Crossing SSH and STEM approaches in a MapDesign course using open data and software

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1 Institute of Earth Sciences, University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland, Cannobio, Switzerland
2 Laboratory of Visual Culture, University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland, Cannobio, Switzerland
3 Bachelor of Arts in Visual Communication, University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland, Cannobio, Switzerland
4 Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering, University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland, Cannobio, Switzerland
DOI
10.7287/peerj.preprints.27237v1
Published
Accepted
Subject Areas
Computer Education, Graphics, Spatial and Geographic Information Systems
Keywords
map design, SSH, STEM, QGIS, education
Copyright
© 2018 Cannata et al.
Licence
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, reproduction and adaptation in any medium and for any purpose provided that it is properly attributed. For attribution, the original author(s), title, publication source (PeerJ Preprints) and either DOI or URL of the article must be cited.
Cite this article
Cannata M, Profeta G, Voegeli M, Lüscher M, Morandi L. 2018. Crossing SSH and STEM approaches in a MapDesign course using open data and software. PeerJ Preprints 6:e27237v1

Abstract

This paper presents the design, realization and evaluation of a Map Design course conducted using an open source GIS (QGIS) to students of the bachelor in Visual Communication. The specific challenge was teaching approaches from Social Science and Humanities (SSH) and Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines to integrate rigorous cartographic methodologies for map production with aesthetic visual aspects. This was successfully addressed with an hybridization approach that discuss themes from the two disciplines point of view and a goal-oriented course organization that produced as an output real map products. The general evaluation of this new course by students and teachers was positive. Despite the main criticism was related to the complexity of the used tools with respect to the course duration, the quality of the outputs demonstrated a very good capacity of students in learning and fusing of STEM and SSH concepts.

Author Comment

This submission is intended for the OGRS'2018 Collection