<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html charset=utf-8"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;" class="">Dr. Mueller:<div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">There is no problem!</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">OpenStreetMap endeavors to be many things to many people, academia and students VERY much included! All I was saying is that it can be helpful to find a local ambassador to act as a guide. This isn’t necessary, merely helpful. If I had more bandwidth to offer you (and I am in California, not Pennsylvania) I myself would offer to be that person, alas, I cannot do so.</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">I wish the very best to you and your students and encourage your continuing to use OSM as you see fit.</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">SteveA</div><div class="">California</div><div class=""><br class=""><div><blockquote type="cite" class=""><div class="">On Apr 11, 2016, at 5:01 PM, Mueller, Thomas <<a href="mailto:Mueller@calu.edu" class="">Mueller@calu.edu</a>> wrote:</div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><div class=""><div id="divtagdefaultwrapper" style="font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-size: 12pt; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Calibri, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" class=""><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;" class="">I am very sorry for my lack of communication. Yes I am Tom Mueller. I have a class called Introduction to Geography. It is a class of 100 students. I offered my students an opportunity of extra credit if they completed 3 new buildings in their hometown (about 45 students took me up on this option.) I had the students watch the MapGive video and they are submitting the screen shots to me. I am asking students to make changes if there are problems. I attempted this type of project about a year ago and did not have any problems. I am sorry I was unaware that I needed to contact anyone. <br class=""></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;" class=""><br class=""></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;" class="">If this is a problem, I will ask my students to stop. I apologize. I was using this extra credit as a test case for a bigger project in the fall semester . However if this is causing a problem I will also not proceed.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;" class=""><br class=""></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;" class="">Again I am sorry</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;" class="">Tom<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br class=""></div></div><hr tabindex="-1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; display: inline-block; width: 1148.546875px;" class=""><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; display: inline !important;" class=""></span><div id="divRplyFwdMsg" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;" class=""><font face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt;" class=""><b class="">From:</b><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>OSM Volunteer stevea <<a href="mailto:steveaOSM@softworkers.com" class="">steveaOSM@softworkers.com</a>><br class=""><b class="">Sent:</b><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Monday, April 11, 2016 7:35:32 PM<br class=""><b class="">To:</b><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="mailto:talk-us@openstreetmap.org" class="">talk-us@openstreetmap.org</a><br class=""><b class="">Subject:</b><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Re: [Talk-us] Talk-us Digest, Vol 101, Issue 10</font><div class=""> </div></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;" class=""><div class="">At least a couple of posters have responded to the thread:</div><div class=""><br class=""><blockquote type="cite" class=""><div class=""><span class="" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; display: inline !important;">I'm equally inexperienced in the contact department, so take what I say with that gain of salt.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><br class="" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;"><br class="" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;"><span class="" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; display: inline !important;">This appears to be a class at California University of Pennsylvania (</span><a href="http://calu.edu/" class="" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;">calu.edu</a><span class="" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; display: inline !important;">), and the last of the users you link appears to be Dr. [Tom] Mueller himself.</span><br class="" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;"><br class="" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;"><span class="" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; display: inline !important;">Perhaps someone with some degree of officialness can contact the professor directly (via institutional email, I'd guess) to start the conversation in a good-faith fashion.</span><br class="" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;"></div></blockquote><div class=""><br class=""></div></div><div class="">I have had excellent results in working with my local University (of California, also my alma mater) with professors (of Computer Science, Environmental Studies), staff, interns, contractors, etc. OSM is very higher-education friendly as there are many ways that using and improving its underlying data can be beneficial to both the students and back to the project. My best experiences come from acting in the capacity of a local “ambassador” to the project, offering longer-term project perspective, consultation, direction, technical answers, in-person class attendance (once or twice during a quarter or semester is quite sufficient) and whatever else might be needed to support the professor and the aims of the class. True, this is most helpful before-the-fact (students joining OSM and editing) rather than afterwards, but it can be successful either way. I just think its easier to do a little discussion and planning up-front to reduce surprises and anything unexpected.</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">If you are in academia as a professor/instructor, new to OSM yourself and are contemplating using OSM in your class (especially if more than just a few students will be editing en masse) please endeavor to find some local OSM person(s) who can act as a guide. While not necessary, this can reduce misunderstandings, more easily glide into the brief (yet necessary) additional “mapping curriculum" that must be developed so students are both good editors yet while still furthering the aims of the class. Our map is a shared fabric, not only among us, (OSM volunteers who add and edit data) but also among the wider world who can and do use OSM to teach and do wonderful things that we might not even have imagined.</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">I don’t particularly think any “degree of officialness” (Ph.D. or otherwise!) is required to contact the professor: simply introduce yourself as an interested and eager OSM volunteer who wants to help. Then, listen.</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">Good luck to everybody, COMMUNICATE, keep learning and most of all, have fun!</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">SteveA</div><div class="">California</div></div></div></blockquote></div><br class=""></div></body></html>