GEOL 234 Welcome Letter
Remote Sensing
crn 51185
Instructor: Feride Schroeder
Contact Information
Email: fschroed@cuesta.edu
Course meetings: This is a six week course that runs from June 14th to July 23rd. This course is a fully online/DE course.
Office location: online Zoom room
Office hours: online on Canvas T W Th 9:00 – 10:00 am and by appointment
Phone: I do not maintain a phone on campus. Urgent messages can be left with the Division Assistant at x3230.
Prerequisite: GEOL 230 Introduction to GIS (or equivalent)
Course Description
Introduces remote sensing of the Earth. Topics include the physical principles on which remote sensing is based, history and future trends, sensors and their characteristics, image data sources, and image classification, interpretation and analysis techniques.
Student Learning Outcomes and Objectives
Upon successful completion of this course, you should be able to do the following:
- Describe the basic physical concepts on which remote sensing is based.
- Describe characteristics of passive and active remote sensing systems.
- Perform basic remote sensing analysis to solve problems.
- Interpret, analyze and assess the accuracy of the results of a remote sensing workflow.
- Select appropriate data for remote sensing applications based on spectral, temporal, radiometric and spatial resolution.
Canvas and Online Learning Information
The lectures and other required materials for this course will be administered through the Canvas Learning Management System (LMS). The course will be available starting Sunday, June 13th. Canvas will be used to administer lectures, take quizzes/exams, submit lab assignments, download course data, find web resources, check your grades, attend online office hours, and chat with the instructor and other students on a message board. If you need assistance logging into Canvas, go to the Cuesta Distance Education website for this quick reference guide: Canvas Quick Reference Guide link. Your learning environment is best accessed from a desktop or laptop computer, using Firefox or Chrome. Please review the browser requirements and minimum computer specifications. Additional information will be provided for you on the Canvas site for this course.
Online learning is not for everyone; some people may not be able to manage a course that does not meet face to face to learn. Online learning requires lots of planning and self-pacing so that you may be successful in my course. Since I will be covering a large amount of material in 6 weeks, I would highly recommend staying on schedule and keeping up with lectures and quizzes. Please do not be tempted to skip two weeks of class work and expect to catch up easily. You may want to consider taking this self-assessment to determine if you are a good candidate for an online course. Go to the Online Readiness Resources to take this self-assessment. There are many resources that were designed to help you understand the basis for an online class and the skills necessary for success.
Instructor Contact Expectations
Regular and effective instructor contact will be met through weekly discussions, announcements, timely feedback on assignments, email, and virtual office hours. I expect to interact with you at least twice a week online. I will respond to emails sent during the regular work week (M – F) within 24 hours. I make my best effort to have all assignments and assessments graded and returned to you with feedback within one week. Grading rubrics will be provided for all assignments and the final project. (What is a rubric? Click here to find out more.) I will also be holding open lab hours at a time to be determined by the start of the semester. That information will be posted on Canvas.
Course materials
Required textbooks (available in bookstore, online on Vital Source or most large internet booksellers)
- Essential Earth Imaging for GIS, by Lawrence Fox III, 15th Edition
- Imagery for GIS, by Green, Congalton and Tukman, Ist Edition, 2017, ESRI Press (Vital Source)
Optional textbooks (available in bookstore):
- GIS Fundamentals, by Paul Bolstad, 5th edition
Required software (available free from Cuesta College):
ESRI ArcGIS Pro 2.7 or higher – available in Cuesta Library Open Computer Labs on the Engineering computers or student license from your instructor
ArcGIS Online – if needed, account available from your instructor
ArcGIS software runs on Microsoft Windows. If you are planning to install the software on a Mac OS, you will need to set up a dual boot environment to run the software. There will information posted on Canvas to assist in software installation. The software site license for Cuesta College provides student versions of the software for you to install on your personal computers. Contact your instructor if you would like to obtain a one year site license. If you would like to load the ArcGIS software on your computer, you can check your system’s compatibility on the ESRI website: ArcGIS Pro system requirements link.
A flash drive to store your data and assignments. I recommend a minimum of 64 GB of storage.
Technical support
If you are having difficulty viewing the course or logging in, it may be because you are not using the correct url: https://cuesta.instructure.com/ or you are using your phone or using an unsupported browser. I do not recommend using the smartphone or tablet app for tasks other than checking due dates and grades due to limited functionality. Cuesta students are encouraged to direct all Canvas technical support inquiries to support@my.cuesta.edu. If you are having issues with Canvas outside of normal working hours, you can contact the Canvas Support Hotline at (877) 921-7680, or click on the help button on the Canvas Navigation to report a problem.
Technical support for ESRI products can be obtained at the ESRI website at https://support.esri.com/en/contact-tech-support.
Accommodations
If you need any special accommodations for a disability, please contact the instructor as soon as possible. Students are also encouraged to contact Disabled Student Programs and Services (DSPS) in the High Tech Learning Center on the first floor of the 3300 building), by phone at (805) 591-3148 or email at dspsinfo@cuesta.edu as soon as possible to better ensure such accommodations are implemented in a timely fashion. More information is available on the website at Cuesta College DSPS website link.
College and Course policies
The College defines cheating as taking an examination or performing an assigned, evaluated task in a dishonest way, such as by having improper access to answers or submitting work that is not your own (Cuesta College Academic Honesty statement link). I take this matter very seriously. Students caught being academically dishonest may receive a failing grade on the assignments in question, be dropped from the class, or be failed in the course. Beyond this, the student may be subject to disciplinary action as determined by the Vice President of Student Services or designee.
Although I do not take attendance in this course, your participation will be monitored on Canvas and through work completed during the laboratory period. If you have not logged onto Canvas by the add deadline, you will be dropped from the course. In addition, if you miss more than 3 laboratory periods, you may be dropped from the course. After the withdrawl with a “W” deadline, and you are no longer participating in the course, you must drop the course on your own or you will receive a failing grade.
For those students trying to add the course, please refer to the college waitlist procedure and instructions. It is important that you are checking your myCuesta email daily so you do not miss your enrollment opportunity. See Cuesta’s waitlist procedure and instructions.
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