School of Agriculture and Natural Resources

Course Outline for RREN 421

GEOSPATIAL TECHNOLOGY APPLICATIONS II

Fall 2009

WebCT Access of Course Material On-line (for students enrolled in the course)

INSTRUCTORS:

GENERAL COURSE DESCRIPTION:

RREN 421 is an elective course in the Renewable Resources Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech.) program where students are expected to master the application of geospatial technology to natural resources management through independent and group projects where many of the college properties will be inventoried using the methodology covered in RREN 420. The course follows integrated approaches to the management and monitoring of forest land as well as the assessment of habitat resources for wildlife management by focusing on a new college property each year. Geospatial technologies including the global positioning system (GPS), geographic information system (GIS), and remote sensing are combined with field-tested, scientifically-based principles providing an integrated approach to natural resources management of the forest. RREN 421 is offered during the last ten weeks of the fall semester for students who are in their final year of the B.Tech. program in Renewable Resources (RREN).

EXPECTED COURSE OUTCOMES:

Upon the successful completion of RREN 421, students will have

1. Developed inventory systems that account for standing trees, culls, and snags; herbaceous vegetation; tree regeneration; soils; the presence of wildlife; and anthropomorphic access ways.

2. Identified and described existing floral communities as to tier classification, taxonomic grouping, and wetland indicator category status.

3. Gathered georeferenced overstory and understory forest inventory data as well as cover-type data using field data recorders.

4. Analyzed data using appropriate GIS software to delineate project area boundaries, summarize represented cover types, estimate probable compartment units, and establish transect baselines for upland, wetland, and riparian ecosystems.

5. Compared their results against tabulated standards for wetland areas, riparian buffer strips, wildlife habitat needs, and habitat fidelity.

6. Determined appropriate goal-oriented management strategies suggested by their data analyses.

7. Explored (through the application of visualization software) possibilities of different management strategies upon the interrelationships amongst measured forestry and habitat resources parameters.

8. Created and presented professional quality reports of their field work, results, and management analyses.

OFFICE HOURS:

Each of the instructors has a minimum of five designated office hours per week. The times will be shared with the students during the first class meeting (also to be posted on the instructor’s office door). If necessary, students are also encouraged to make appointments to see any of the instructors at other times. Students with disabilities who require accommodations to fully participate in the course activities are requested to contact one of the course instructors within the first two weeks of the semester.

INSTRUCTIONAL METHODS:

1. Lecture/laboratory sessions.

2. Reading assignments.

3. Oral weekly presentations.

4. A group project.

5. Reading current literature related to the covered topics.

CONTACT HOURS AND CLASS SCHEDULE:

RREN 421 is a two-credit hour course that meets for the second ten weeks of the semester (Part term B).  It includes one scheduled contact hour per week with the instructors for oral weekly presentations/discussions and four hours of independent laboratory work.  The class meets weekly with the instructors on Tuesdays at 2:00 p.m. in Room 102, Marshall Hall (or 207 Library as announced by the instructors).

TEXTBOOK(S):

The course manual originally used for RREN 420 will provide all the necessary reference material for successfully completing this course. These include the instructors' lesson plans, PowerPoint presentations (printed in handout format), pertinent reading material, and printouts of the laboratory exercises. Course material will also be available on-line under WebCT, accessible only by those students who are enrolled in the course. Numerous resources are also available at the college library and on-line. Students are encouraged to be actively involved in acquiring some pertinent knowledge from all available resources. The following publication (utilized in RREN 303) will also serve as a reference:

1. Ormsby, T., E. Napoleon, R. Burke, C. Groessl, and L. Feaster.  2004. Getting to Know ArcGIS Desktop: Basics of ArcView, ArcEditor, and ArcInfo (2^nd Edition).  ESRI Press, Redlands, California.

STUDENT REQUIRED EQUIPMENT:

1. Notebook, manuals, and textbooks.

2. Appropriate dress for scheduled laboratory operations and field work .

CLASS POLICIES:

• Attendance: Although students are expected to work more in independently than in RREN 420, they are still required to attend scheduled lectures, laboratories, and field work. Also, they are expected to work on class and laboratory/field assignments as scheduled by the professors. Students are expected to arrive to class on time. Failure to do so will result in the student being counted absent. If a student must leave class early during a regularly scheduled meeting, s/he must discuss the reasons with the professor beforehand. If a student must miss a scheduled class meeting due to an acceptable, verifiable time conflict, s/he must resolve the time conflict prior to class. If a student is unable to attend class because of an emergency, one of the professors (or the School of Agriculture and Natural Resources office) must be notified (expected prior to the scheduled class meeting). The office telephone number is 684-6083. Use of e-mail is highly recommended. Students failing to call ahead or discuss absences prior to the class will be unexcused. If a student accumulates two unexcused absences, s/he will be given the option of either dropping the course or receiving a failing grade for the semester.

• Student Behavior: As students in a technical program are preparing for a professional career, all students are expected to conduct themselves as professionals (in both manner and dress).

• Eating, drinking, or the consumption of any tobacco products is prohibited in the classroom situation (lecture hall, classroom, laboratory, or field). Doing so may result in the student's dismissal from that class period and will count as an unexcused absence.

• Cell phones and pagers must be turned off during instruction time. Use of or disruption of class by these devices will result in the student's dismissal from that class period and will count as an unexcused absence.

• Honesty Policy and Discipline (Due Process): Honesty and integrity are major elements in professional behavior and are expected of each student. Any assignment (including those in electronic media) submitted by a student must be of the student's original authorship. Representation of another's work as the student’s own shall constitute plagiarism. Cheating, in any form, is an unacceptable behavior within all College courses. Students having academic problems should consult with their academic advisor or a college counselor. Instances of cheating will be dealt with in accordance to College policy. Standards of academic honesty and due process procedures for Morrisville State College are located in the Rules, Regulations, and Expectations section of the Student Handbook.

• Safety Guidelines: Laboratory and field work in RREN 421 will require the student to work independently. As such, safe conduct and use of equipment shall be the ultimate rule. Given the type of field work expected in the course, students are required to wear significant blaze orange while working in any woodlot.  Failure to do so or to comply with prudent safety practices, including willful disregard for class participants and/or equipment, may be cause for dismissal from the course.

GRADING/EVALUATION OF STUDENT:

Evaluation is a shared responsibility between the teacher and the student. The purpose of the evaluation is to demonstrate how well the professor has taught and the student has learned specific course materials, the principles, concepts and terms relevant to the covered topics, and to determine the students' ability to apply that knowledge to specific situations.

In RREN 421, each student will contribute to a group project assigned by the instructors. Students will be expected to present their projects during the last week of the semester. The project will be worth sixty-five percent (65%) of the grade. Work on the project ought to be completed during the four laboratory hours set aside each week for RREN 421 when the students work independently (or as a group) on collecting and analyzing data. The full involvement and participation of students in all project and other pertinent class activities is paramount. Each student’s involvement in the project is done in a manner that contributes to the achievement of the overall objectives of the course. Weekly reports on progress by all students will be required and will be the basis for evaluating the student's attitude and full participation in project activities. Weekly written and oral progress reports will account for another twenty percent (20%) of the total course grade. Failure to maintain full participation in project activities will result in the student receiving a substantially lower grade or even potentially failing the course.

The breakdown of grading in this course will be as follows: 

• Participation, Attendance, and Work Ethic ==> 5%

• Weekly Oral Presentations ==> 5%

• Weekly Journals and Written Reports ==> 15%

• Self and Peer Evaluation ==> 10%

• Term Project Oral Presentation ==> 20%

• Final Term Project Report ==> 45% 

The distribution of grades in this course will be based on the A-F College grading scheme. The letter grades correspond to the following percentage scale: A (90-100%), A- (87-89.9%), B+ (83-86.9%), B (80-82.9%), B- (77-79.9%), C+ (73-76.9%), C (70-72.9%), C- (67-69.9%), D+ (63-66.9%), D (60-62.9%), and F (<60%).