Department of Geography and GeoInformation Science Introduction to Geographic Information Systems GGS 311-002 - Spring 2014 Instructor: Maction Komwa, Ph.D. Class Meets: Wednesday, 1:30 pm – 4:10pm, Innovation Hall – 223 CRN: 12658 To Contact Instructor Office: Exploratory Hall – Room 2210 Mailbox: Exploratory – Room 260 Office hours: Monday, 11:00 – 12:30 am or by appointment Telephone: 703-993-5646 - (GMU office, during office hours only) E-Mail: [email protected] Course description Fundamental concepts and theories for appropriate use of geographic information systems (GIS). Discusses basic GIS functionality and applications in various fields. This course also serves as the foundation course for other advanced courses in GIS. Course objectives: This course will focus on the following themes: modern spatial data processing, development, implementation, and functions of geographic information systems; relations between GIS and remote sensing; and applications of geographic information systems to a variety of environmental issues among many other things. By the end of this course you should be able to: a. Define key concepts related to spatial data, basic analysis, and spatial data representation, , including GPS data collection, vector and raster data entry and editing. b. Comfortably demonstrate these key concepts using GIS software applications. c. Use the foundation you acquire in this course to prepare you for the other courses at GMU, for internships, and for basic work‐related GIS projects. Required textbook: Paul Bolstad. 2012. GIS Fundamentals: A First on Geographic Information Systems. 4th Edition, Eider Press, Minnesota. • Readings from this book are required. Supplementary readings will be posted on class Blackboard from time to time. • You are encouraged to do the readings before class meets; part of your final grade will come from short quizzes so we will have a quiz at the beginning of class, which will cover the week’s reading assignment. Focus of instruction: This course is divided into two important main parts: lectures, which will introduce the theory of geographic information systems (GIS), and lab assignments, which will help you to familiarize yourself with many aspects of the software. We will discuss the GIS concepts, data, tools, and GIS applications through case studies during our lecturers. The laboratory sessions will introduce the geospatial data and software tools that you will require in order to finish your lab exercises. You don’t need to be a computer “guru” to complete your lab assignments but all lab exercises will require a very basic level of computers and Windows operating system. GMU is resourceful enough for students to get these computer skills. We (Instructor & TA) will require your motivation energy in order to have a successful semester. 1 Activities A. Exams There will be three exams that will be administered during this semester. See details below: The exam will be consist of MCQ and short answers based on the readings and lecturers. The Exam is NOT open book or any other open notes. Grading Letter grades of A, B, C, D, and F will be assigned for completion of this course based on the cumulative score of all evaluated work. A+ = 100-98 A= 97-93 A-=92-90 Lab assignment Attendance/Quizzes Exam 1 Exam 2 Final Exam Total Points B+=89-86 B=85-83 B-=82-80 50% 10% 10% 10% 20% 100 C+=79-76 C=75-71 C-= 70-69 D=68-60 F=below 60 200 points (20 points each) 40 points 40 points 40 points 80 points 400 points Discussion of work among students is encouraged. Collaboration and active participation in group discussions is important, but final work should reflect your own thinking and should be in your own words. I reserve the right to use GMU-sanctioned tools for detecting and documenting plagiarism. If you have questions about what constitutes plagiarism and when the contributions of others to your work must be acknowledged and appropriate ways to cite those contributions, please talk to me as soon as possible! B: Labs Exercises: Lab exercises will be available on Blackboard in PDF format. I recommend downloading and printing the exercises prior to class. You should read the lab in advance, and review/note new procedures or activities. Labs will typically require more than the time allotted per class period to complete. The computer labs on the top floor of Innovation Hall, those in Exploratory Hall (e.g. 2102), and several in the Johnson Center are open for extended hours, and are equipped with ArcGIS 10.1. Registered students will receive a one-year copy of ArcGIS for use at home. We offer this software as a convenience, but do not provide tech support. For that you must contact ESRI Support at 1-888377-4575. All labs assignments are to be submitted via Blackboard. Submit by clicking on the appropriate assignment link to open the answer submission window. Written answers may be typed in, and attachments may be added there. Click “Submit” when complete. You may submit answers as many times as you would like up to the date/time due, though only the final submission will be graded. Labs will typically be due the Monday (11.59 p.m.) of the week after your scheduled Lab session, unless otherwise noted. Late labs are docked by 10% per day, and labs won't be accepted if they are more than 5 days late. Makeup labs are possible if the instructor has advance notice, so please anticipate conflicts, and contact the instructor. Labs are only accepted through the Blackboard course site - NOT Email! Labs are to be submitted as *.jpg, MS Word, typed text, or *.pdf. Please do not send, submit, or attach *.mdx or shapefiles. There will be a total of 11 labs. Each lab will gain 5% worth a total of 50% of the grade. (Based on this calculation, your 2 lowest lab grade will be dropped). Each lab is due as indicated on the syllabus. Late labs, including those submitted after 11:59pm on the due date, will be penalized 10% each day for the first 5 days. Labs submitted later than 5 days will not be accepted. Incomplete grades and time extension will not be accepted unless otherwise stated. All students are requested to keep up with the work and meet deadlines for assignments. Posting of Grades: All grades will be posted through the Blackboard. It is your responsibility to check the blackboard for any class announcements or grades. In the event of grade mistakes posted through the Blackboard please don’t hesitate to Late Work Policy All students are asked to pay close attention to deadlines. No make-up assignments or quizzes, or late work accepted without a compelling reason and instructor/TA approval. Class Format: This is a weekly course, scheduled for 2 hours and 45 minutes. The typical class period will be broken into three “sessions”, as follows: • Session 1: Lecture, 50 minutes • Session 2: Lecture, 45 minutes • Session 3: Lab, 50 minutes There will be 5 to 10 minute breaks between sessions; however lab and lecturer quizzes will be given promptly at the beginning of the third session, so make sure you come back, and on time!!! Student Requirements: To successfully complete this course, students must complete all assigned readings as well as attend class; neither the text book nor lecture notes alone will suffice. Please take note that this course will challenge you intellectually and that missing 60% or more of the classes will result in a grade of S/A. Student responsibilities: For this class I will provide direction and an environment that is conducive to learning. However, as required by the University and the department students are expected at least to spend nearly 2 hours in preparation for each class. Additionally, as a Lecturer for this class I will expect all students to: Attend lectures as required by the syllabus Read material as may be assigned by the Lecturer Ask questions, answer questions and take part in group discussions and other class activities Complete and submit any assigned work on time through the Blackboard Class Participation: A sign-in sheet will be circulated at every class. It is your responsibility to sign it. Any absence unless it is a major emergency must have prior approval by the faculty. Note, missing 60% or more of the classes will result in a grade of S/A. At the end of the semester, to meet the presentation requirement of Synthesis, students will present concisely their paper or projects in the form of a poster. The presentation should be highly organized and up to the point. It should include description of the issue or problem, previous work on the topic, description of the student's analysis, and the findings. The posters will be independently assessed by the instructor and two other faculty members when possible. Academic Honesty: George Mason University operates under an honor system, which is published in the University Catalog and deals specifically with cheating, attempted cheating, plagiarism, lying, and stealing. Please familiarize yourself with the honor code, especially the statement on plagiarism 3 (http://www.gmu.edu/org/honorcouncil/guidelines.htm). If you have questions about when the contributions of others to your work must be acknowledged and appropriate ways to cite those contributions, please talk with the professor. Note: Plagiarism will result in a failing grade. Students with Disabilities: If you require accommodations for a disability, please let me know as soon as possible. Disability Services is available to assist you, and more details can be accessed through the Office of Disability Services (ODC) website: http://ods.gmu.edu/] / Student Union Building I (SUB), Room 2500. Telephone: (703) 993-2474. Blackboard If you are enrolled in this course you will have access to the Blackboard site - available at: courses.gmu.edu. You will need to log on using your GMU user name and password. Blackboard will be used to post assignments, key concepts, and supplemental materials. It is the responsibility of the student to take notes in class; lecture notes will also be posted to Blackboard. Most of the case studies and readings will be posted through the blackboard. [https://courses.gmu.edu/] Communication: You should only use GMU email to communicate with your instructor. Any email besides the one given by GMU will not be acknowledged. We will use the blackboard to discuss topics related to this course. Links to the University Catalog and the University Policies University Catalog: http://catalog.gmu.edu/ | University Policies: http://universitypolicy.gmu.edu/ Student Support Resources George Mason University has a number of academic support and other resources to facilitate your success. Some of these resources are presented below: Counseling and Psychological Services, Learning Services, University Career Services, the Writing Center, etc.). 4 WEEK TOPIC DESCRIPTION LAB EXERCISE Week 1: Jan. 22 Course Introduction/ Intro to GIS Chapter1 Lab Introduction Week 2: Jan. 29 Chapter 2: Data Models Lab 1: Introduction to ArcGIS Feb 3 Week 3: Feb. 5 Chapter 3: Geodesy, Datums, Map Projections, and Coordinate Systems (pp. 71-91; 101-123) Lab 2: Projections Feb 10 Week 4: Feb. 12 Chapter 4: Maps, Data Entry and Editing (pp. 131-152) Lab 3: Digitizing Feb 17 Week 5: Feb. 19 Chapter 4: Maps, Data Entry and Editing (pp. 153-175) Lab 4: Geocoding Feb 24 Week 6: Feb 26 EXAM 1 (Chapters 1-4) Lab 6: Digital Data and Tables March 3 Lab 7: Tables 1 March 17 Week 7: March 5 Chapter 7: Digital Data | Chapter 8: Attribute Data and Tables LAB DUE DATE Week 8: Mar. 12 SPRING BREAK Week 9: Mar. 19 Chapter 9: Basic Spatial Analysis (pp. 347-376) Lab 8: Spatial Selection, etc. March 24 Week 10: March 26 Chapter 9: Basic Spatial Analysis (pp. 377-398) Lab 9: Buffering and Overlay March 31 Week 11: April 2 Exam 2 (Chapters 7-9) Lab 10: Raster Analyses April 7 Week 12: Apr. 9 Chapter 10: Topics in Raster Analysis Lab 11: Terrain Analyses April 14 Week 13: Apr. 16 Chapter 11: Terrain Analysis Lab 12: Interpolation April 21 Week 14: Apr. 23 Chapter 12: Spatial Estimation Open Lab - Catch up Week 15: April 30 Chapter 14: Data Standards and Quality |Review Week 16: May 7 FINAL EXAMS [1:30 -4:15 p] Any changes to this schedule will be announced in class and posted to the course Blackboard page (http://courses.gmu.edu). 5
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