2012 Training ScheduleBelow are the scheduled course dates for 2012 geospatial training courses offered by the CLEAR Geospatial Training Program. More 2012 Courses Coming Soon! All classes will be taught at:Middlesex County Extension Center Course Logistics:Courses generally run from 9 AM to 4:30 PM. You will receive a registration confirmation and course reminder by email 1-2 weeks prior to the training start date. Specific questions should be directed to Cary Chadwick, Geospatial Training Program Coordinator at CLEAR, cary.chadwick@uconn.edu or (860) 345-5216. To get directions to the training center, click on the blue marker in the mashup to the right and then click on Directions in the popup window. Cancellation Policy:Payment must be recieved with your registration form. Your seat is not considered reserved until payment is recieved. A full refund will be issued if cancellation occurs more than 10 days prior to the training. If you cancel within 10 days of the start of a training and we are unable to fill your seat, we will not issue a refund. Course Information:In the table below, click the [more] link following the course title to read a brief course description. Click the [Registration Form] link at the end of each row to download a course description and registration form. FREE Webinars!The Center for Land Use Education and Research has recently added a series of monthly webinars on a broad range of topics related to land use planning, land cover research and geospatial technologies. Click [here] to view the upcoming webinar schedule, view previous webinars and register for upcoming webinars. |
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Upcoming Courses at a Glance:Intro to GIS: April 18-20 Questions?Contact Cary Chadwick
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Upcoming Courses |
Dates |
Registration Info |
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April 18-20 June 20-22 |
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Creating and Using Geospatial Models: Introduction to ModelBuilder [more] |
April 25 |
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Developing Custom Geoprocessing Tools: An Introduction to Python Scripting [more] |
May 1-2 |
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Coming Soon! |
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Coming soon! |
Mashup Madness: Using Google Tools to Create Maps on the Web [more] |
TBD |
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Pictures, Points & Places: |
June 14-15 |
Geospatial Technologies at Work - A Hands-on Introduction to GIS
This intensive three-day course introduces students to basic GIS concepts through the use of ArcGIS10 software. It covers a wide range of topics and is designed for people with little or no experience with GIS; however, familiarity with PCs, file and folder management, and basic computing chores is required.
The course is organized into a series of topics that focus on specific GIS functions. Each topic is presented and discussed in a classroom setting and is followed by a hands-on lab exercise that uses the GIS tools discussed and demonstrates how the tools can be used to display, create, manage and analyze GIS data.
Course exercises are geared towards natural resource management and community planning and decision making and make extensive use of a "typical" municipal GIS database and Connecticut's public domain geospatial datasets. Topics covered include >
- Introduction to GIS and ArcGIS10
- Data management strategies
- Connecting to geospatial data over the internet
- Working with geodatabases
- How to work with attribute data
- Displaying, symbolizing and classifying geospatial datasets
- Creating maps for printing and map production
- How to perform attribute and spatial data queries
- How to perform spatial analyses
- On-screen digitizing of map data; importing coordinates
- Metadata
- what it is and why you need to know about it and create it
Class size is limited to 16 students.
Course fee is $400.
Pictures, Points and Places - A Hands-on Introduction to GPS
Do you want to learn how to use a GPS receiver?
Would you like to learn about free software that lets you make maps with your GPS data?
How about learning methods for linking GPS data to digital photos?
Would you like to learn how to "publish" your GPS data and photos on Google Earth?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, then this is the course for you.
This course covers a wide variety of topics from planning data collection activities to incorporation of GPS data into geographic information systems. A significant portion of the course is spent outside learning to use a GPS receiver to collect points and tracks and to navigate to specific field locations. The course focuses on the use of three free software programs – DNRGarmin, Photo2GPS and MapWindow. DNRGarmin is used to transfer data to and from the GPS receivers and to convert the GPS data into a GIS (shapefile) format. Photo2GPS allows a user to synch digital photographs to a GPS track. MapWindow is an open source desktop GIS used to map and display GPS data along with other spatial datasets (note: for students familiar with ArcMap, this software also is available and can be used in place of MapWindow). The course includes modules on how to integrate GPS and digital photography to produce GIS maps with hyperlinks to field photographs and how to view your GPS data in Google Earth. The course is well suited for anyone interested in using GPS for recreational and/or mapping applications.
The course includes the following modules:
- Hands-on instruction on data collection using a Garmin GPSMap76CSx receiver.
- Extensive hands-on practice collecting geospatial field data including waypoints and tracks.
- Techniques for transferring data between aGPS receiver and a desktop computer.
- Introduction to several free software tools (DNRGarmin, MapWindow and/or ArcMap) to manage and display GPS data.
- Utilizing GPS data in a desktop geographic information system.
- Instruction on how to "link" digital photographs to GPS locations.
- Information on how to organize and plan effective field data collection projects.
The class size is limited to 14 students. Each student will have a GPS receiver and computer to use during the training. For class logistics, click here. For information about software used in this class, check out our GPS Resources page.
The course fee is $200.
For information about our GPS Loan Program, click here.
Creating and Using Geospatial Models: An Introduction to ModelBuilder
This one-day course introduces ArcGIS users to the capabilities and uses of ModelBuilder. The course is designed to explore how ModelBuilder works and how models can be created, edited and used to automate repetitive tasks or to run more complex analyses. While ModelBuilder is relatively simple to use, it can be a bit confusing when first getting started. Through a combination of brief classroom presentations and hands-on exercises students will learn how to:
- Use the ModelBuilder interface to create and edit simple models
- Add data and connect geoprocessing tasks to input/output datasets
- Automate geoprocessing workflows
- Establish model properties
- Control data parameters and variables in models
- Add models as tools to ArcToolbox
- Run models from the ModelBuilder interface or from ArcToolbox
- Create user documentation and help files
- Make models generic (transferable to other ArcGIS users)
Please note: this is an introductory course, however some working knowledge of ArcGIS and geoprocessing tools is strongly recommended.
The course fee is $150.
Developing Custom Geospatial Tools: An Introduction to Python Scripting
This two-day course introduces ArcGIS users to the capabilities and uses of scripts. Scripts are relatively easy-to-use programming languages and can combine the full capabilities of ArcGIS with the functionality of a scripting language. As a result, scripts have far greater functionality than models but have the expense of being more difficult to develop. The course will explore the use of Python to automate GIS tasks. Python is provided free with ArcGIS and is the scripting language supported by ESRI. The goal of the course is to provide students with the foundation and the resources necessary to develop proficiency with automating geoprocessing tasks with Python scripts. Through a combination of brief classroom presentations and hands-on exercises, students will learn how to:
- Work with basic Python objects: numbers, strings, variables, lists, dictionaries
- Create the geoprocessor to provide the script with access to ArcGIS functionality
- Run ArcToolbox tools within Python
- Use loops to run iterative tasks
- Set script parameters to be specified at runtime
- Import a script into ArcGIS to be run out of ArcToolbox
- Export a model as a Python script
- Find documentation and tutorials for working with ArcGIS in Python
Please note: This is an advanced course. Individuals registering for the course should be familiar with ArcGIS, ArcToolbox and with geoprocessing tools.
Class size is limited to 16 students.
The course fee is $200.
Mashup Madness: Using Google Tools to Create Maps on the Web
This one-day training introduces students to the basics of creating mapping "mashups" - interactive, online maps using free tools including Google Maps and Google Earth. This workshop explores the basics of Google's mapping tools and focuses on creating custom maps to share with others or embed on your own website. Google Earth is a free desktop application that allows a user to view the earth in 3D. A user can add points, lines and areas and format information windows with custom colors, graphics, hyperlinks, photos and more. Google Maps allows an individual to create a custom online map, share it with friends, have colleagues contribute to to the map, or embed it on your own website.
The workshop consists of a series of brief lectures followed by extensive hands-on exercises with “over the shoulder” advice and assistance from the teaching team. Participants will learn how to:
- Decide what kind of online mapping approach fits a particular project
- Create a customized Google Maps My Map mashup
- Collaborate remotely with others to produce a single online map
- Embed a mapping mashup in a website
- Navigate and use tools and layers in Google Earth
- Create, use and share KML filesin Google Earth
- Learn about resources for developing more advanced mashups
Please note: This course is intended for those who work with geographic data, but requires only a modest level of technical skill. No prior GIS knowledge is necessary!
Class size is limited to 16 students.
The course fee is $150.