STANDARD COMPETENCIES:

 

 1. Use a computer and related GIS software  to input and retrieve information

 2. Define Geographic Information Systems

 3. Interpret GIS history

 4. Demonstrate understanding of the conceptual foundations on which geographic information systems (GIS) are based, including the problem of representing change over time and the imprecision and uncertainty that characterizes all geographic information

 5. Discuss the roles of several geometric approximations of the earth's shape, such as geoids, ellipsoids, and spheres

 6. Describe characteristics and appropriate uses of common geospatial coordinate systems, such as geographic (latitude .and longitude), UTM and State Plane Coordinates

 7. Explain the relationship of horizontal datums, such as North America Datum of 1983 (NAD 83) or the World Geodetic System of 1984 (WGS 84), to coordinate system grids and geometric approximations of the earth's shape

 8. Describe characteristics and appropriate uses of common map projections, such as Transverse Mercator, Lambert Conformal Conic, Albers Conic Equal Area, Azimuthal Equidistant, and Polar Stereographic

 9. Discuss the elements of geospatial data quality, including geometric accuracy, thematic accuracy, resolution, precision, and fitness for use

 10. Identify data quality and integration problems likely to be associated with geospatial and attribute data acquired with legacy systems and processes

 11. Calculate and interpret statistical measures of the accuracy of a digital data set, such as Root Mean Square Error (RMSE)

 12. Georeference a paper map or map image

 13. Recognize raster data structures

 14. Recognize vector data structures

 15. Acquire and integrate a variety of field data, image data, vector data, and attribute data to create, update, and maintain GIS databases

 16. Edit GIS data

 TOPICAL OUTLINE:

 

 I. Introduction  - Course Review

 II. Systems Science and Study - Geographic Information Science

 III. Representing Geography  - Fields, Objects, Raster, Vector, Scale

 IV. Applications Gallery -  GIS Markets And  Applications

 V. Uncertainty - Uncertainty in Conception, Representation and Analysis

 VI. GIS Software - GIS software architecture, custom applications, software platforms, software vendors

 VII. GIS Data -   GIS Data Collection - Processes, Primary Data, Secondary Data, Data Capture Methods, Data Formats, Digital Data Resources, Managing Data

 VIII. Geo-Visualization,  Cartography

 IX. GIS Project Definition - Select Geographic Objective, Define Problem, Identify Data, Qualify Data, Create Map Document, Perform Analysis, Report Results

 X. Query and Analysis - Thematic Query, Measurements, Transformations

 XI. GIS Project Development

 XII. GIS Project Completion

 XIII. GIS Project Presentation