Upon request, we will provide training to departments on the server-side GIS products that we manage (ArcGIS Server, ArcSDE, Google Maps, Google Earth Enterprise).
We are offering a number of short courses through the Virginia Tech Faculty Development Institute this Fall:
| Spring 2013 FDI campus resource sessions |
| Overview of Geospatial Technologies |
| An introduction and overview of GIS and geospatial technologies in 2013, including the trends, software, and approaches in a wide variety of disciplines and application domains. |
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| Introduction to ESRI ArcGIS Desktop, Part 1 |
Module 1 of this two-part short course serves as an introduction to Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and is intended to allow researchers not currently working with digital mapping or spatial analysis to explore fundamental principles and consider ways to integrate these technologies into their own research.
This session is accompanied by a companion module, Introduction to GIS II, to be offered the following week at the same time.
Learning Objectives (for modules I and II):
- Understand what GIS is and identify fundamental operating principles across software packages
- Become familiar with the user interface of ESRI ArcGIS Desktop, the industry-leading GIS software package for which Virginia Tech has a site license
- Develop a basic map using example data sources
- Perform basic spatial analysis
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| Introduction to ESRI ArcGIS Desktop, Part 2 |
Module 2 of this two-part short course will provide hands-on training in the use of ArcGIS Desktop. Topics covered will include introductory spatial analysis, cartography, and the creation of metadata in ArcGIS. This course builds on both the theoretical base and the hands-on software interface introduction provided in Introduction to GIS I. At the conclusion of both courses, students with no previous GIS experience should have a good understanding of the basic theory behind GIS systems and in particular be able to use ArcGIS Desktop to perform common mapping, query and analysis tasks.
Learning Objectives (for modules I and II):
- Understand what GIS is and identify fundamental operating principles across software packages
- Become familiar with the user interface of ESRI ArcGIS Desktop, the industry-leading GIS software package for which Virginia Tech has a site license
- Develop a basic map using example data sources
- Perform basic spatial analysis
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| GIS and Remote Sensing Data Discovery and Access |
| This short course provides an overview and hands-on experience with finding and accessing GIS (geographical information systems) and remote sensing data sources for base mapping and research applications. The course will demonstrate some of the major web-based map services and spatial data repositories for local, state, national, and international spatial data. The course will provide hands-on experience with data portals and web mapping services as well as finding and evaluating spatial data for your specialized field of research, metadata overview, data provenance, scale and spatial representativeness issues, current and historical census and aerial photography, current and historical weather/climate data. This course is targeted at beginning GIS and remote sensing data users as well as experienced users interested in keeping up-to-date on recent developments in the broader spatial data communities. |
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| Introduction to Health GIS |
| This course will provide an introduction to the techniques and data sources for GIS applications related to health. |
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| Introduction to Terrain and 3D GIS Data |
| This course will provide an overview of the different types of terrain and 3-dimensional data that is commonly used in the ESRI ArcGIS Desktop software environment. Students will learn about gathering 3D GIS data, processing and analyzing the data, and displaying it in 2D?and 3D. Applications of 3D GIS data for hydrologic, solar, and community planning / visualization use cases will be discussed. A hands-on activity with real GIS data will be included |
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| Web Mapping |
| This course will review the numerous options available for presenting geographic data on the web. The technical architecture features common to all web mapping applications will be identified, thus allowing students to understand the operational components behind the scenes of a web mapping site. The most commonly used web mapping platforms will be discussed, including Google Maps and ESRI ArcGIS Server, and this course will consider the pros and cons of each in light of the application developer\'s goals and objectives. The hands-on portion of this course will guide participants through the source code of multiple working Google Maps and ArcGIS Server web applications. |
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For training on the client-side GIS products (ArcGIS Desktop), there are many other options available on campus. For self-paced training, the ESRI Virtual Campus offers online courses in all the ESRI GIS software. Virtual Campus training is free to faculty and staff as part of our higher education site license. Contact Kathy Williams in IT Acquisitions for a course code.
There are also a number of introductory-level GIS courses taught for credit on campus in any given semester. Faculty and staff may also audit these classes. Here is a listing of GIS courses at Virginia Tech
