Settlement Geography of Eau Claire

Geography students in the field.

Instructor: Ingolf Vogeler, email at ivogeler@uwec.edu
Meet the professor: http://youtu.be/20qEJtbP95U

Course Outline    Technical Information

Bold and underlined text link to web pages at UWEC; only underlined text link to web pages off campus -- these might take more time to access!
Geography 367 was first taught in 1978. Each summer thereafter until 1985, students -- over 210 in total -- collected data on 7,106 Eau Claire houses using field surveys and the City of Eau Claire assessor's records. Since 1985, students added occupational data for each decade from the Eau Claire city directories and field checked all information for accuracy and completeness. U.S. census data will also be used.

 The explore the settlement geography of Eau Claire:
parts of a house   historical developments  -- view historic postcards from Wisconsin
building materials used for parts of a house cemeteries, private and public
other characteristics of houses & lots  census data & patterns
house & commercial styles occupations, 1980-1910
garage types   Presidential election 2000: lawn signs & voting
   
independent student projects  
 
compare house styles in the USA with those in Germany and Brazil; Japan's housing market
 the strangest houses in the world
Throughout these pages, watch for these two icons:
links to a bar graph by decades links to a map of Eau Claire
Created by Ingolf Vogeler on 8 July 1996; last revised on 11 June 2010.

Temporal and spatial patterns of architectural styles and building materials illustrate geographical concepts:

  • site and situation: physical attributes of places; changing spatial linkages to all other places
  • regionalization and regions: spatial classification of data and spatial patterns
  • human-environmental relationships: climate and roof styles, locally-available building materials
  • spatial cultural diffusion of ideas across the United States (east to west; west to east) and from other countries
  • cultural and environmental diversities as expressed in material culture
  • landscape appreciation: learning to "see" and "read" places
  • power relationships between gender, ethnic, racial, and class groups
  • map reading and map making: cartographic insights into landscapes and spatial patterns
  • changing technologies: railroads, catalogues, innovative building techniques, and construction materials
  • national and regional values: religion, family arrangements, gender roles, work and leisure activities, outdoors
Technical Information
If you are creating web pages for this course, consult the folder and web structure page.
If you are working in teams on a project, complete the evaluation forms on each member, except yourself.
At what resolutions should slides be scanned and in what format should they be saved?
What are the advantages of a web-based course? Read an abstract or the complete paper.
 
Developing a World Wide Web Course: House Types in Eau Claire, WI

Abstract for the 1997 meeting of the Association of American Geographers
Ingolf Vogeler, Department of Geography, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire

Using the internet's World Wide Web (WWW) has many advantages over other computer and non-computer teaching enhancements for students and teachers alike.

  • Students of web-based courses have more responsibilities for the course materials and assignments, can study at their own speed and manner, evaluate and provide feedback to their instructors, and study visual materials thoroughly.
  • Instructors of web-based courses can easily and constantly update course materials; have continual feedback from students via email, evaluation forms, and usage statistics; and re-enforce classroom learning by providing lecture notes and visuals for review as well as additional materials quickly and inexpensively.
  • Geography faculty and students at the same university or elsewhere on the global WWW can use and reference these materials. Teaching and learning becomes globally interactive!

The value of web-based courses is illustrated by a course on house types in Eau Claire, WI. Students created web pages from previous student architectural field work, public assessment records, and commercial city directories.
Creating web pages is itself a very educational experience:

  • enhances faculty-student interaction in the lab;
  • requires that students be concerned with details (spelling, layout, etc.) and larger conceptual and educational objectives; and
  • gives students pride in having their work available for others to use.

Keywords: teaching, World Wide Web, cultural landscape, built environment, house types.
Read the complete paper.

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