GEOG 862 Syllabus (Fall 2020)

This syllabus is divided into several sections. You can read it sequentially by scrolling down the length of the document. That being said, it is essential that you read the entire document as well as material covered in the Course Orientation. Together these serve the role of our course "contract."

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Instructor

Jan Van Sickle

Senior Lecturer

2217 Earth & Engineering Sciences
University Park, PA 16802
College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University

• Phone: (303) 915-4669 (The country code for the United States is 1)
• Email: Please use the course email system (see the Inbox link in Canvas)
• Availability: Students are welcome to contact me by email anytime; I usually am able to respond within 24 hours. Although email correspondence is preferred, students may also contact me by telephone at the number above from 8.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. Monday through Friday, U.S. Eastern Time.

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Course Overview

GEOG 862: GPS AND GNSS FOR GEOSPATIAL PROFESSIONALS. Cultivates a working knowledge of current and future capabilities of GPS and the emerging Global Navigation Satellite System.
Prerequisites - GEOG 484

The Global Positioning System (GPS) and the wider Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) include constellations of earth-orbiting satellites that broadcast their locations in space and time, a network of ground control stations, and military and civilian receivers that calculate ground positions by trilateration. Geospatial professionals need to possess a working knowledge of current and future GPS and GNSS capabilities because satellite positioning is so prevalent in geographic information systems (GIS) applications in government, industry, and academia.

GPS has always been a dual use system, military and civilian. From the beginning, GPS signals have been available with no direct user fees. GNSS has built on those concepts and added some new ones. GPS and GNSS are used now in all of transportation—aviation, maritime, railroad, highway and mass transit. Satellite positioning also plays critical roles in telecommunications, land surveying, law enforcement, emergency response, precision agriculture, mining, finance, and scientific research. It controls computer networks, air traffic, power grids, and so on. As the scope of satellite positioning has expanded, the systems continue to evolve.

What will be expected of you?

Like any graduate level course, you will be challenged to move beyond the knowledge and skills that you bring to the class. You can expect to be busy; as a rough estimate, you should allow 10-12 hours per week for class assignments. Included in the 10-12 hours each week is time to complete projects and related activities. You'll be glad to know that you don't have to show up for class at a certain time! All you need to do is complete assignments before the published deadline at the end of each week.

During the term, I encourage everyone to use the class message boards, chat rooms or email to help each other find relevant materials and learn about interesting applications of open web mapping. I can always be contacted via class email and will check my account daily during the week (and typically at least once each weekend). If I am traveling, I may check somewhat less frequently, but I will alert you of this beforehand.

My colleagues and I have worked hard to make this the most effective and convenient educational experience possible. How much and how well you learn is ultimately up to you. You will succeed if you are diligent about keeping up with the class schedule, and if you take advantage of opportunities to communicate with me, as well as with your fellow students.

For a more detailed look at what will be covered in each lesson, as well as due dates for our assignments and activities, please refer to the semester-specific course schedule that is part of this syllabus (see "Course Schedule").

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Course Objectives

At the successful completion of this course, students should be able to:

• demonstrate a clear understanding of the GPS signal, codes and biases
• discuss the practical applications of GPS and the implications of its modernization
• be aware of some of the opportunities afforded by the coming GNSS systems
• explain the difficulties inherent in determining heights with satellite positioning and how they can be overcome
• describe the differences between relative and autonomous GPS positioning, code phase carrier phase, DGPS and RTK

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Required Course Materials

In order to take this course, you need to have the required course materials listed below.  All (other) materials needed for this course are presented online through our course website and in Canvas. In order to access the online materials, you need to have an active Penn State Access Account user ID and password (used to access the on-line course resources). If you have any questions about obtaining or activating your Penn State Access Account, please contact the Outreach Helpdesk. They can be reached at 1-800-252-3592 in the US or internationally at 814-865-5403 (country code 1). You may reach them by email at psuwd@psu.edu

You can purchase course materials from the vendor of your choice or from MBS Direct (the bookstore used by Penn State's World Campus). For pricing and ordering information, please see MBS Direct. MBS Direct can also be contacted at 1-800-325-3252. Materials will be available at MBS Direct approximately three weeks before the course begins. Be sure to order early enough to allow for shipping and installation prior to the course start date

The required material you need to purchase is:

• Van Sickle, Jan (2015) GPS for Land Surveyors, 4th Ed. CRC Press. (ISBN: 978-1-4665-8310-8)

Using the Library

Just like on-campus students, as a Penn State student you have a wealth of library resources available to you!

As a registered user of Penn State Libraries, you can...

• search for journal articles (many are even immediately available in full-text)
• request articles that aren't available in full-text and have them delivered electronically
• borrow books and other materials and have them delivered to your doorstep
• access materials that your instructor has put on Electronic Reserve
• talk to reference librarians in real time using chat, phone, and email
• ...and much more!

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Assignments and Grading

Students earn grades that reflect the extent to which they achieve the learning objectives listed above. Opportunities to demonstrate learning include the following, and grades will be based on points assigned to each of several components of the course as follows:

• Class participation: Individual participation via online discussion (30%)
• Quizzes: Three quizzes will be held to test the students' comprehension of class materials and other reading as required (33%)
• Papers: Two writing assignments will assess the students' understanding of two separate topics from the course (37%)

Letter Grade and Corresponding Percentages

Letter Grade	Percentages
A	90-100%
A-	87.5-89.9%
B+	85-87.4%
B	80-84.9%
B-	77.5-79.9%
C+	75-77.4%
C	70-74.9%
D	60-69.9%
F	<60%
X	Unsatisfactory (student did not participate)

Percentages refer to the proportion of all possible points earned by the student.

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Class Support Services

Penn State Online offers online tutoring to World Campus students in math, writing, and some business classes. Tutoring and guided study groups for residential students are available through Penn State Learning.

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Course Policies

Prerequisites

Students who do not meet these prerequisites may be disenrolled according to Administrative Policy C-5;if they do not have the proper prerequisite override. If you have not completed the listed prerequisites, then promptly consult with the instructor if you have not done so already. Students who add the course after being disenrolled, according to this policy, are in violation of the Student Code of Conduct.