutions. UNIGIS is an international network of universities offering distance-learning post-graduate education in GIScience, on the basis of a harmonised curriculum. Course content has a modular structure and is provided via an Internet platform. To meet professional standards, cooperation with industrial and commercial partners (e.g. ESRI) is maintained.

The first Polish edition of UNIGIS studies was launched in 2004 at Jagiellonian University in Kraków (Poland) in cooperation with Paris Lodron-University in Salzburg (Austria). Students work with English-language materials, and communication with tutors is in Polish. Practical exercises are performed by using ArcGIS and GeoMedia Professional packages. After completion of the two-year programme, students achieve a certificate issued by Jagiellonian University and the Master of Science qualification from the University in Salzburg.

Three intakes of UNIGIS students in Poland allow several observations in terms of student profile. In this paper we analyse the educational and professional background of these UNIGIS students, including their primary experience in using GIS software. We then present students’ expectations in relation to the skills and knowledge they hope to gain. Additionally, we attempt to identify learning habits they practice and the barriers they meet in the e-learning process. Finally, we discuss our findings in the context of e-learning experiences of other GI-education programmes.

Keywords: education, distance-learning, e-learning, GIScience, GISystems,

Introduction

The fundamental components of Geographic Information Science (GIS) have recently expanded into a variety of different fields (diBase et al., 2006). This growth creates the demand to establish an effective means of teaching and learning of GIS, regardless of time, place and educational background (Wright et al, 2002). Such distance learning is now most appropriately delivered through the Internet in the form of e-learning. Distance learning may be defined as a “system for people of all ages and professions to improve their educational levels adjusted to their own learning speeds and capacities while keeping their productivity” (Ulugtekin, 2005). This definition focuses on the reasons that someone may have, and constraints they may meet while undertaking this kind of study.

Wright et al. (2002) list different e-learning models. Some of them highlight the aspect of the learning process in terms of its synchronisation, via synchronous and asynchronous models. Others take into account the presence of a teacher/tutor, as instructor-led and non-instructor-led models, as well as the organisation of the students, in cohort-based and independent student work models. The last group of models focuses on the existence of traditional on-campus classes: pure e-learning and blended-learning.

Both academic institutions and commercial companies are involved in delivering e-learning of GIS. Academic institutions seem to concentrate more on the field of Geographic Information Science and offer rather long-lasting courses oriented on general GIS knowledge (e.g. UNIGIS studies, www.unigis.net), while commercial companies focus more on Geographic Information Systems as a technology, offering shorter courses oriented on software skills and examples of GIS applications (e.g. ESRI Training and Education http://training.esri.com). In this paper, we present the UNIGIS studies undertaken in Poland, launched in 2004, discussing preliminary observations on student profiles, their learning and communication styles and difficulties encountered during the study period.

UNIGIS studies

UNIGIS is an international network of universities in 14 countries, which offer GIS education at postgraduate level on basis of a harmonised curriculum. An Internet platform provides access to learning materials and serves as a means of communication between teachers and students, and students with each other. To meet the requirements of labour markets and to increase relevance for working professionals, some parts of the UNIGIS curriculum are based on software-oriented components, for example practical activities that are based on ArcGIS or GeoMedia, accompanied by introductory software courses provided by the GIS industry, such as the ESRI Training, Intergraph online course "Introduction to Geographical Information Systems".

UNIGIS studies at Jagiellonian University in Kraków, Poland, started in 2004 in close cooperation with Paris Lodron University in Salzburg. Jagiellonian University takes responsibility for the teaching, but in fact students are registered at both universities. This constitutes an advantage for them and results in them having the opportunity to obtain two diplomas: the Certificate issued by Jagiellonian University and the Master of Science qualification of the University in Salzburg.

The two-year postgraduate programme consists of obligatory and optional online modules and on-campus workshops. The programme foresees four workshops, one per semester. Each module contains a couple of assignments. Students are obliged to write and send assignments to a tutor for evaluation. English-language materials are used for these activities, but communication with the teachers/tutors is conducted in Polish. A part of this communication takes place on several discussion forums. There is one general forum for students of each group, where they share ideas connected with UNIGIS studies and one technical forum, which helps to solve problems related to GIS software installation and usage. Separate forums are dedicated to different modules, where students address questions related to the module content and assignment tasks. According to the classification of e-learning modes proposed by Wright at al. (2002), UNIGIS studies in Poland represent blended-learning, asynchronous, instructor-led and cohort-based model, which is regarded as the most effective way of teaching (Wright at al, 2002).

In 2004, 16 students started their studies, whereas in 2005 the number of students increased to 20. The most recent intake in 2006 was organised under special rules according to the requirements of European Social Fund, within a governmental programme that promotes development of human resources in modern economy (http://www.efs.gov.pl/ ). This project, “Postgraduate studies of Geographic Information Systems UNIGIS 2006”, was received with a significant interest. As a result, 30 successful applicants, mostly from the sectors of small- and medium-sized enterprises, were admitted to start their studies.

UNIGIS students in Poland

Three groups of students (66 students in total) provided us with several opportunities to make some observations regarding the profile of students who were applying for, and participating in UNIGIS studies in Poland. This preliminary analysis was made on the basis of different sources of information, like registration questionnaires, statistics generated via the e-learning platform (between March 2004 and September 2006), the content of discussion forums, e-mails from students and face-to-face discussions during the on-campus workshops.

General characteristics

Usually, candidates for UNIGIS studies found information about studies searching in the Internet or were informed by the colleagues in their workplace; in a few cases they learnt about the study opportunities in newspapers or through newsletters. Each year the number of students starting UNIGIS courses has been growing (from 16 in 2004 to 30 in 2006). Furthermore, the gender structure has also changed. In 2004 there was an evident dominance of men, whereas in 2005 and 2006 more women than men started the studies (Figure 1a). A significant majority of students were aged under 30, but a group of students more than 40 years old was present as well (Figure 1b). Students come from different places in Poland – mainly from big cities like Warszawa, Kraków, Poznań, Wrocław and Lublin, which are quite remote from each other, in distance of hundreds of kilometers.

Figure 1. Gender structure of UNIGIS students in Poland (a); age structure of UNIGIS students in Poland (b)

Qualifications, status and professional profile

Most of the students (58%) possessed an engineering degree, the rest of them had a university background, mainly Geography and Geology. A few applicants with either a PhD degree, or completing PhD studies were accepted as well. Students represented different working status and stages in the working cycle, They included low level staff of companies, or governmental institutions up to the Director of a company. Cartography, forestry, science and surveying were the most frequently represented branches (Table 1). Twice as many students worked in private companies than in state-owned institutions. Most of the students used GIS in their work in some sense, only a few of them used it regularly and to a professional level. This was reflected in their primary experience in using GIS software. According to the students declarations ArcGIS, ArcView and ArcInfo packages were the most used software.

Table 1. Employment fields of UNIGIS students

Fields / Intake 2004 / Intake 2005 / Intake 2006 / Total
administration / 1 / 0 / 0 / 1
building industry / 1 / 1 / 0 / 2
cartography / 0 / 4 / 3 / 7
forestry / 1 / 3 / 5 / 9
mining / 0 / 2 / 2 / 4
nature conservation / 2 / 1 / 1 / 4
power industry / 1 / 1 / 0 / 2
science / 5 / 2 / 0 / 7
surveying / 1 / 0 / 8 / 9
telecommunication & information technology / 0 / 1 / 4 / 5
tourism / 2 / 1 / 1 / 4
other fields / 1 / 1 / 6 / 8
unemployed / 1 / 3 / 0 / 4
total / 16 / 20 / 30 / 66

Expectations

During the qualification process potential candidates were asked for their expectations related to their UNIGIS studies. Most of candidates indicated they hoped for an improvement of their generic GIS knowledge and skills as the desired result of undertaking UNIGIS studies. Revision and update of prior GIS knowledge and getting to know more examples of GIS applications were mentioned as well. Candidates typically associated their UNIGIS studies with career development, as they hoped either to use the gained GIS knowledge and skills in their workplaces, or to improve their qualification and to find a new job, which would be better suited to their ambitions (Table 2). Although the studies allow to them to obtain a Masters degree, students did not mention formal certificates and recognised academic degree as their primary aim to undertake UNIGIS studies.

Table 2. Students’ expectations in relation to UNIGIS studies

Expectations / Intake 2004 / Intake 2005 / Intake 2006 / Total
improvement of generic GIS knowledge and skills / 5 / 10 / 22 / 37
usage of GIS knowledge and skills in the workplace / 6 / 4 / 11 / 21
revision and update of prior GIS knowledge / 1 / 4 / 4 / 9
software usage skills / 1 / 1 / 5 / 7
qualification improvement / 1 / 1 / 5 / 7
getting to know more examples of GIS applications / 0 / 1 / 3 / 4
finding a new job / 1 / 2 / 0 / 3

Observations on barriers, learning and communication styles

The community usage statistics of the e-learning platform showed that technical and module-dedicated forums were most frequently used to discuss study-related problems. Students faced problems mainly in terms of [1] software usage and [2] understanding, what they were expected to do within a given assignment. Although many students faced problems connected with the above mentioned matters, only a few individuals decided to find help in sending a post to the discussion forum. Most of them preferred direct communication with a teacher or a teaching assistant. Very striking was the fact that there were many students who never posted any messages at all to the discussion forum (10 out of 30 students of the 2006 intake for example).

Although students are afforded some flexibility in assignment submission, they often meet considerable difficulties in completing their work on time. One module consists of 15 lessons and lasts approximately 2 months. Each lesson relates to approximately 5-6 hours of learning time. In addition, students have to reserve additional time for assignments, and in-depth study of optional materials within the module. In this way, completing the module on time requires considerable planning, a systematic approach and strong motivation to study, which is difficult to maintain for a lengthy period of time. We noted, that in terms of assignment submission that students quickly split into three groups: leaders, laggers and intermediate students. Furthermore, we observed a kind of interrelation between students’ activity within discussion forums and their achievements. In general, leaders tended to be quite active discussion participants, while laggards never “stand up to speak” (Figure 2a). And vice versa, students who are active on the discussion forum usually did not meet difficulties in assignment submission, while passive students never completed their work on time (Figure 2b).

Figure 2. Interrelation between students’ assignments submission and participation in online discussion (a); interrelation between participation in online discussion and timely submission of assignments (b)

The problems with keeping up with the relatively quick pace may be related also to inappropriate allocation of time to study during the day and during the week. According to the e-learning platform statistics, students mainly worked on the e-learning platform during two preferred time periods of the day: between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. and then between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. (Figure 3a). More than 20% of their work during the week was done on Monday. Saturdays and Sundays were least favoured having only a 7% and 13% share of the time respectively (Figure 3b). In this way, it seemed that students do not take full advantage of the possibility to study outside their typical working hours and days.

Figure 3. Summarized access to the e-learning platform during a day (a); summarized access to the e-learning platform during a week (b)

Additional problem related to the current structure of UNIGIS studies in Poland were English language skills. While students are not asked to prove their language skills during interviews and qualifications, they are informed of the necessity to have at least a passive knowledge of English. Evidence of this as a problem was shown in the high usage statistics of supporting Polish language materials which have been developed this year.