LESSON 00 OUTLINE

• Welcome
• Lesson Objectives
• Assignments
• ANGEL: A New Global Environment for Learning
• Getting to Know Each Other
• Adult Learning Models
• Critical Thinking
• Writing Resources
• Summary and Final Tasks

Lesson 00: Course and Program Orientation

Getting to Know Each Other

It is very important that we all get to know each other despite the fact that we may well never meet in person. My teaching philosophy is that we are partners in the educational process. I am here to facilitate your learning, but I hope that you will learn as much or more from the interaction with your classmates (some of which are probably Geospatial Intelligence practitioners). Thus we need to be comfortable with each other in our virtual classroom.

Let me share my teaching philosophy. First and foremost I believe that learning, especially about Geography, should be fun. I will do my best to make this course enjoyable and challenging. I also believe that you and I are partners in the educational process. That means that you have to do your part by doing the readings and other activities, participating in online discussions prepared and with a good attitude, and generally being committed to your own success. You will get out of this program what you put into it. I want this course to provide you with knowledge you need to both be successful in the rest of the program, and to make you a better analyst and, more importantly, critically thinking citizen.

So in the next section I'll introduce myself and invite you to look at my Curriculum Vitae (like an academic resume). Then I'll ask you to introduce yourself via an ANGEL online forum.

Instructor Introduction

By now you know that my name is Bill Doe and I am a Visiting Associate Professor of Geography at Penn State. I actually live in Fort Collins, Colorado and work at Colorado State University where I am a Senior Research Scientist and Associate Director with an Administrative Professional-Faculty appointment (all wrapped up in one !). My friends at Penn State asked me to teach this course because they were looking for someone with a combination of academic , geography, military, emergency/public services, and environmental credentials who can teach (especially online). Apparently they think I fit that bill. I'll let you be the judge.

Let me be up front and tell you what I am not. I am not a Geospatial Intelligence practitioner or professional, and I am not a super GIS&T technical expert. Rather, I am both an academic professional and a practitioner with experience as an Army Corps of Engineers officer, faculty member and environmental geography researcher and teacher. You can check out my CV for the details, but I would like to tell you about myself in my own words.

Below are a few pictures that illustrate the work (and recreation !) I have done during my military and academic careers:

I claim Boston, MA as my home town but grew up as a military brat, with my Dad being a career Air Force officer and moving around the country (NY, AL, AR) and overseas (Naples, Italy). I attended the U.S. Military Academy (West Point) and was commissioned in the Army as a Corps of Engineers officer in 1974. After attending Airborne and Ranger schools I served in Germany for four years (Photo A - circa 1976 - can you identify the vehicle ??) with a combat engineer unit in an Armored Division, holding positions from Platoon Leader to Company Commander. I served a total of 22 years on active duty, working primarily in Research & Development and teaching assignments. I also worked in the public works arena in a Corps District (Philadelphia), managing flood control projects and performing emergency operations for floods and droughts. I taught geography, environmental studies and water resources management at West Point for seven years. Along the way I attended graduate school for my Master's and Ph.D. Upon retiring from the Army I joined the staff of the Center for Environmental Management of Military Lands (CEMML) at Colorado State University. CEMML is the largest academic unit in the U.S. engaged in research and technical support to the Department of Defense for land management. I am an Associate Director and have managed dozens of projects, teams and people in the field. My personal research involves classifying and assessing the natural environments of military lands and comparing them to operational contexts worldwide (Photo B in the Mojave Desert, California). I have also performed watershed level studies and assessments (Photo C at Grafenwoehr Training Area, Germany) and managed some large GIS mapping projects for the Army. I am currently developing an on-line curriculum for Sustainable Military Lands Management at Colorado State.

My personal hobbies and interests involve running (from 5Ks to Marathons - Photo D of me finishing the Army's Bataan Death March and Marathon at White Sands Missile Range, NM - you should try it !), anything outdoors (hiking, biking, etc.) since I live in Colorado and all college sports (my daughter is a Division I soccer player). As you might guess I am also an avid Red Sox and Celtics fan (no apologies to any NY fans out there !). I enjoy good books and good movies (to include some alternative ones). My wife is a college Writing professor at Colorado State so I have plenty of technical help if I need it to read and critique your written submissions (not to make you too paranoid about your writing !).

That pretty much covers my life. Now I look forward to getting to know all of you.