Welcome to the Public Domain Data Online MOOC

In this course we will cover a range of topics related to public domain spatial data including:

  • What exactly is the public domain?
  • What type of public domain data are available online and where can I find them?
  • What are some of the issues with public domain data?
  • What can I do with public domain data?
  • What is data mining? 
  • What future trends will affect access to and type of data that will be available?

Course Format

The format of the course is a mixture of independent study and research combined with some group activities and a weekly quiz. The scores from each quiz will be combined to provide you with an overall mark for the course so take the time to complete each quiz carefully. You will have three attempts at each quiz, after which you must move on to the next section.

The content is available in the following formats:

  • PDFs 

  • Videos 

  • Podcasts 

  • Web links www

The course is entirely self-paced, so how much or how little time you spend on working through the content in each section and in the discussion forums is up to you.  

Activities

Each week will include an activity that will provide you with an opportunity to work with some public domain spatial data and experience for yourself some of the benefits of accessing data online but also some of the frustrations.

You do not require any specific software to complete these exercises other than a web browser and reliable Internet access.

Discussion forums 

Each week there will also be a discussion forum where you can post comments and questions about the content covered. 

When posting to the forums, please observe the following guidelines:

  • Please refrain from inappropriate language or personal attacks on other course members

  • Be mindful of the possibility that your comments may be misinterpreted given the lack of physical gestures or voice inflections to suggest a tone or mood. big grin

  • No marketing or advertising

  • Avoid slang and use standard spelling 

  • Keep your posts brief - the Internet is drowning in content already so if you want people to engage with your post, write clearly, concisely and get to the point. 

Note: The forum moderator will delete posts that are considered inappropriate. 

Office Hours

Twice a week we will be holding a drop-in chat room session for one hour to answer any questions or queries you may have with respect to the course, or simply just to chat about the course and follow up on the weekly content. These sessions are open to all on the course and there's no need to book.  

Group Wiki and Social Media

You will be asked to do some research on your own for a couple of the activities. If you happen to find any interesting and/or useful resources along the way, please share them with your classmates on the group wiki. For those with Twitter accounts, please consider posting the resources with the hash tag #PDData. Some other # tags to track on Twitter include #data, #open and #gis.  

We also have a public Google+ group for those registered with that platform. 

Course Completion

Each student who successfully completes the course and all of the weekly quizzes will receive a certification of completion.   

Last modified: Thursday, 1 January 2015, 4:06 PM