A new course on learning the open source GIS package, QGIS, is being offered to free via Canvas, an open-source learning management system. The QGIS course, which is in beta, was developed by Richard Smith, an Assistant Professor at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, and Kurt Menke, a GIS Specialist at Bird’s Eye View. Students can start enrolling now in this course shell and provide constructive input before the course is published in August of 2014 on Github.

The open enrollment course is self-paced, which means unlike a MOOC, there are no instructors to provide ongoing support. There is a discussion section where students could post topics and potentially receive peer support.

There are seven modules which contains a lesson introduction, videos, and a lab which includes package GIS data. The stated purpose of the course is to guide students in exploring and managing GIS data using QGIS Browser and QGIS Desktop (version 2.2). The course lists the learning outcomes as:

The student will describe the fundamental concepts of Geographic Information Science and Technology. The student will demonstrate proficiency in the basic functions of geospatial software. The student will demonstrate awareness of fundamental remote sensing and spatial analysis techniques. The student will demonstrate basic proficiency in map creation and design principles, including thematic map display, employment of map projections, and cartographic design. The student will demonstrate proficiency in the creation and acquisition of spatial data.

To register for the course visit: https://canvas.instructure.com/enroll/LA4DR9