geospatial technologies

Geospatial Technology Education

Michael G. Wing and John Sessions
Geospatial technology is now a standard part of most forestry and natural resource operations. may encourage organizations to adopt newer
Geospatial hardware includes global positioning systems (GPS), digital measurement instruments, technologies more quickly so that opera-

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remote sensing platforms, and other digital devices. Geospatial software includes GIS, image processing, tions can continue.
and other spatial analysis tools. Gaining and maintaining competency with technological tools is The primary provider of forestry and
challenging given that technological advancements are ongoing and new tools and techniques are natural resource geospatial education pro-
frequently being developed. The primary provider of forestry and natural resource geospatial education grams in the United States is the higher ed-
programs in the United States is the higher education system. In this article, we examine the perceived ucation system. We examine, in this article,
importance of geospatial skills in the workforce and summarize the geospatial course offerings of the the perceived importance of geospatial skills
ABSTRACT

top-ranked higher education forestry programs in North America. We also more closely examine how in the workforce and provide a summary of
one forestry curriculum and home university provides geospatial technology instruction to undergrad- geospatial education offerings of the top 10
uate, professional certificate, and continuing education students. We also identify potential challenges forestry programs in North America. We
that geospatial education programs may encounter and describe some technological developments that also examine in detail how one forestry cur-
can make teaching activities more efficient for instructors and more accessible for students. We found riculum provides geospatial instruction to
that geospatial skills are currently in demand and that demand appears likely to increase in the future. undergraduate, professional certificate, and
In addition, geospatial technology coursework is required by the majority of the top forestry programs, continuing education students. In addition,
and their associated universities also offer a variety of geospatial technology courses. Like many skills, we also consider the challenges that geospa-
competence with geospatial technology grows with practice. A logical hierarchy of classes builds with tial education programs are likely to encoun-
introduction to geospatial technology in the lower division classes with professional applications in the ter and technological developments that can
upper division classes. make instruction more accessible for stu-
dents and more efficient for instructors.
Keywords: geospatial technology; education; GIS; GPS
Background
Digital technology now commonly
used in forestry and natural resource appli-

G
eospatial technology is a central
part of many forestry and natural
resource organizations and for
many other disciplines throughout society
(National Research Council [NRC] 2006).
Geospatial hardware such as global position-
ing systems (GPS), electronic distance mea-
surement devices (EDMs), and digital data
recorders are used frequently by forestry
field personnel. Geospatial software such as
geographic information systems (GIS) and
image analysis tools have become core tech-
nologies, with some organizations creating
internal departments that specialize in soft-
ware applications such as GIS. Even in orga-
nizations that have dedicated technology de-
partments, many employees are required to
have at least basic hardware and software
skills to be efficient at their jobs. Staying cur-
rent with technological tools is challenging,
however, even for those that are skilled with
digital technologies, given that technologi-
cal advancements are ongoing and new tools
frequently become available. In some cases,
as new technologies become available, previ-
ous technologies that organizations relied on
are sometimes discontinued or support is no
longer offered by the manufacturer. This
cations includes a number of software and
hardware tools. Among the most important
digital tools for many forestry organizations
are GISs, which are used to meet a variety of
research and management goals (Wing and
Bettinger 2003). It is also increasingly likely
that employees in forestry organizations
have access to GIS software on their personal
computers (Bettinger 1999). Within natural
resource education programs, GIS skills are
becoming as important as fieldwork abilities
(Gerwin 2004). GIS applications are be-
coming typical in courses that focus on sur-

Received September 6, 2006; accepted March 16, 2007.

Michael Wing (michael.wing@oregonstate.edu) is assistant professor, and John Sessions (john.sessions@oregonstate.edu) is professor, Department of Forest Engineer-
ing, Oregon State University, Peavy Hall 204, Corvallis, OR 97331.
Copyright © 2007 by the Society of American Foresters.

Journal of Forestry • June 2007 173


Figure 1. A digital total station in use during
a geomatics course.
veying and resource measurements, plan-
ning and operations, and hydrology and
watershed management.
The core component that supports suc-
cessful geospatial applications is a reliable
spatial database. Data quality assessments
include not only the accurate spatial repre-
sentation of features in a database but also
the accurate recording of information asso-
ciated with features. Organizations that use
GISs and other geospatial software must ei-
ther collect their own data through field-
based or remote sensing techniques or gather
data from other organizations that are freely
available or through contractual agreements.
A variety of digitally based hardware is
now available to provide measurement data
for geospatial software including handheld
laser range finders, GPSs, and digital total
stations (Figure 1). Each of these digital
hardware devices comes in a variety of con-
figurations and capabilities with contrasts in
price depending on performance character-
istics. Measurement capabilities, instrument
ruggedness, and required operator skill vary
depending on the instrument’s configura-
tion (Wing and Kellogg 2004). The major-
ity of GPSs have onboard data storage but
instruments such as range finders and total
stations may require that data be down-
loaded to a field data collector or Personal
Digital Assistant (PDA). Typically, field
data collectors are more expensive than
PDAs but offer the advantage of ruggedness
(Wing and Kellogg 2004) but either tool is
likely preferable to recording measurements
in a field book, a process that has a high
probability of introducing errors into a final
digital product.
If an organization is using a GIS, data-
bases collected through remote sensing tech-
nologies will likely be of interest and ac-
quired if resources permit. Remote sensing
technologies include digital aerial photogra-
174 Journal of Forestry • June 2007
phy, light detection and ranging (LiDAR),
or satellite-based observation platforms
(Bergen et al. 2000). Digital image process-
ing software, sometimes termed remote
sensing software, is designed so that users
can access and analyze imagery that contains
earth information (Brown 2000).
The Importance of Geospatial
Skills
The US Department of Labor has iden-
tified geospatial technology occupations,
along with biotechnology and nanotechnol-
ogy, as one of three emerging industries that
will experience continued growth and re-
quire additional skilled workforce members
in the future (US Department of Labor
2006). Currently, the geospatial technology
industry is viewed as having a shortage of
qualified professionals and specialists (Gau-
det et al. 2003, Mondello et al. 2004).
The Society of American Foresters
(SAF) is the accrediting body for forestry ed-
ucation in the United States and has identi-
fied a recommended curriculum (SAF
2004). Accreditation guidelines require that
students should receive instruction in the
use of contemporary electronic technologies
and have the “ability to identify and measure
land areas and conduct spatial analysis”
(SAF 2004, p. 5).
Previous studies have examined the per-
ceived importance of geospatial technologies
for forestry curriculums. Wing (2001) con-
ducted a poll of 18 public and private natu-
ral resource organization representatives
through an interview-based telephone sur-
vey to determine GIS use trends. Represen-
tatives were polled as to the extent that their
organizations used GIS, the importance of
GIS skills in potential employee evaluation,
and whether they supported GIS instruction
in a forestry curriculum. Almost all repre-
sentatives indicated that their organizations
applied GIS extensively in daily operations
and made GIS software available to employ-
ees. The majority of respondents reported
that GIS skills were of at least medium im-
portance in hiring decisions. Nearly all re-
spondents recommended that GIS instruc-
tion should be part of a forestry curriculum.
Many respondents commented during the
interviews and concluding conversations
that GIS was considered generally to be an
emerging tool in years before the survey but
GIS had become very important if not crit-
ical for their organization’s present day-to-
day operations. Most commented that GIS
will become an increasing part of their orga-
nization and that knowing how to operate or
interact with a GIS would be essential for
foresters in the future.
Childers and Straka (2004) polled 211
members of the Association of Consulting
Foresters to assess educational needs for un-
dergraduate forestry students. Although
technical writing and public speaking skills
were the top two subjects that required more
emphasis, information technology and GISs
were among the top five subjects of impor-
tance. Technologies such as GIS and GPS
are commonly used by consulting forester
firms and competency in these areas often is
expected of new hires (Straka and Childers
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2006).
Geospatial Instruction at North
American Forestry Programs
We examined the geospatial curricu-
lum of the top 10 forestry programs in
North America as identified by a composite
scoring system reported by Laband and
Zhang (2006). We gathered our informa-
tion through institutional curriculum
WWW pages and through direct contacts
with faculty members associated with the
forestry programs. We determined how
many geospatial courses were offered
through the forestry programs and their as-
sociated university and separated the results
by undergraduate and graduate education
level. We also determined whether a geospa-
tial course was required of forestry under-
graduates and, if so, the number and type of
geospatial courses that were required. We
separated geospatial courses into three broad
groups including GIS, remote sensing
(which includes photogrammetry and image
analysis), and all other geospatial education
courses. Other courses included topics such
as surveying (also called “geomatics” at
many institutions), cartography, and spatial
statistics.
Our results indicated that all the top 10
forestry programs and home institutions of-
fer geospatial courses at both undergraduate
and graduate levels (Table 1). Eight of 10
forestry programs require that forestry un-
dergraduate students complete at least one
geospatial course, and three programs re-
quire undergraduates to complete both a
GIS and a remote sensing course. Four of the
forestry program home institutions offer a
professional geospatial certificate program
while another (Virginia Tech) is currently
developing a certificate program. Six of the
Table 1. Summary of geospatial technology offerings through top 10 forestry programsa

Oregon Virginia North Carolina University University University SUNY University of University Pennsylvania
Geospatial education State Tech State University of Georgia of Washington of Minnesota Syracuseb British Columbia of Florida State University

Geospatial courses
Forestry undergraduate
GIS 2 1 1 1 3 1 3 1 1 0
RS 2 1 1 1 2 1 4 2 0 2
Other 2 1 2 1 3 1 12 0 4 1
Undergraduate requirement Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No Yes Yes
Requirement 1 GIS RS GIS GIS GIS GIS GIS RS
Requirement 2 RS RS
Forestry graduate
GIS 1 1 3 0 0 1 2 0 1 0
RS 1 0 1 1 0 2 0 1 0 1
Other 0 0 3 3 1 2 1 0 0 0
Nonforestry undergraduate
GIS 5 6 3 3 6 1 4 4 5 10

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RS 2 1 0 3 3 0 0 1 6 5
Other 7 3 2 6 7 10 15 2 10 18
Nonforestry graduate
GIS 2 6 2 4 2 9 4 0 14 3
RS 3 2 1 6 0 0 7 1 6 0
Other 4 3 7 7 2 21 11 0 15 6
Professional geospatial certificate Yes No Yes No Yes No No No No Yes
Continuing education geospatial
courses Yes Yes Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes Yes
a
Top ten forestry programs as identified by Laband and Zhang (2006).
b
Includes courses and programs at both Syracuse University and the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry.
RS, remote sensing.

home institutions offer at least one continu-
ing education course in geospatial technol-
ogy.
Geospatial Instruction at
Oregon State University’s (OSU)
College of Forestry
Here, we present a closer look at how
the College of Forestry at OSU addresses
undergraduate, continuing education, and
professional certificate programs involving
geospatial technology. An undergraduate
GIS course was created in the Forest Engi-
neering Department at OSU’s College of
Forestry to satisfy GIS education require-
ments for forest engineering and other nat-
ural resource students. The GIS course bal-
ances lectures that focus on background and
theoretical GIS concepts with hands-on lab-
oratory applications that begin during the
1st week of class. The course text is titled
“GISs: Applications in Forestry and Natural
Resource Management” (Bettinger and
Wing 2004). During laboratory sessions,
each student has their own computer work-
station and the class initially works as a
group in completing a structured lab exer-
cise using actual data from Oregon’s forests.
The structured group exercise leads to
weekly assignments that must be completed
by students either individually or in teams.
Lab exercises range from mapping and for-
mulating spatial database queries to con-
ducting watershed and viewshed analyses
with raster data. A field exercise is used to
introduce students to GPS data collection
and subsequent processing for analysis and
mapping. Students also learn how to per-
form multiple overlay analysis and manipu-
late map projections throughout the course
of a term.
Students in the GIS course also are re-
quired to identify and conduct a spatial anal-
ysis of a forestry resource, and to present re-
sults orally and in a report at the end of the
term. Students are encouraged to seek in-
structor assistance if they have difficulty in
selecting or designing a spatial analysis
project. In some cases, students have partic-
ipated in ongoing research projects to collect Figure 2. A student involved in research to
data for their final project (Figure 2). Many satisfy requirements for a spatial analysis
students in the class remark that the experi- term project in a GIS course.
ence of the final project helped them under-
stand the workings and potential of GISs. dents also must complete and print a map
In addition to two written midterm ex- that shows the specific area and its location
ams that test student’s knowledge of GIS relative to the larger land area represented in
topics and applications, a final lab exam is the initial database (an inset map). The en-
used as a hands-on evaluative component for tire final lab exercise, from data access and
the course. Students are given access to a set importing to map production, must be com-
of data that they must import, reduce to a pleted within 2 hours.
specific area, and return base measurements The Forest Engineering Department is
of features such as roads and streams. Stu- accredited by both the SAF and the Ameri-

Journal of Forestry • June 2007 175

can Board of Engineering and Technology
(ABET). Maintaining ABET accreditation
requires that all courses in an approved cur-
riculum be subject to continual rigorous
evaluation. The primary method of evalua-
tion involves quantifying student achieve-
ment in a set of learning objectives. Student
achievement for each learning objective
must be evaluated by at least three metrics
(such as exams and assignments), including
a student self-assessment. Instructors must
show a pattern of continual improvement in
achieving learning objective success.
The learning objectives for the GIS
course are:
lineate a watershed hydrologic boundary
and conduct watershed analyses. Forest Op-
erations Design is a capstone class within the
Forest Engineering Department that re-
quires students to use GISs to develop a fea-
sible harvest plan that accounts for environ-
mental, economic, and social conditions.
Geographic Information Science
(GIScience) Certificate Programs
at OSU
A certificate program in GIScience was Figure 3. A GIS continuing education
created at OSU in 2003 to offer students workshop.
opportunities to gain and demonstrate geo-
spatial technology skills (OSU 2006). The
required for many professions including for-

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The ability to design and successfully com-
plete a spatial analysis.
An understanding of GIS fundamentals and
theory and an ability to apply these con-
cepts to solve problems.
The ability to create thematic maps.
Familiarity with advanced GIS operations
and the ability to use these techniques.
The ability to work with data of different
structures and to use these data to solve
problems.
The ability to import data of different carto-
graphic projections and to use these
data to solve problems.
The ability to communicate with others in
writing and orally regarding GIS appli-
cations.
Like many skills, competence with geo-
spatial technology grows with practice. A
logical hierarchy of classes builds with intro-
duction to geospatial technology in lower di-
vision classes with professional applications
in upper division classes. Ideally, introduc-
tion to geospatial technology occurs before
the completion of the sophomore year to
provide students with additional skills for
summer employment. The OSU forestry
curriculum requires satisfactory completion
of 6 months of forestry-related work experi-
ence for which geospatial technology skills
should increase summer employment op-
portunities. Several other courses through-
out the OSU forestry curriculum require
that students apply GIS skills in satisfying
course requirements. This integrative ap-
proach of GIS into the curriculum encour-
ages students to further develop their GIS
skills (Hess and Cheshire 2002). Other
courses that require GIS applications in-
clude Harvesting Process Engineering, in
which students use GISs to create and eval-
uate harvesting operations, and Watershed
Processes, in which students use GISs to de-
GIScience program offers certificates at the
graduate, undergraduate, and professional
levels. The graduate and undergraduate pro-
grams are available to all OSU students. The
professional certificate program is designed
for those that are in-career and wish to learn
or augment spatial skills. Students in all GI-
Science certificate programs must complete
a core set of courses and then a set of elective
courses that address one of four specialties:
GIS, remote sensing, cartography, or photo-
grammetry. On successful program comple-
tion, regularly enrolled students receive an
acknowledgment on their transcript while
professional students receive a certificate.
The professional certificate requires an un-
dergraduate degree as a prerequisite and,
with the exception of one elective course
that must be completed on campus, can be
earned through distance learning courses of-
fered through the Internet.
The OSU GIScience program now has
over 90 enrolled students with over 50 stu-
dents in the professional program. In future
years, professional certificate participants
may be able to enroll in 2- to 3-day intensive
GIS short courses that will satisfy some
course requirements for a certificate and may
increase the efficiency in which a certificate
can be earned. In response to the GIScience
program, some employers in Oregon have
begun to request successful completion of
the certificate program from job applicants
as demonstration of technological skills.
Continuing Education
Taking time away from daily responsi-
bilities for training purposes often is difficult
for professionals. One solution for improv-
ing geospatial technology skills is through
intensive continuing education short
courses. Professional development hours
(PDH) or continuing education credits are
estry, engineering, and land surveying. The
intent of PDH requirements is to ensure
that members of a profession continue to
learn new skills and stay abreast of develop-
ments that may enhance their abilities.
A series of GIS short courses has been
offered through the College of Forestry at
OSU since 1999 (OSU College of Forestry
2007). The short courses are 2 days in
length, are offered at the introductory and
advanced levels, and focus on forestry and
natural resource applications. The introduc-
tory course assumes that participants have
no background in GISs and includes theo-
retical background of GISs but focuses on
hands-on laboratory exercises. All partici-
pants use their own computer workstation
and work both independently and in groups
on practical GIS applications (Figure 3).
The advanced GIS short course assumes that
participants are comfortable with basic GIS
operations and emphasizes software applica-
tions including changing map projections,
importing various spatial data formats, ad-
vanced overlay applications, and working
with raster data including orthophotographs
and digital elevation models (DEMs). A
3-day introductory GIS and GPS short
course has been created for the USDA Forest
Service Sale Area Layout and Harvesting In-
stitute for federal agency employees. Al-
though the continuing education GIS
courses described previously are not pres-
ently part of the OSU GIScience certificate
program, they will be considered as potential
additions when the certificate program ex-
pands.
Challenges in Geospatial
Education
Software and Hardware Availabil-
ity. Education programs throughout the
United States often face budgetary chal-

176 Journal of Forestry • June 2007

lenges in purchasing software and hardware
products for instructional use. Although
some low-cost or free GIS software is avail-
able (Bernard and Prisley 2005), these prod-
ucts may not offer a full suite of processing
tools and may lack technical assistance such
as telephone support or established user
groups. Software vendors typically are gen-
erous in making laboratory software or
learning kits available. Environmental Sys-
tems Research Institute, producer of the
world’s most popular GIS software, makes
software freely available to students in
higher education programs, with some re-
strictions on software functionality and pur-
poses for which the software may be used.
Education programs usually will have to
purchase a site-license agreement to install
software in computer labs. Although the
site-license price usually is reduced in com-
parison with consumer pricing, the cost rep-
resents another operating expense that re-
quires annual payments.
Hardware needs often are more problem-
atic than software for educational programs.
Although some lower-cost GPSs may have suf-
ficient accuracy for instructional purposes
(Wing et al. 2005, Linehan 2006), quality
hardware tools such as GPSs and EDMs that
are capable of reliable measurement precision
often may cost thousands of dollars for a single
product. Running efficient field laboratory ses-
sions typically will require anywhere between 6
and 18 hardware tools, depending on the
equipment and number of students. Opportu-
nities to reduce investment costs by fully using
equipment include scheduling multiple labs
per day and offering courses multiple times per
year. These strategies, however, will require ad-
ditional instructor time and may further tax
faculty resources.
Although technological hardware usually
has a longer period of use between updates or
replacements than software, it is financially im-
possible for many programs to remain current
with hardware. Some hardware manufacturers
have offerings that allow programs to trade in
outdated equipment for newer equipment but
this arrangement often is the exception rather
than the rule. Even when equipment replace-
ment is available, instructors will need to de-
vote time to learning proper equipment use.
Geospatial Technology
Education for Graduate
Students
Graduate students in forestry programs
may often lack the geospatial technological
expertise necessary to complete thesis
project research. Graduate students typically
are allowed to enroll in undergraduate
courses that can help them gain necessary
skills. Undergraduate courses, however, do
not count toward the credit requirements
for a graduate degree and, in fact, count
against graduate student efficiency as they
must take time that was ordinarily devoted
to graduate studies to complete the under-
graduate coursework. Some universities of-
fer mixed enrollment courses where both
undergraduate and graduate students may
enroll. Typically, graduate students must
complete an additional requirement, such as
a term paper, to receive credit. The applica-
bility of mixed enrollment to graduate
courses has been challenged at some univer-
sities. Critics argue that mixed enrollment
courses do not truly address a graduate stu-
dent audience and level of rigor given that
undergraduates attend the same lectures at
graduate students. As a compromise, some
universities have placed limits on the num-
ber of mixed enrollment credits that a grad-
uate student can apply to satisfying program
requirements.
Instructors
The current model for professorial ad-
vancement at the majority of large universi-
ties in the United States rewards progress in
research publications and grants heavily in
comparison with teaching performance and
evaluations (Kennedy 1997). It is increas-
ingly rare to find professorial faculty ap-
pointments that concentrate on teaching re-
sponsibilities. Hence, professorial faculty
face challenges in devoting significant time
allocations to improving instructional abili-
ties. A further complication is that geospatial
software and hardware developments are on-
going and may require that instructional
materials be rewritten or updated. In some
cases, university or departmental resources
may be available to faculty to enroll in short
courses or to support faculty time for in-
structional development. Another solution
for instructors to remain current with soft-
ware and hardware development is to in-
volve technological tools in their research
that can be extended to the classroom.
Tools for Geospatial Instruction
Teaching Tools. Although some in-
structors may be hesitant to invest time in
learning how to operate new software to sup-
port their teaching activities, there are soft-
ware tools that can help instructors teach
courses more efficiently. We present two
such software programs here that are rela-
tively easy to use. LanSchool is a software
program that allows an instructor to interact
with all computers in a networked labora-
tory (LanSchool Technologies 2006). An in-
structor can access any networked laboratory
computer’s current session and view it on an
instructional computer. In addition, the in-
structor can use LanSchool from an instruc-
tional computer to interactively take control
of an individual student’s computer labora-
tory session while the student observes their
monitor. This functionality enables the in-
structor to navigate a student through soft-
ware difficulties with minimal class disrup-
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tion and reduces the need for teaching
assistants. An instructor also can broadcast
any student’s computer session to all other
lab machines. This feature can be used to
show exceptional or noteworthy work to
other students.
Students in computer lab settings
sometimes may become distracted by oppor-
tunities to surf the Internet or to use other
software programs that are unrelated to the
laboratory session. LanSchool allows an in-
structor to transmit global messages to all lab
machines that preempt other programs from
being used. The instructor also can tempo-
rarily halt all computer lab sessions. This
preemptive ability can be used to help ensure
that students are not being distracted by ac-
tivities unrelated to instruction.
Anystream Apreso (2006) is an afford-
able technology that enables instructors to
capture and distribute online versions of lec-
tures. Lectures can be recorded and almost
instantly made available for students to
download and replay on laptops or other
digital display devices. This allows students
who have missed or can not attend classes to
view lectures and to keep pace with course
subjects. Apreso Classroom also allows stu-
dents the opportunity to review material
presented in lectures to increase comprehen-
sion and retention. Instructors also can use
this technology to create complete online
versions of courses they teach for distance
learning education.
Apreso Classroom can be configured to
start and stop recording automatically, thus
alleviating the need for a dedicated operator,
and can even post recorded broadcasts on-
line automatically. The software also auto-
matically links lecture topics with any visual
aids that are shown in the classroom so that
audio and visual lecture components are co-
ordinated in the final digital product.
Journal of Forestry • June 2007 177
Conclusion
In assessing factors that influence for-
estry education, Tombaugh (1998, p. 7)
stated that “It would appear that more tech-
nically qualified foresters will be needed in
the future, not fewer”. Geospatial technol-
ogy allows foresters to examine landscapes in
ways that were previously not possible and is
one of the most significant developments to
have occurred in the forestry profession. It is
inevitable that new technologies will con-
tinue to create innovations for forestry re-
search, operations, planning, and adminis-
tration that will continue to be adopted by
organizations. To keep pace with these inno-
vations, forest education programs will need
to regularly consider adjustments in educa-
tion content, approaches, and accreditation
criteria.
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