Geographic Information Systems:
Theory and Practice - Spring 2008
SyllabusSyllabus
MoodleMoodle
CALCAL
InstructorInstructor
Spring quarter
Credits: 4
Faculty: Gregory Stewart, Ph.D.
Prerequisite: Proficiency with Windows OS
Enrollment: 25
Meeting Times: Tue, 6-10p in CAL East

Posted March 16 2008: It is my understanding that the class is now full with a short waitlist. The class size is limited by computer seats and cannot go above 25 students. That said, I would encourage wait-listed students with an interest in the class to show up on the first night. Experience suggests a number of students will make alternate plans without notifying registration. As such, I will give a short background on the course and then admit the appropriate number of students based on who is present. If you are registered for the course and know that you will be late on the first night, please notify me as soon as possible or you will be at risk of losing your spot. -greg



Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are computer programs that combine components of computer assisted design (CAD), relational database, and statistical analysis software to allow the display, storage, analysis, and editing of geographically-referenced information. The power of GIS has made it an important tool in the fields of resource management, planning and development, and scientific research.

In this exciting and fast paced class we will cover a wide range of GIS topics including coordinate systems, data input, editing, display, database queries and spatial data models. Concepts and fundamental GIS techniques will be explained in lectures and students will gain hands-on experience with ArcGIS 9.2.

The capstone for the quarter will be the creation and publication of a thematically based spatial dataset with maps. Students will work individually or in small teams to create maps and datasets in an appropriate coordinate system. The maps and datasets will be published in ArcGIS server for futuire consumption and students will have a choice of the project they take on.

At the end of the course, students should:

· have gained a basic, practical understanding of GIS concepts and technical issues.

· be able to obtain and evaluate data and/or implement and manage simple GIS projects.

· have demonstrated competency using ArcInfo GIS to create maps and and spatially referenced datasets for analysis.
If you have questions, check out the draft syllabus.