Mapping Global Envrn Change

I have had a really great experience taking 150 with Jeff. Most of the coursework is contained to class time and I feel as though all material is explained very well. Both Jeff and the TA are accessible and very willing to help students. If you are debating between 150 and 120 (I took 120 the previous fall), I think that 150 is a better structured course. However I have found GIS (120) to be more useful outside of the class than Google Earth Engine (150).

I have had a really great experience taking 150 with Jeff. Most of the coursework is contained to class time and I feel as though all material is explained very well. Both Jeff and the TA are accessible and very willing to help students. If you are debating between 150 and 120 (I took 120 the previous fall), I think that 150 is a bet …Read more

Having no experience in geog, this course was pretty difficult for me. However, Jeff provides many opportunities to help students. With both TA and Professor office hours, lab, and class to ask questions. I was able to do well in this course because of all this. He also responds fairly quickly to emails and is very understanding.

In my experience, the difference between 120 and 150 is pretty opaque when both are options, such as for Environmental Studies students. 150 was structured entirely around coding with Google Earth Engine, which uses Javascript. This wasn't really advertised beforehand and I had no coding experience, but it turned out fine. A big benefit is that Prof. Howarth does not like to assign a lot of work out of class; sometimes it was nothing beyond in-class work. Exams are sets of 3 independent problems done online across two days of class, and this is done three times throughout the semester. Prof. Howarth is great and accommodating, and there was a geography teaching assistant available for help too.

In my experience, the difference between 120 and 150 is pretty opaque when both are options, such as for Environmental Studies students. 150 was structured entirely around coding with Google Earth Engine, which uses Javascript. This wasn't really advertised beforehand and I had no coding experience, but it turned out fine. A big bene …Read more

This class had almost no work outside of class time. Each week we had a lecture, then a group-work lab period, then a class/lecture to go over the lab. This class was almost entirely coding using Javascript. Exams were a little tough, but the grading system made it almost impossible to get below a B on any exam.

Love Jeff, great guy, makes boring coding stuff (the whole class is using javascript on google earth engine to make maps, and at the end you publish them!) about as entertaining it can be and he works hard to make the class pretty easy on you. Every week you work in lab and there's a project that's pretty similar you have to do but even if you get stuff wrong you get a second chance to submit.

Love Jeff, great guy, makes boring coding stuff (the whole class is using javascript on google earth engine to make maps, and at the end you publish them!) about as entertaining it can be and he works hard to make the class pretty easy on you. Every week you work in lab and there's a project that's pretty similar you have to do but e …Read more

You will get the most out of this course if you already know how to code, but if you don't you could probably get through it. This was a really cool take on working with GIS software and Earth Engine is an extremely powerful tool. Jeff also tosses in some lessons about cartography and visualization, so you will become better at making maps in general from this class. We also create a cool online portfolio at the end.

You will get the most out of this course if you already know how to code, but if you don't you could probably get through it. This was a really cool take on working with GIS software and Earth Engine is an extremely powerful tool. Jeff also tosses in some lessons about cartography and visualization, so you will become better at makin …Read more

Very little outside of class work. The class is very code heavy (more than expected) and the content moves quickly. Students are expected to jump from learning to application quickly which can be challenging but grading is lenient. The "Lab" is just a coding session and it is very collaborative and students can get help from classmates and professor/TA. Again, grading here is essentially completion

Very little outside of class work. The class is very code heavy (more than expected) and the content moves quickly. Students are expected to jump from learning to application quickly which can be challenging but grading is lenient. The "Lab" is just a coding session and it is very collaborative and students can get help from classm …Read more

I enjoyed the course. It is very fast-paced, however, Jeff does a good job trying to make sure everyone feels caught up. The concepts can definitely be difficult if you have never worked with GIS/Java before, but you definitely get the hang of it