1.0 Introduction to Lesson 1

Welcome to Lesson 1 and a quick overview of what you should expect in each lesson.

• There will be a brief Introduction to the Lesson, a list of Goals, a checklist of Activities for the week, along with Deliverables and Due Dates.
• "Post comment," found in the "Where to Complete" column, refers to your post in the Canvas Lesson Discussion Forum.
• You may find it convenient to print this page so you keep on schedule.

Please notice that Deliverables are due Tuesday nights (midnight State College time). This will help keep the discussions timely, lively, and meaningful.

Do not hesitate to contact me if you are having difficulty navigating the system. Also, please alert me if any links are not working or if text needs fixing.

Instill in yourself - and practice frequently - an addage from the FranklinCovey group to "Begin [each day, assignments, GEOG 850 Lessons] with the end in mind". Please read the Coda (pp.133-137) in Geography, Why It Matters by Alexander B. Murphy. The author highlights the importance of learning geography to understand changes in the world around us (2018: p.134):

We are awash in data about the transformations taking place, but we cannot hope to gain a handle on them if the population at large has little sense of Earth's geographical character and the changes that are happening to it; if students and scholars lack the analytical perspectives and tools needed to assess the evolving spatial organization and material character of places and regions; or if policy-makers and planners are not equipped to think geographically about issues and problems - to think knowledgeably and critically about geographical patterns, to consider why things happen where they do, and to appreciate how geographical context influences what happens.

On March 23, 2021, a massive container ship, Ever Given, ran aground blocking the Suez Canal. Work immediately began with every tugboat nearby to attempt to free the ship and minimize the impact on shipping traffic in the Suez Canal. At that time, little did the public know that this event would have a global impact on supply chains, sea traffic management, and disrupting deliveries of most industries. BBC News. (2021). How many people knew the location of the Suez Canal? How many people learned new geospatial information of global ship traffic from this grounding event?  Suez Canal: Wedged container ship seen in busy waterway. 24 Mar 2021.

Container Ship Ever Given runs aground in Suez Canal, 23 March 2021.

Image credit: Ever Given runs aground in Suez Canal. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

What is due for Lesson 1?

Lesson 1 will take us one week to complete. There are a number of required activities in this lesson. For assignment details, refer to the table below.

Note: Please refer to the Calendar in Canvas for specific time frames and due dates.

Questions?

If you have any questions about course mechanics, where to do something, or how to do something, feel free to send me an email via the Canvas system at any time.