GIS for Geoscientists I – Fall 07
Geol 452/552 (same as Agron 452, EnSci 452)
Credits: 3 (2 hrs lecture, 2 hrs lab)
Prerequisites: Geol 100, Geol 201 or (or equivalent with
instructor’s approval)
Time: Tuesdays/Thursdays 9.00 to 10:00, lab from 10:05 to 10:50
(total of 3 cr.)
Place: Rm. 248 in Durham Center (computer lab space limits
the course to 15 students)
Instructor: Chris Harding (charding@iastate.edu)
Office Hours: by appointment, send email first
Course description
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are a rapidly growing area of computer application that will
benefit many graduate students with backgrounds in geology, water resources,
environmental Science, soil Science and related earth and life sciences.
GIS for Geoscientists I is an introduction
to GIS operations and analyses of vector data in a geoscience context and will
prepare students for more advanced GIS courses (such as its follow-up course, GIS for Geoscientists II, which deals with raster data). We will use ESRI's
ArcGIS 9 Desktop. This hands-on course
will be taught at a senior undergraduate (400) level, students taking the
course at the graduate (500) level will also work on additional exercises and
projects. This course counts as part of the “Foundations of GIS” requirements
for the College of Design’s GIS certificate.
Course objectives:
This course will help you to acquire basic GIS theory and
practical knowledge. It will allow you to work with geo-spatial data in the
form of computerized 2-D maps and the spatial attributes behind them. At the
conclusion of the course you should be able to:
1.
Develop an understanding of typical GIS operations as part of
GIS project management.
2.
Understand the architecture of ESRI’s ArcGIS program, its
historical development and its main data types.
3.
To classify and visualize vector data (points, lines,
polygons), raster data and table data within different layers using colors,
symbols and labels.
4.
Be able to use the most common coordinate systems (geographic
and projected) and understand the different distortions inherent in map
projections.
5.
Be able to import simple text files and manipulate non-spatial
data tables, perform simple statistics and create relationships across tables
(join/relate).
6.
Use the Structured Query Language (SQL) to find data with
certain attributes and select data based on location and spatial relationships
to other data.
7.
Create new compound data based on common spatial relations
ships (spatial join)
8.
Use map overlay processing to locate areas fitting multiple
spatial criteria and perform data clipping and buffering.
9.
Create maps that effectively present spatial data.
10.
Be able to interactively edit (digitize) the shape of vector
data and manipulate its underlying attributes.
11.
For graduate students: create a compelling poster on a topic
of your choice that could be presented at a conference.
Required
texts:
Mastering ArcGIS, Third
Edition from 2007 (!), by Maribeth H.
Price, ISBM0-07-298417-1, 607 pages, spiral-bound with Video Clips on CD-ROM,
McGraw Hill Higher Education.
Supplemental
texts:
Designing Better Maps A Guide
for GIS Users (ESRI, 2005) Cynthia A.
Brewer, 220 pages, ISBN: 1-58948-089-9, $24.95. Written by a
cartographer, this book focuses on the effective design of maps: what colors
are the best for what kind of data, layout, fonts, symbols, etc. Very
recommended!
Cartography: Thematic Map
Design, Fifth Edition, Borden D. Dent, Boston: WCB McGraw-Hill, 1999).
The ESRI Guide to GIS Analysis
Volume 1: Geographic Patterns & Relationships, Paperback: 186 pages, 1
edition (July 1999), ISBN: 1879102064, ~$20
The ESRI Guide to GIS Analysis,
Volume 2: Spatial Measurements and Statistics, Andy Mitchell, ISBN:
1-58948-116-X, 2005, 252 pages, $34.95
Course Structure:
There will be a lecture in the first hour followed by one
hour of practical lab exercises on the computers. Before each lecture I will
provide you with a printout of my powerpoint slides - this will include
sufficient space for your comments and questions. Each lab will consist of a
tutorial part (“Mastering the skills”) followed by a set of practical
exercises, which you will start in class but may need to finish on your own
time. In addition, you will be given exercises (mini-projects) that deal with
bigger learning units. After each lecture you will need to read the next
“Mastering the concepts” part from the textbook next lecture’s (including answering review questions!)
and work on (finish) the practical exercises.
Expectations of students and course preparation:
I expect you to participate in class and take responsibility
for your learning. I assume your
attendance in class, which provides you with the very important opportunity to
ask questions! Ordinarily, no “make-ups” will be provided for in-class quizzes,
discussions, or activities missed due to absence from class.
I expect you to treat the instructor and other students with respect (be on
time, turn off cell phones, don't talk with classmates during lectures, don't
read the newspaper during class, etc.). If you are going to miss a class, I’d
appreciate letting me know in advance.
Practical (lab) exercises and tutorials:
We will start the practical (lab) part with a step-by-step
tutorial that is followed by several exercises (which are short but do not have
step-by-step instructions). For both types there are short solutions at the end
of the book. I will only require a certain number of textbook exercises to be
done (e.g. “do 2 from exercises 1,2,4 or 6”), however I encourage you to
attempt to work through all the exercises
in the chapter, including the Challenge problem! All practical exercises are
vital for you to be able to successfully (and quickly) work the system for the
midterm, the final and the projects
Homework assignments and deliverables:
Homework assignments are textbook exercises given to you
after each lecture. You will have to document the results (mostly by taking
screenshots or be writing down answers) and send them to me via email. You can
start (and quite possibly finish) these exercises during the lab phase during
which I’ll be available for questions. Whatever parts you do not finish will
have to be completed outside the course (lab) period, you have one week to send
me the results. Each homework exercise will be graded (typically with 0 - 4 points),
I require you to send me results of the exercises (text and/or screen
captures). Selected answers on how to solve the tutorials and exercises are
given in the text book, more detailed solutions to homework exercises will be
given after they are graded.
Midterm and Final:
Both tests will consist of a multiple-choice question part
(answer 12 of 15 questions in 15 minutes) and a practical part (90 min. of
which I expert you need only 60 min.) where you will use ArcGIS to analyze and
process GIS data given to you, a and create a map and answers questions about
it (similar to the practical exercises in the book). Both will test the entire material presented to this point!
Quizzes:
There will be two written quizzes. You will be given 10 min.
to answer 3 out of 4 questions on paper. These will be non multiple-choice
questions that test your knowledge about the immediately proceeding chapters.
You may use your textbook and your notes but you cannot use the internet or
anything else!
GIS projects:
In addition to the book’s tutorial and exercises we will
work on 2-3 larger, non-book exercises that will deal with bigger chunks of
material two student projects. For these “mini-projects” the relevant data and
a list of questions will be given to you, the deliverables are one ore more
simple maps that show your answer these questions. We will go through the
material together in class and you will have a week to hand in the project.
A larger, final project is mandatory for graduate
students (those taking Geol 552). The
topic is up to the student and should, if possible, involve the graduate/thesis
work. The final project will require a short proposal, stating the
purpose of the project, the target audience as well as the data and GIS methods
to be used. The actual project work will
include: the acquisition of suitable data (from ISU databases or other
sources), the preparation of data to suit the ArcGIS software package,
computational work with and analysis of the data and presentation of your
results. The final project’s deliverables are: a poster (including
proper layout!), that could be used to present at a conference, plus a 10 min. oral presentation of the results to the
class (clarity of presentation and content will be graded equally). The
final project is optional for undergrads and will count as extra credit.
Cool-Google-Map-Stuff
On occasion I will take 5 mins to point you to various web
sites that contain interesting google map mashups or electronic maps. We will
collect these links on the course web page. Every student can earn extra credit
for sending me new link (i.e. one that I don’t already have).
Class participation and extra credit:
Class participation will be based on attendance,
participation and particularly the ability to ask intelligent questions. You
will be able to accumulate up to 20 extra “points” by handing in a white
comment card at the end of each class. I may credit you with one participation
point per card if you (besides your name) tell me something about the material
presented in class: something you
did absolutely not understand and why this was a problem (today’s ‘muddiest
point’) or the single most important point you learned today (the ‘clearest
point’ you took away from today’s class) or a valid, intelligent question about
the material.
WebCT Gold:
We’ll be using a subset of WebCT Gold. Each session’s plan
will be announced on WebCT, you will get and hand-in your homework assignments
via WebCT (due dates will be in your WebCT calendar) and we will use the
journal-type discussion (which is private between student and instructor) for
lecture feedback such as best-of-lecture, worst-of-lecture, questions, etc.
I don’t see a need for using the internal WebCT email
(please use regular email) but you’re welcome to use the chat-functionality. I
will make the slides of past lectures available via WebCT (as pdfs) and also
keep a collection of relevant Web links. We may use WebCT for the quizzes and
the multiple-choice part of the Mid-term and final.
Grading:
All grading will be in percent (0%-100%), that I will
convert to letter grades for the final grade according to this scale: A:
>95%, A-: > 90%, B+: >85%, B: > 80%, B-: > %75%, etc
Undergrads: Homework 20%, mini-projects %15, Midterm 20%,
Final 25%, Quizzes 10%, Participation 10%. Extra credit: lecture feedback,
weblinks, final project
Grads: Homework 10%, mini-projects %10, Final project 20%,
Midterm 20%, Final 20%, Quizzes 10%, class participation 10%. Extra credit:
lecture feedback, web links
Course files on the Delphi server
We will use the GIS center’s Delphi server, which is
administered be Robin McNeely (4-2087, mobes@iastate.edu).
Course files are stored under \\delphi.gis.iastate.edu\GEOL552
.
Each student has a folder \\delphi.gis.iastate.edu\GEOL552\students
to put exercises, project data, etc. The data from the text book is stored in
the mgisdata folder in your student directory, if other data is provided in the
GEOL552\data folder - you will need copy this data to you student folder to
work with it! Also note that anything stored on the GIS-lab computer’s C: drive
will be deleted when you log out, do NOT use this drive to store permanent data
(such as your project data) – this drive is meant only for temporary
data!
Slides from earlier sessions can be found in data\slides.
The demonstration video clips supplementing the textbook are stored in the
GEOL552\data\videos folder, see the VidIndex9.htm file for a quick chapter
index (you should be able to play the videos via the web browser) Look in the
clips folder to play the .wmv files directly. To listen to the video, you
need to bring your own headphones!
Non-Discrimination Policy: Iowa State University is “dedicated to fostering an
environment in which differences in people such as nationality, race, gender,
religion, cultural background, physical ability, and sexual orientation, are
respected and mutual understanding is promoted.” (from the ISU Bulletin)
Disability Accommodation: Any student who feels
s/he may need an accommodation based on the impact of a disability should
contact me privately to discuss your specific needs. Please contact the Disability Resources Office at
515-294-6624 in room 1070 Student Services Building to coordinate reasonable
accommodations for students with documented disabilities.
Academic Dishonesty
I expect students to follow the ISU rules regarding Academic
Dishonesty (see http://www.public.iastate.edu/~catalog/2005-07/geninfo/dishonesty.html)