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It’s no secret – I’ve got a real love for do-it-yourself (DIY) and small-scale data collection methods.

This past winter semester I launched a new course at the University of Waterloo called "The Geoweb and Location-Based Services (PDF)". This 4th-year course introduced senior undergraduate students to the theoretical concepts and practical techniques of Web 2.0, Volunteered Geographic Information, Open Data, the Geoweb, and location-based services using mobile phones.

Today I’m going to provide a counter point to my last post "Why we should all learn to code". Is it true that coding is an essential skill for undergraduates, particularly those who want to use geospatial data? To interact with technology in an advanced way (i.e., as more than a user) do you have to ‘speak the language’?

I recently read an article in Inside Higher Education called “Should All Majors, Not Just Computer Science Majors Learn to Code“. If you know me at all, then you probably know my answer to this question: YES.

I’d like to take a moment to highlight some of the recent work that our team at McGill has been involved with as part of the Geoweb for Community Development in Rural Quebec project. One of our partners, the Corporation de développement de la Rivière Noire (CDRN) has become very involved with developing Geoweb sites.

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Balloon mapping experiment

Tweet-mapping American TV ratings

Why we don't all need to learn code

Why we should all learn to code

Géoweb Junior: A community-based geoweb implementation in rural Quebec