GIS Training at Hopeworks: Overview of the Course

[Audio] Welcome to GIS Training at Hopeworks! This slideshow provides a short overview of the course. I am your instructor, Paul Caris. If you have any questions or problems as you work through this training, you should feel free to ask me questions. My email is [email protected]. You can also send me a g-chat. I work with the Hopeworks GIS team , including Luis, Esteban, Lilly, CJ, Zamir, and the GIS interns..

[Audio] Topic of the training course is GIS – Geographic Information Systems Geographic Information Systems, or GIS, is a broad subject and we can't cover everything If you are familiar with Google Maps, Google Earth, and GPS in your phone, you should know that all these use GIS technology. Google Maps and Google Earth are themselves GIS applications This training is meant to be an introduction for new users and starts with the basics The class is also very applied with several exercises that provide an opportunity to use GIS software By the end of the training, trainees will be able to produce maps, display interesting information in a visually appealing way on maps, and conduct basic research using geographical data.

[Audio] GIS, Geospatial Analysis, and Geospatial information is used in many fields by many people. Today, GIS is everywhere. It is used by -- businesses, large and small Many government agencies Researchers, schools and universities And even non-profit organizations like Hopeworks No matter what you study, it always occurs somewhere and knowing where is important in a general sense, but particularly in GIS..

[Audio] GIS uses the concept of location to understand and solve problems, as you will see. In addition to the term, GIS we will also use terms like geospatial, and spatial, related to location and spatial relationships. The term Geospatial " Geo" meaning Earth and "spatial" in relation to space and concepts of location, distance, and proximity. For example, the Hopeworks office is located at a place on the Earth's surface at Latitude 39.944506 and Longitude- 75.116164, and it is approximately 2 miles from center city Philadelphia. Latitude and Longitude are coordinates that specify a location.

[Audio] Basic Training Overview We will cover the basics of GIS How GIS works, what are the components, and why it is so important Moat of this training consists of short videos and video lectures, followed by short quizzes Note that the videos come from various sources and from YouTube. Some videos may state things like, "this week we are covering…" You can just ignore those types of comments, and focus on the information provided in the videos. This training also has several GIS exercises to be completed using ArcGIS Online.

[Audio] Training exercises The exercises are intended to assist in understanding GIS concepts and to provide experience with GIS software. The software we are using is called ArcGIS Online, from ESRI, Inc. ArcGIS Online operates in a web browser, entirely online. This is often referred to as GIS "in the cloud." To get started, we will each create our own free person ArcGIS Online accounts. More on that later. Once we have our accounts, we will use the application to view and interact with the map viewer and also create some maps. When each exercise is completed, you will answer some related questions and in come cases upload an image of your map. This is all covered in the instructions for each exercise..

[Audio] At the successful completion of the class, students will have learned: What GIS is and what can be done with it Key terms and concepts in the field How to use GIS software ( ArcGIS Online) How to think Spatially What kind of GIS work is done at Hopeworks.

[Audio] Videos to Introduce GIS— Please watch these short videos that will get us started. They cover important information that you should know by the time you complete the training. They start out with the basics, so please pay attention and be prepared to answer quiz questions after each video. That's the end of this slideshow!.