The following is an example unit designed to demonstrate the format of a typical unit for the new Core Curriculum.  However, please do not be intimidated by this apparently complex format. Authors should read Getting Started Writing for the GISCC  first to find out what your writing options are.

In the text below, to see an example of the related section in a real unit (Coordinate Systems Overview), click on the nearby.   The demonstration unit used here has a temporary yellow background so that it is obvious when you are looking at that file instead of this format unit text.

Note that text sections in this document shown in italics would NOT appear in a real unit.  They provide additional explanation for this template only.

Advanced Organizer 

• this section contains several elements which provide background information on the materials in this unit

• at the top of each unit will be a brief statement about:
• the content of the unit, and
• the intended learning outcomes of a unit of instruction based on this material

• the following is an example of the material found in this section in a normal unit

Topics covered in this unit 

• this unit outlines:
• the format you should use
• all the components you should include, and
• background information to help you compose your unit

Intended learning outcomes 

• after reading this unit, you should be able to
• design a unit in the appropriate format for inclusion in the Core Curriculum
• write learning objectives for your unit
• determine the metadata details which should be submitted with your unit
• follow links to web pages providing instruction on writing html and preparing graphics for publishing on the web

• for a brief discussion of learning outcomes and how to write them, follow this link
• please read this material if you are unfamiliar with defining learning outcomes for instruction

Full table of contents 

• in normal units, this heading will only be a link to a separate Table of Contents (toc) file
• each unit author should prepare this full ToC
• name it "unnn_toc.html", in your "unnn" directory

• the full ToC should list all your section headings and include links to anchors at these sections in the main document
• since all files in each unit will be in the same directory, use relative links to these main document anchors (see below)

• based on your full ToC, NCGIA will prepare an abbreviated Table of Contents which will appear in a frame to the left of the main text window
• this abbreviated ToC will contain only the top two levels of headings
• it will provide a simple means of navigation through the lengthy document

Instructors' notes 

• in normal units this will only be a link to a page of notes for instructors which unit authors will prepare
• this file should be called "unnn_notes.html", in your "unnn" directory
• follow the link in the section header here for suggestions on what to include here

Metadata and revision history 

• in normal units, this will be only a link to a separate metadata page for this unit
• this file should be called "unnn_metadata.html", in your "unnn" directory
• follow the link in the section header here for information on how to prepare the unit metadata

• the main body of the unit starts here

• the following sections provide details to help you determine
• what content a unit should contain
• how to organize it, and
• how to prepare it in HTML format for submission to the On-line NCGIA Core Curriculum in GIScience.

1. Objective of the new Core Curriculum

• like the original NCGIA Core Curriculum in GIS, this Core Curriculum provides guidance in determining the core content of instructional units for courses teaching about or with GIS
• thus, these materials are directed towards instructors, rather than towards students

• as a "core" curriculum, it is not intended to impose any specific structure or educational objectives
• instructors will pick and choose amongst the materials on offer in order to develop courses and course materials suited specifically for their own students

• this set of core concepts of GIS is divided into a number of small, self-contained units based on a 50 minute lecture format
• units are structured as lecture note outlines which are similar in structure and content to those used in the original Core Curriculum
• this short lecture format provides both:
• an organizing framework for the material, and
• an open format which can be adapted to suit whatever instructional mode any course instructor wishes to use

• the units are organized in a tree structure with introductory units preceeding more advanced units on related topics
• Figure 1- tree structure of the Core Curriculum units
• by using a tree structure, the curriculum avoids linearity and allows complexity to be added
• the number of levels of the tree is not defined
• new units can be added above existing ones to add greater detail
• but new units must be appropriately linked to a parent unit which itself must contain a unit of material at the appropriate level of generality

• by placing the materials on-line, the potential exists for other project teams to develop supporting structures (e.g. hypertext) which organize the lecture notes and other on-line materials into interactive tutorial systems
• a number of such projects are already under discussion with partners from around the world

• however, our priorities for 1997 are to:
• create the fundamental set of materials for instructors and
• put it quickly on-line where it will be accessible for discussion and comment

2. Unit structure

2.1 Standard sections of a unit

• first, some comments about what authors need to write versus what you see on our web site
• all GISCC units will be posted publically in a "frame", which is what you see here if you accessed this page through the Welcome page (or by opening location .../format_f.html)
• if you are currently viewing this document in a single window (.../format.html) and wish to see the frame version, go to this link
• authors are asked only to prepare the full window document, not the frame version
• we'll do the necessary conversions after units are submitted for public posting

• there are 3 major parts in each unit:
• advanced organizer and metadata
• body of the unit
• reference materials

• the advanced organizer and reference materials parts should contain all elements indicated in those sections in this document
• use the Table of contents for this unit as a checklist of the sections you need to include in your submission
• here, in the sections above and below this main body of the unit, items in italics are included as comments and do not represent part of a normal unit

• the body can be organized in whatever structure is appropriate for the material covered
• however, it should be in one continuous file rather than in several separate hypertext linked files
• this will allow the material to be printed as a single document, and
• supports the linear flow of a lecture as a structured learning sequence
• remember to include anchors (i.e. «A NAME=" "» tags) for each section in your unit so that they can be referred to directly either within or from other units
• these anchors are essential for your Table of Contents
• to make it easier for other authors to reference your unit, number sections as shown in this document (i.e. 2., 2.1, 2.2.4, etc.) and use these numbers as your anchor names
• for example «A NAME="2."»,  «A NAME="2.1"»

2.2 Point form format

• notes should be organized in point form
• if you prefer to begin with paragraphs, please deconstruct them into point form

• include up to three levels of points
• but keep it to a maximum of three point levels
• here is a third level point

2.3 Length

• each unit should include roughly the amount of information which could be presented in a 50 minute lecture
• thus, the text of an outline should total approximately 6 pages in length when printed from a web browser using 12 point type for normal text
• of course, in-line graphics will increase the printed length beyond 6 pages

3. Preparing HTML materials

• all units must be submitted in HTML format
• feel free to use the most current version of HTML as we are writing for future longevity

• there are numerous resources on-line for the novice HTML writer
• this link at the University of Texas Austin, provides access to several good resources on writing HTML

3.1 Heading levels

• heading formats are predefined in HTML
• use heading 1 centered for the main title of the unit
• use heading 2 for primary headings
• use heading 3 for secondary headings

3.2 Graphics (Figures and Tables)

3.2.1 Designing graphics

• do not use a background or any graphic decorations in your .html file as we plan to format all GISCC files similarly so that it is easy to recognize when you within these materials
• note, the demonstration unit used here has a temporary yellow background so that it is obvious when you are looking at that file instead of this format unit file

• you will need to decide which of your graphics need to be:
1. a descriptive text link to a graphic file, or
2. in-line, meaning that the graphic is included in the main body of text

• remember that graphics take a long time to download and also will disrupt the ease with which material can be quickly scanned by eye
• therefore, whenever possible, choose option 1 above
• choose option 2 only when the graphic is essential for understanding the text

• graphics should be designed for classroom projection, thus 
• simple lines and large text are preferred
• color should be used carefully
• however, do give some thought to how they will look if printed in black and white

• for help creating graphics for your web pages, see this link at the Virtual Geography Department, University of Texas Austin

 
• put a credit line on every graphic so that its source is readily apparent
• see note below regarding use of copyright materials

3.2.2 Storing and naming graphics files 

• graphics referenced in your text should be named and numbered in a manner similar to that used in journals
• thus, number figures and tables separately and consecutively
• for example:  Figure 1, Figure 2, Table 1, Figure 3, Table 2, etc.

• in order that other authors can link to your graphics easily, the graphics files referenced in your text should have related names
• for example "figure01.gif", "figure02.jpg", "table01.gif", "figure03.gif", "table02.html"

• figures and tables are stored in separate directories within your main unit directory as described below

3.3 Copyright issues

• do not include any graphics for which the copyright is held by anyone other than yourself and/or for which you cannot obtain copyright permission to post on the web

3.4 Equations

• current html standards do not support equations
• therefore, if you wish to include equations, you will need to make .gif or .jpeg images of equations captured from your word processing program

3.5 Indexing 

• OPTIONAL!!

 
• in the metadata which will be prepared for each unit, we ask authors to identify up to 10 index items which identify topics about which specific details are given in this unit and which should be included in the master index

• in preparation for indexing, please include in your text, anchors (i.e. «A NAME=" "» tags) indicating where these indexed items begin
• this will allow a reader to move directly from the master index to the location within your file where an indexed topic is discussed

3.6 Using bold and italics

• use bold and italic characters to highlight important terms and to help clarify your text
• some suggestions:
• use both bold and italics for technical terms when they are first used in the unit and/or defined nearby 
• this will help readers find the location of definitions if they are scanning units
• use italics alone for emphasis and clarity 
• use bold alone to highlight a set of  individual topics discussed in a single section 

4. Filenames, directory structures and hypertext references

4.1 Unit filenames in the Core Curriculum 

• each unit has a unique, 3 digit identification number
• these numbers are shown in the Unit Outline in brackets after each unit's name

• these unique identification numbers, preceeded by a "u", serve as the directory and main filename for each unit
• therefore, unit 53 will be in directory "u053/" and the body of the unit in filename "u053.html"

• use .html for file extensions, NOT .htm

• use only relative links to point at files in your own unit directory or to other units
• if you wish to include a link to the contents of a different unit, include an HREF tag pointing to the appropriate numeric file name
• thus, paths to other units will be: "../uxxx/uxxx.html"

• in order to ensure multiplatform use, use only lower case letters in ALL filenames

4.2 Directory structure for individual units 

• unless there is some good reason for it, keep all your files for a single unit in a single, unnested directory
• with the following exception:

• graphics should be placed in either a "figure" or a "table" directory, under your unit's main directory
• thus, the path to your figures will be "/uxxx/figures/figurexx.gif"
• the path to tables is "/uxxx/tables/tablexx.jpg"

4.3 Referring to external URLs

• when referring to web sites external to the Core Curriculum, be sure to use full URLs
• eg. http://www.ucgis.org/Officers.html

• links included in the body of a unit should be immediately relevant to the text
• i.e. they may point at sites with additional details about a specific topic

• for links which provide general reference or support for the unit as a whole, there is a section later in each unit, Web references, in which such web sites can be listed

4.4 Summary of required unit elements and directory structure 

5. Submitting draft units

• whatever is easiest for you!
• email attachment, ftp or local URL
• just let us know what you prefer

6. Summary of important points 

• all documents should be in HTML format
• include a brief statement about the content of the unit and the intended learning outcomes
• prepare a full table of contents and include appropriate anchors in the text
• use the full table of contents of this unit as a checklist for what should be included
• the main text of the unit should be in one continuous file
• use point form and up to 3 levels
• use two heading levels (H2 and H3) plus a title (H1 centered)
• do not use a background or any graphic decorations
• graphics should be prepared with classroom projection in mind
• use descriptive text links to graphics files rather than in-line graphics whenever appropriate
• do not include any copyright material
• units have unique 3 digit ID numbers which are used to name units and their directories
• the main file is "unnn.html" (NOT .htm), where nnn is the ID number
• directory should be "unnn/"
• use no capital letters in filenames
• group all graphics files in "figures" or "tables" directories located in the unnn directory
• keep all files, except graphics, in a single directory (unnn)
• use only relative links to point at files in the same directory

7. Review and study questions 

• in this section, include several questions or problems which an instructor might use in class exercises or exams, or which may form the basis of a discussion session or course essay
• they do not need to be easily answered

8. Reference materials

8.1 Print references 

• in this section, include several good print references which students or instructors may wish to obtain for further reading
• these references may provide historical background details, current research or they may be the essential texts on the unit's topic

• include brief annotations to guide readers to the most appropriate information

• format references as shown in the Coordinate Systems Overview example unitorusing some other standard bibliographic format

8.2 Web references 

• links in this section will provide additional resources to support instruction on topics related to this unit

• these links may point to several different kinds of information, including:
• government web sites
• on-line tutorials
• case study examples
• commercial web sites

• be sure to include brief descriptions of what will be found at these sites

• as part of the quality assurance for this project, all such linked pages will be reviewed by members of the GISCC Editorial Committee to confirm their relevance and suitability

This is the end of what you need to prepare.  We'll append the following footer.

Evaluation 

• a link on this section title will lead readers to a form requesting comments and suggestions
• the following text should be in this section

Citation