Instructors are encouraged to use this module as a guide in their classroom, and to adapt it to their own purposes.  There are a few things that should be considered in using this module such as what might be covered in class lectures before assigning the module, some tips that elevate the probability that the assignment will be useful (to students and instructors alike), and a few suggestions about what can be done with DDViewer and other classes to which this module might apply. Below, these sections are respectively titled:

Classroom Considerations
Instructor Tips
Other Suggestions

Classroom Considerations

In my introductory economic geography class, this assignment usually follows a one week unit dealing urban land use. This means that students will have had approximately three hours of class lecture and discussion before starting the module and have presumably read the corresponding chapter in their text. If possible, it is a good idea to spend some time on this subject before assigning the module so students have an idea about what they should look for in the assignment.

It has been my experience that certain theoretical subject areas can be difficult for lower division level students to grasp the first time around. Conceptual difficulties usually center on issues such as the bid rent function, differences between internal and external economies of scale, and urbanization versus localization economies. For that reason, a reasonably complete discussion urban land use theory precedes the exercise. This section of the module supplements what is taught in class and read in text books. However, if time is at a premium, the section titled "Urban Land Use: Theory and Models" can substitute for some text book material.

Instructor Tips

The Issue of Technology: It is probably a good idea to schedule some time in a computer lab when this module is assigned. In the assignment, I have students download the images and paste them into a word processing document. Then, they annotate each map with their response, attach the file to an e-mail message, and send it to the instructor. As with all assignments utilizing information technology, students frequently lose sight of the assignment objectives if navigating the WWW and using e-mail are problems. Using one class period in a computer lab to clarify these problems greatly reduces student anxiety.

From the instructors perspective, the use of email in submitting the assignment really is optional. There are a few advantages in doing this, however. First, if you have a color monitor, you can see the maps students produce with the legend in color. This may not be so important if you already know what to look for, and if all students are studying the same area. Second, using email can turn the assignment into a "paperless" exercise. Third, students have a real sense of accomplishment when they can master a set of computer technologies in completing the assignment.

Note: If you decide to do this assignment electronically, be sure all students use a consistent convention for naming their file(s). For example, the file attached to their e-mail could be named with the first eight letters of their last name. Otherwise, you will receive dozens of files named "homework.doc", or some such thing.

What Should You Have Students Do?: I have found that the exercise works best when students examine a medium sized city area. Metro areas that are too large will have too many census tracts and census tract boundaries can muddy the patterns you want students to see. A small metro area (or non-metro area) frequently does not have enough census tracts for real patterns to be discernible on a map. I have not tested all metro areas with this module, but I think the learning exercise will work best in metro areas with populations between 500,000 and 2 million and whose central county ranges in population between 250,00 and 750,000.

In my exercise, all students examine the same area -- Mecklenburg County, NC. In 1990, the metro population was just under 1.1 million and the central county (Mecklenburg) population was about 500,000. While this is fine, there are (at least) two things that might make this assignment more interesting.

1. Rather than having everyone examine the same area, it is probably a good idea to have each student examine a different area. You might provide a list of cities/metro areas from which to choose, or allow them to identify their own region to study. In fact, this could be considered a warm-up exercise -- that is, before using the module, you could have students browse the WWW and find web sites that contain population data for counties and metro areas. One benefit of having all students examine different areas is that it can provide the basis for class discussion after the assignment has been completed. For example, you might select a few examples from the homework assignment, make overhead transparencies, and compare/contrast land use patterns in different regions of the country.
2. A slightly different approach to the assignment would involve students examining an entire metro area rather than a single urban county (as is suggested in the student exercise). Issues of city-suburb income distribution, urban sprawl and segregation could be examined at this spatial scale for a broader perspective.

The father of formalized theoretical models of urban land use, William Alonso, has authored a number of seminal books and articles. The following are considered standard references:

Alonso, W. (1960) "A Theory of the Urban Land Market," Papers and Proceedings, Regional Science Association, 6, p. 149-157.
Alonso, W. (1964) Location and Land Use, Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

Bogart, W. (1998) The Economics of Cities and Suburbs, Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Levy, J. (1985) Urban and Metropolitan Economics, New York: McGraw-Hill

Much can be done with this assignment and DDViewer. It is worth taking a couple of hours to experiment with DDViewer to what could be done in the classroom. If you have internet access in your classroom, you can even use DDViewer to illustrate portions of your lecture.

In addition to the exercise presented in this module, instructors are encouraged to consider similar exercises for different classes and use different variables. This type of exercise could easily be incorporated into courses such as

Introduction to Social Geography
The City and Its Region
Planning for Special Populations

For those interested in segregation, you are encouraged to look at a related module -- "Ethnicity in the City" by Harold Bauder. In this web-based exercise, a variety of exercises are conducted such as finding the exact census definitions of race versus ethnicity. The exercise concludes with calculating the index of dissimilarity, a process made simple with an on-line calculator.