GIS involves a mixture of education and training:
This course, taught regularly at USNA as SO432, uses the MICRODEM program (what do you expect for something integrated in the program's help file?), which is free and reasonably powerful. If you really understand what you are trying to do and the concepts behind it, you should be able to find directions for other programs to perform the tasks you want. Google can usually find any number of directions from college GIS courses--simply enter the name of the GIS program and a few words describing what you want to do. It helps to know the correct GIS terminology. The same thing works with Matlab programming (and probably other programs)--Google can be as easy to use as the program help files, and leads to directions from instructors with great experience in student problem areas.
The lab directions will not be complete step by step directions, particularly in the later labs. You must learn to think like a GIS program, so that you solve the next problem you will encounter, which will be different, but will involve the same building blocks.
Coverage. You should read every page in this column. Each of the pages will have links, which you can follow but which will not be directly testable, unless they also appear in this column. | Labs | Key concepts |
Introduction and overview of GIS |
Lab 1: Introduction to GIS and Mapping |
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Basics of computer mapping | Lab 2: Projections and Horizontal Datums |
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Types of digital data |
Lab 3: Maps of your home county | |
Vector GIS basics |
Lab 5: Vector GIS--joins and computations |
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Map algebra |
Lab 6: Raster GIS, map algebra | |
Database design and creation | Lab 8: Vector GIS--create a database | |
GIS and remote sensing | Vertical datums and Landsat | |
Redistricting and gerrymandering |
Lab--Redistricting | |
Fire base camp | ||
Sensor Coverage | ||
Lab 9: Web services | ||
Final project |
Your final deliverable will be a paper and map layer,
combined into one KMZ file
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Labs below will not be done, but cover some other interesting topics | ||
Lab 9--How Long is the Path Atop the Cliff? | ||
Digitizing | Lab 7: Vector GIS--registration and digitizing |
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Applications
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Remote sensing quick start
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Last revision 4/19/2017