office: NR 453 - phone: 797 2546
Paul.Box@usu.edu
http://www.nr.usu.edu/
sanduku/4930
Paul Box
office: NR 453 - phone: 797 2546
Paul.Box@usu.edu
http://www.nr.usu.edu/sanduku/4930
fall 2003
This is an introductory course in geographic information systems. The primary objectives is to learn the ``nuts and bolts'' of GIS for their use in data manipulation, data presentation, and conversion of data into formats for use in other applications such as reports and statistical analysis. By the end of the course each student should have a good grounding in the fundamental concepts of GIS, including representation of spatial data in a computer, data entry and management, basic cartography, some relational database experience, and an introduction into spatial analysis. No prior GIS knowledge is expected coming in this course, though basic computer skills (spreadsheets, text editors, some internet applications) is assumed for all students.
While the emphasis is on geographic and spatial data, there are a number of ``support'' issues that will necessarily be covered to enable working with geographic data. This includes, but is not limited to, knowledge of computer networks, some detail on how the internet works (including internet transfer protocols), familiarity with the unix operating system, geographic projections, data compression techniques, coordinate geometry, computer graphics, and database structure. Much will be covered in class, but you will be responsible for learning much of this on your own to be able to complete the course assignments.
The course is necessarily hands on. In addition to two class lectures weekly (in NR 314), everyone will be required to attend a two hour weekly lab. While the lecture part is important, most learning will occur in the lab while you are completing assignments. You should expect a minimum of two hours weekly in the lab outside of scheduled periods to complete homework assignments.
There will be two exams (one midterm and one final), each with equal weight. There will be a total of nine homework assignments, and a final project to be completed at the end of the semester. Relative importance of the exercises are as follows:
| Evaluation Criteria | ||
| . | Points | |
| Midterm | 100 | |
| Final | 100 | |
| Project | 100 | |
| Nine Homework Assignments | 100 | |
| Total | 400 | |
| Week | 1 (Aug 27 - 29) | Chapter 1, 2 | Introduction; What is GIS? Spatial Data Concepts |
| Week | 2 (Sep 3 - 5) | Chapter 3 | Scale, Projections; unix; network and internet |
| Week | 3 (Sep 10 - 12) | Chapter 4, 5 | Data structures, databases; topology; data input |
| Week | 4 (Sep 17 - 19) | Chapter 5, 6 | Data Storage, tiles, data compression |
| Week | 5 (Sep 24 - 26) | Chapter 7, 8 | Attribute data, spatial measurement |
| Week | 6 (Oct 1 - 3) | Chapter 9 | Reclassification, surficial information |
| Week | 7 (Oct 8 - 10) | Chapter 10 | Surface interpolation Midterm Exam |
| Week | 8 (Oct 15 - 17) | Chapter 12 | Overlay Analysis |
| Week | 9 (Oct 22 - 24) | Chapter 13 | Geographic Modeling |
| Week | 10 - 15 (Oct 29 - Dec.) | Project work | Scripting, metadata, project management, GIS |
| Week | 15 | Final Exam, Projects Due |
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