Application of Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

 

GEO 4994/5993

 

Spring, 2003

 

Professor:                   Dr. Jennifer Gebelein

Teaching Assistant:    Frances Spiegel, email: FrancesAlia@aol.com

Meeting Times:          Monday and Wednesday, 12:30-1:45

Office:                         DM-434A or DM-434B

Office Hours: 11:00-12:00, Wednesday or by appointment (Monday-Thursday)

Phone:                         348-1859

Email:                          gebelein@fiu.edu

Required Text:           1) Ormsby, T., et al. Getting to Know ArcGIS Desktop, ESRI_Press
 2) Longley, Paul A. et al, Geographic Information Systems and Science, John Wiley & Sons, LTD.
(both text books are available at FIU Book store)

Other Readings:         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 (3rd 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.  

More Readings:         You will, be expected to make use of materials on the World Wide Web (WWW).  There will also be weekly handouts – you will be responsible for knowing the information given either on the websites and/or the handouts.  You can access this material through the facilities in the library or through your FIU account at home.  The website address will be listed on the readings for the week or given in class.

Web Resources:         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.

Class Location:           GIS Lab, 2nd Floor, Green Library, University Park Campus

 

 

 

 

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.

 

 

 

Tentative Weekly Schedule

 

·        Please note: Assigned readings are to be completed PRIOR to lectures and labs and WILL APPEAR on periodic pop quizzes. To show that you have done the readings in the lab book (Ormsby) there will be a random student selected to show that he/she can complete the exercises assigned that week in class, this will occur almost every class time.   BE PREPARED!!!

 

Course Outline: (lecture numbers do not include the 1st one on class orientation)

 

Lecture #

Lecture Topics/Activities

Reading and Lab Assignments

1-2

Introduction to GIS, History of GIS, Geographic features, Data Models

Reading:

1) Ormsby: Chpts 1,2

2) Longley: Chpts. 1,2

3) Handouts for Week 2 
Hands-on: Chapter 3 (Ormsby) 

3

Introduction to ArcMap and ArcCatalog

 HW #1 Assigned

Reading:

1) Handouts for Week 3

 Hands-on Chapter 4 (Ormsby)

4-5

Geo-Spatial Data Models and Geographic Representation 

HW #1 Due

Reading:

1) Longley: Chpts. 3, 5

2) Handouts for Week 4

Hands-on Ormsby: Section 3

6-7

Displaying and Querying Data 

Reading:

1) Handouts for Week 5

Hands-on: Ormsby: Section 4  

8-9

Cartographic Concepts and   Symbology

Reading:

1) Chapter 12 (Longley) 
2) Handouts for Week 6

Hands-on: Chpt 18 (Ormsby) 

10-11

 Geo_Referencing -- Map Projections

HW #2 Assigned

Reading:

1) Chapter 4 (Longley)

2) Handouts for Week 7
Hands-on: chapter 13 (Ormsby) 

12-13  

Geo-Spatial Data Analysis 

Reading:

1) Chapter 13 (Longley)

2) Handouts for Week 8

14-15

Analyzing Feature Relationships 

HW #2 Due

Reading:

1) Handouts for Week 9

Hands-on Chapter 10-13, 15 (Ormsby)

16

Geo-Spatial Data Collection and Creation

Reading:

1) Chapter 7,10,11 (Longley) 

Hands-on Chapters 14, 16, 17 (Ormsby) 

17

 

Mid-Term

 


 

 

Spring Break – Have A Nice Vacation!! 

 

18-19

Creating and Editing Data, Metadata Importance, Advanced Data Analysis 

Reading:

1) Chapter 14 (Longley) 
2) Handouts for Week 10

Hands-on: Hand-out exercises

20-21

Arc Tools and More ArcView Extensions

HW #3 Assigned

Hands-on: Hand-out exercises 

22-23


Group discussion and report on Assigned readings

HW #3 Due

Readings:

1) Chapter 19 (Ormsby)

2) Weekly Handouts

24

 Final Project Presentation 

 

25

 Final Project Presentation 

 Paper Due the final week. 

 

 

Course Requirements:

 

·        Students are expected to attend all lectures, complete all labs and to finish all reading assignments.  Class participation (including attendance & Pop Quizzes!!!) makes up 10% of your total course grade.  These points are easy to get: you have to be present for random roll calls throughout the semester & have done the reading & kept up with exercises.  You can also lose the points easily if you show up late consistently or skip class a lot.  If you are present, you are counted, if you are not present (either late or absent) you are not counted.  Each student is allotted 3 “personal days” throughout the semester, to use for whatever reason: traffic tie-ups, no parking, illness, vacation, etc.  Each day that you are not present for roll call that exceeds these three “personal days” subtracts one point from your final point total, up to a maximum of 10 points off your final grade.  Do not bring notes or excuses, except for long-term illnesses.  There are no exceptions to this policy.

 

·        Labs: The exercises that are assigned from the Ormsby book.  These count as your labs.  I will not be collecting these regularly.  However, from time to time I will ask for them during the week in which they are due.  More likely I will call on students each week to lead the class in a similar exercise to the one done in the lab book.

 

·        You are responsible for all material in lecture/labs, readings, homeworks & class exercises.  You are encouraged to finish assigned reading prior to the week it appears in lecture (when you are supposed to have the reading completed). Pop quizzes can come in many formats including: multiple choice, map quizzes, essays, exercises, short answer, and lists. 

 

·        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:

 

 

A  = 93-100%                        C = 73-76%

A-    = 90-92%                         C- = 70-72%

B+ = 87-89%                        D+ = 67-69%

B  = 83-86%                          D = 60-66%

B-    = 80-82%                         D- = below 60%

C+ = 77-79%                        F = never attended class

 

** Please note: I reserve the right to subtract up to 5 percentage points from your final score for “lack of civility”.  I expect all students to behave in a courteous, adult fashion.  A pattern of disruptive, disrespectful, and/or harassing behavior or your part – towards your fellow students or your professor – will result in a lower grade.  Really. **

 

Composition of Final Grade:

 

Homework:                                                            30%

Midterm:                                                                20%

Final Project (Paper & Presentation):                40%

Class Participation/Attendance/Pop Quizzes:    10%

                                                            Total:        100%

 

 

Course Policies:

 

Much of what is learned in this class is covered in lecture and lab.  Missing a lot of lectures and labs, or not showing up on time, will bring your grade down.  To encourage attendance, I will take roll at the beginning of most classes.  Part of your final grade for this class comes from attendance.  See policy above, under “Course Requirements”.

 

You have my email address and the email address of the Teaching Assistant on the first page of the syllabus, I encourage you to make use of them!  I’m available in person during office hours, but we’re always “virtually around” at our email addresses to answer last minute questions, clarify lectures, readings, or assignments, and to discuss grades.

 

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 on the door, on Department letterhead, and signed by the Department secretary.