Application of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) GIS 3043 Spring, 2012 Professor: Dr. Jennifer Gebelein Teaching Assistant: None Meeting Times: TBA/Online Office: ECS 467 (and in Online Classroom) Office Hours: By appointment and Tuesdays 4-5:00 pm Phone: 305-348-1859 Email: Please use only email in our online classroom Required Text: Mastering ArcGIS, 5th edition, Maribeth Price, McGraw-Hill Higher Education 2012. ISBN: 987-0-07-336932-7 Other Readings: Web Resources: Class Location: For your reference you may want to read material from the following books: Star & Estes, Geographic Information Systems- An Introduction, Clarke, Getting Started with Geographic Information Systems (3 rd edition), DeMers, Fundamentals of Geographic Information Systems, Huxhold, An Introduction to Urban Geographic Information Systems, Hutchinson & Daniel, Inside ArcView GIS, Theobald, GIS Concepts and ArcView Methods, Wright & Bartlett, Marine and Coastal Geographic Information Systems, Star & Estes & McGwire, Integration of Geographic Information Systems and Remote Sensing. They are in the library or available on loan. If you cannot find them contact the professor. The ESRI site (www.esri.com) is full of information on GIS and ESRI products such as ArcView we will be using in this class. A list of helpful websites will be given as a handout at the beginning of the semester. The instruction for this class is fully online. Therefore the lectures, interactive group work, discussions, and other activities will be fully online inside the FIU Online virtual environment. It is possible to meet in person with the professor through a prescheduled appointment if you like, or it is also possible to schedule a virtual one-on-one help session with the professor as well via Adobe Connect Pro or Skype.
Course Description Geographic Information Systems are powerful tools for the collection, analysis and display of spatial data. This class will provide students with a solid foundation in the theory of GIS with special emphasis on hands on GIS training and project development. The objectives of this course are to establish of solid foundation in GIS Theory, to develop useful skills in the operation of GIS systems, and to teach organizational skills needed for successful GIS project management. Learning Objectives This class will offer students the opportunity to learn about spatial relationships among physical and/or human elements. In the real world, this can often be very confusing and overwhelming because it is difficult to mentally incorporate all the factors that may influence a decision or action. GIS presents students with a way to incorporate, manage and visually display all those confusing factors into a convenient and easy-to-understand media: a map. Therefore, by the end of this course, students should have a solid understanding of how to import, manage, analyze, and display answers to spatial research questions using GIS software. This class is very hands-on and interactive; students will be lectured on a topic and then have an opportunity to develop hands-on skills the very next class on what was just discussed. Course Expectations/Policies 1. This is a fast paced course. To do well students need to log in to the course each week and finish the exercises/homework/tasks on time. The material builds upon itself in complexity so if you miss a week of class, it will be a challenge to catch up. 2. Students are encouraged to interact with each other. It is very helpful to work together in this course. I will make it clear when it s ok (or not) to work together on assignments. 3. An Incomplete grade will only be given out in accordance with FIU grading guidelines. 4. Cheating on exams and plagiarism in written assignments are very serious forms of academic misconduct and will not be tolerated. University policies for academic misconduct are very strict, and the results of cheating and/or plagiarism can be a failing grade or ultimately expulsion from the University. 5. I use a standard grading scale, and don t curve (force and equal percent of the class to earn A s, B s, C s, D s, and F s. Final grade ranges are as follows: Range* Range* A = 93-100% (252 & Above) C = 73-76% (197-207) A- = 90-92% (243 251) C- = 70-72% (189-196) B+ = 87-89% (235-242) D+ = 67-69% (181-188) B = 83-86% (225-234) D = 60-66% (162-180)
B- = 80-82% (216-224) D- = below 60% (below 161) C+ = 77-79% (208-215) F = never attended class/unsatisfactory work *This is calculated based on no extra credit. Schedule Week Date Class Topic 1 Jan 9-Jan 15 2 Jan 16-Jan 22 GIS Data 3 Jan 23-Jan 29 Course Overview, Introduction to GIS Mapping & Presenting GIS Data 4 Jan 30-Feb 5 Attribute Data & Queries 5 Feb 6-Feb 12 Spatial Joins 6 7 Feb 13-Feb 19 Map Overlay & Geoprocessing Feb 20-Feb 26 Raster Analysis 8 Feb 27-Mar 4 Network Analysis Mar 5-Mar 9 11 Midterm Exam N/A 10 11 Mar 12-Mar 18 Spring Break N/A Mar 19-Mar 25 Geocoding Reading & Tutorials Price: Introduction, Install Software Price: Chapter 1, Tutorial 1 Price: Chapters 2-3, Review? s 2 & 3 Price: Chapters 4-5, Tutorials, Review? s 4 & 5 Price: Chapter 6,? s 6 Price: Chapter 7,? s 7 Price: Chapter 8,? s 8 Price: Chapter 9,? s 9 Price: Chapter 10, Exams & Tasks Review Lecture 1 HW 1 Review Lecture 2 Extra credit 1 Review Lecture 3 HW 1 DUE Review Lecture 4 Extra credit 1 Due Review Lecture 5 HW 2 Review Lecture 6 Extra credit 2 Review Lecture 7 HW 2 Due Review Lecture 8 Midterm Exam Extra credit 2 due Go Geo-caching on vacation! Map Competition begins HW 3
? s 10 Review Lecture 9 12 Mar 26-Apr 1 Coordinate Systems 13 Apr2-Apr 8 Editing Techniques 14 Apr 9-Apr 15 Geodatabases 15 16 Apr 16-Apr 22 Metadata Apr 23-Apr 28 Final Exam Week Price: Chapter 11,? s 11 Price: Chapters 12-13, Tutorials, Review? s 12 & 13 Price: Chapter 14,? s 14 Price: Chapter 15,? s 15 HW 3 Due Review Lecture 10 HW 4 Review Lecture 11 Extra credit 3 Review Lecture 12 HW 4 Due Review Lecture 13 Final Exam Map Competition Ends. Extra credit 3 due Composition of Final Grade: There will be 4 homework assignments, 2 tests, and a graded geo-journal that will be assessed throughout the course. There is also a discussion board to which you must post and respond to topics at least once per week, this is also a part of your final grade. There are also many opportunities for extra credit throughout the course (these are optional). The homework assignments and tests will be based on the lectures, tutorials (Price), Review Questions (Price), readings, and research questions posed based on data the students are given (which reflects learning and operating the software correctly or not). The geo-journal will be based on the student's experience throughout this learning process. They will be assigned questions to answer and discuss in this journal. It will be visible only to me and not other students. The discussion board is a place where students must post responses to topics each week. There will also be extra credit options that students may choose to do for an enhanced learning experience such as field trips and scavenger hunts in Second Life, an extra credit lab, geo-caching exercises, and a map-making competition at the end of the course. Item Total Points Possible Geo-Journal (13 entries): 130 Midterm exam: 50 Final Exam: 40 Homeworks (4): 40 Discussion Board 10
Extra credit (3): 30 Geo-caching (extra credit): 10 Map Competition (extra credit): First place: 10 Second place: 8 Third place: 5 ------------------------------------------------- 333 (with full extra credit) 270 (without any extra credit) Course Policies: Much of what is learned in this class is covered in lecture, exercises, interactions and assignments. Missing a lot of these, or not showing up in class, will bring your grade down. You have my email address on the first page of the syllabus, I encourage you to make use of it! I am available online (and in person) during office hours, but I m always virtually around at my email address to answer last minute questions, clarify lectures, readings, or assignments, and to discuss grades. My response policy is that I will (unless otherwise noted) respond to a phone call or email with 24 hours during a business week (Monday-Friday); questions or concerns sent to me on a weekend may not be responded to until Monday. The only allowable excuse for missing the midterm or class is a serious illness and you must provide a signed and stamped Doctor s note written on medical stationary in order to have a makeup exam scheduled. All examinations will take place as scheduled in this syllabus. The only reason I will reschedule an examination is in the case of the entire University closing. Class cancellations will be indicated by a note posted the discussion board and in the announcement section of our class, on Department letterhead, and signed by the Department secretary.