FORT 230 Aerial Photo Interpretation
Fall 2008

Instructor: Dr. Peter Linehan
220 Science Technology Building

Office Telephone: 717-749-6089

Email: pel2@psu.edu

Office Hours:

• Tuesday morning    
  
• Send me an email, through course website, or call anytime.
• Please come by my office anytime. If I can’t meet with you at the moment, we can schedule a later appointment.

Meeting Time and Place: Wednesday 9:00 to 11:50 in Room 208 GS

Course Schedule: The course calendar and activities are posted on the web site.

Text and Equipment: (everything is available at the bookstore)

·        The class text is Paul Bolstad. 2008. GIS Fundamentals, A First Text on Geographic Information Systems. Second or Third Edition. Eider Press. 620p. It is available in the campus bookstore.

·        Another useful book is Forest Measurements by Avery and Burkhart. From Mensuration and Inventory classes.(You should already have this one.)

·        Two sets of aerial photos of the Waynesboro Watershed: one at 1:24,000 and one at 1:9600 scale.

·        Two topographic quad maps: Iron Springs and Waynesboro.

·        Drafting equipment (drafting triangles, engineer scale, hard lead pencil, etc.).

·        Calculator.

·        Masking tape.

·        Good pair of scissors.

We will also be using various websites with aerial photo and remote sensing data and information.

Course website: This course will be hosted on ANGEL, the Penn State course management system: http://cms.psu.edu/ I will be posting notes and links there. You will also be uploading lab assignments there.

Course objectives: This course will introduce you to the use of aerial photos and remote sensing in forest management including vertical and horizontal measurements, vegetative mapping, and harvest planning. We will also be covering the use of Global Positioning Systems (GPS) with aerial photos.  Due to the increased availability of digital imagery, we will be spending time with this type of data. This will be a hands-on course with several field labs. Field labs will be announced in advance, so please dress appropriately.

Evaluation and Grades:
This course is worth two academic credits. The material you will learn here is critical for your academic and professional success. Your progress will be evaluated as follows: 

In calculating quiz and assignment grades I will drop your lowest grade.

Grades: You will earn grades as follows:

Assignments:
Assignments may require a work sheet or a written report to be handed in or uploaded to the course website. Specific instructions will be given for each assignment.

Late assignments:

Assignments are expected to be turned in on time unless I postpone the work or you make prior arrangements with me. If you find that you cannot complete an assignment on time, then you should contact me (by phone, email, or in person) telling me how much of the work you have completed and what the problem is with completing the assignment. I am looking for specific information on the difficulties you are having, not just that you couldn’t do it. That way I can help you or we can work out what steps you should take to understand and complete the work. I reserve the right to give a reduced grade or a zero (0) for late assignments.

 

Quizzes:

There may be a quiz at any time during the class. It may be on paper or on line. Some of the quizzes will be on ANGEL after class.

 

Attendance / Participation:

Attendance is not included in your grade. To succeed in this course you need to attend regularly. The textbook is very comprehensive, but many of the skills may not be fully understood unless you participate in class. If for some reason you can’t make it to class, please contact me before class so you can make arrangements for missed work.

 

Under the policy of the University College, your attendance must be reported during the fourth and seventh weeks of the semester.

 

Cell Phones

Please silence or turn off your cell phones during class. They can be very annoying when they go off in class; as I have learned from my own phone. Feel free to bring your cell phones in field labs. Be aware that in some areas around campus, especially the Waynesboro Watershed, there is no reception.

 

Penn State Principles

I would like to remind you of the Penn State Principles (http://www.psu.edu/ur/principles.pdf ), which have been adopted by the University:

• I will respect the dignity of all individuals within the Penn State community.
• I will practice academic integrity.
• I will demonstrate social and personal responsibility.
• I will be responsible for my own academic progress and agree to comply with all University policies.

 

Professional Expectations:

The forest technology program is designed to prepare you for a career in natural resources when you graduate. You should treat your courses as you would a professional job. I have the following expectations for your performance in class, in the field, and in completing your assignments.

 

1. Come to class on time.
2. Prepare any assigned readings or work ahead of time.
3. Be ready to participate in class discussions or to take part in assignments.
4. Come dressed appropriately. This includes closed shoes or boots (no sandals) for field work. Also, for field work you should have long pants, an appropriate jacket, and headgear. If it is raining you will need raingear. I reserve the right to exclude any student who is not dressed properly from labs, with makeup of work at my discretion.
5. Cigarette smoking or chewing tobacco is not allowed during class and outdoor labs. If we have a break during class you may smoke in the designated areas. Due to forest fire concerns, no smoking is allowed in the forest.
6. Cell phones should be turned off for class and during quizzes and tests. This includes internet-enabled and text messaging devices.
7. Please don’t bring food to class.
8. Drinks are allowed. It is better to use cups with lids.
9. Please remove hats and caps in class to improve the professional atmosphere.
10. Please stow your backpacks and book bags under your desk or outside the class so that I can reach people around the class room.

Academic Integrity:

When you hand in assignments I assume it is your own work. Cheating and plagiarism are wrong. I may assign a grade of zero for assignments where I know cheating or plagiarism has occurred. I can also assign a grade of 'F' in the course because of this infraction. For group projects and research assignments, we will discuss ahead of time what constitutes doing your own work and what is cheating.

Here is the University College Academic Integrity Policy that we will follow: https://teamworks.campuses.psu.edu/uc/Academic%20Programs/UCpolicies.pdf

The College of Agricultural Sciences has a helpful website on this topic: http://academicintegrity.cas.psu.edu/

Computer Usage:

Computer systems have become very powerful and indispensable tools in all our lives.   It's becoming hard to remember how we did things before the computer age.  As with all good things there are also negative uses of this new technology, including software piracy, network hacking, and the creation of viruses. In this course we will follow the University's computing policies which can be found at http://its.psu.edu/security.html

Official Academic Policies:

The official academic policies for Penn State are listed on the Faculty Senate website: http://www.psu.edu/ufs/policies/

 

Note to students with disabilities: Penn State welcomes students with disabilities into the University's educational programs. If you have a disability-related need for reasonable academic adjustments in this course, contact Jack Ebersole in GS101 at 749-6045 or, jme25@psu.edu. For further information regarding ODS, please visit their web site at www.equity.psu.edu/ods/ Instructors should be notified as early in the semester as possible regarding the need for reasonable academic adjustments.