DESKTOP GIS SYLLABUS – Spring 2021
Enroll at http://tinyurl.com/GISSpring2021
PACE UNIVERSITY
(Peggy Minnis, Instructor) MMinnis@Pace.edu
Topics (QGIS instruction will also be offered, in parallel)
- Ways of looking at the Earth, Projections
Downloading US Census data, unzipping it and storing data so you can find it.
Different ways to add data to your map. - Shapefiles and Geodatabases, the attribute table, adding a new field, zooming in, out, pan, zooming to a feature, clipping features out of a larger data set (Your town from your state, for example)
Base maps using ArcGIS. Symbolizing data – colors, symbols, effects, labeling, setting extents for labels , labels as annotation, layouts, switching from Data to Layout views, creating meaningful marginalia, making PDFs with layers - Changing the projection of a shapefile, comparing projected and geographic maps,
making an inset map, measuring features, importing shapefiles into and out of a geodatabase, measuring distances and area, making halos around labels - Finding data from other sources, geocoding an addres in ArcMap, Batch Geocoding via Google Sheets, using Lat/Lon to locate places on a map, Making lines from spots to a central point (à la airline routes)
Making a two-line label, making a video of time-related data, clipping a raster - Creating new shapefiles – point, polygon, line, adding fields, calculating geometry,
editing features, creating a field for lat/lon of point data, creating a polyline from a polygon and vice versa, exporting files to Google Earth - Selection – how features interact with each other features, spatial queries,
creating buffers zones, georeferencing a paper map to a feature, saving an aerial view for off-line use, clipping or extracting a feature from a raster - Using a GPS to map features, routes, converting GPS data to a usable format,
Camera with GPS – integrating, Hyperlinking Photos, documents and video to spots on the map. - Using the US Census to download, prepare and map demographic data.
Density mapping of census features – dot mapping
Kernel density (John Snow cholera map), hot spot mapping. - ARC Publisher, ArcReader, Map Packages, USGS National Map Viewer, downloading DEMs, merging adjacent DEMs, when required..
- 3D, ArcScene, SketchUp, elevation profiles, making a sea level rise animation
- iTree Tools, Your town’s canopy analysis
LiDAR processing, Final Project.
Frequently asked questions:
1. Does this course cost anything? No
2. What version of ArcGIS should we use? I use 10.8.1 now, but anything from 10.3 is good.
3. Do I need to know anything about GIS before I start this? No.
4. How much time should I expect to spend each week on the work? About 2 hours, unless you get stuck.
5. Can I use QGIS to follow the course? There are instructional videos for all, up to 3D.
6. Do I have to be a college student to take this course? No.
7. Is enrollment limited to Pace students. No
8. Is the course limited to people in the USA? No
9. Who grades my work? A former GIS student of mine at Pace.
10. Is all my work for each week due on Sunday night at 11:59? Yes
11. Can I get a future week’s assignments in advance? No.
12. Can I submit late work? You can, but you have to email me so I can grade it myself.
13. What is this course equivalent to, in college credits? 3
14. Can I submit evidence of completion of my work for CEUs in my organization? Yes
15. How do I get help? Post a question on the Peer-to-Peer discussion board.
16. How can I get the program? ESRI makes a 1-year trial version for $100. This is different in every country, so you have to check.
17. Can I use my organization’s GIS to do my work? Ask them. They will install it on your computer if they have a license.
18. What percentage of people who begin work in the first week finish the course? 40%
19. Will you cover ArcGIS Pro? I might, but Desktop is the best foundation for Pro.