Instructor : Dr. Larry McGlinn, Hamner House, mcglinnl@newpaltz.edu, 257-2696.
Office Hours : M 4:30-5:30 PM; T & Th 9-10 AM, 1-2 PM
Required Texts : GIS Fundamentals; A First Text on Geographic
Information Systems
Getting to Know ArcView GIS, Version 3.0
Prerequisite : Working knowledge of spreadsheets and at least some lower-division geography.
Welcome to Geographic Information Systems. GIS is a technology that is central to geography, cartography, environmental science, natural resource management, planning, government, and more and more even in business. Even if you hope to do much of your work outside, in the field, a GIS background will be essential to functioning in a geographically oriented environment. GIS is not only mapping, nor is it only database management. It is both of those and more. Data collection and output are as important as managing the data.
Lab will be an important part of this course, and you will be expected to do work out of class. In other words, this is not a course to take lightly! You cannot simply come to class, come to lab and expect to do outstandingly well. The only way to become comfortable with GIS is to do it a lot. There is a slow learning curve on the software and the concepts involved. We will arrange convenient lab hours for you to come work on the technology.
Grading :
| 2 Midterms | 150 points each = 300 |
| Final | 200 points |
| Weekly Lab Exercises | 12 x 40 points = 480 |
| Effort | 20 points |
|
TOTAL
|
1000 points |
925 points + = A, 900-924 = A-, 875-899 = B+, 825-874 = B, 800-824 =
B-, 775-799 = C+,
700-774 = C, 600-699 = D, <600 = F
There will be no extra credit assignments in this class.
Attendance : I do not regularly take attendance because I feel
that you as adults should be able to make it to class. I reserve the right
to take attendance when I wish to help me judge whether to award or withhold
the effort points for given students. There is a close correlation between
class attendance and performance in class!
If some personal or family crisis arises during
the semester, email or call me ASAP. I will work with you to arrange make
ups with no deduction, etc.
If you miss a test or quiz without contacting me
first, no matter the reason, you may only make it up with a 25% reduction
from your score, e.g. an 85% on your make up will be recorded as a 60%.
Special Needs : Students requiring classroom accommodations or modifications because of a documented disability should discuss this need with me at the beginning of the semester.
Plagiarism : I consider turning in someone else's work as your
own (current or previous semester), using notes during a test or copying
text word-for-word from a book to your papers to be cheating. Likewise,
downloads from the Internet that are submitted as your own work are considered
plagiarism. If I find you cheating I will fail you and refer you to the
dean, period!
Class Outline
Aug 26 Introducing GIS pp.1-21
Sep 9 Data Models pp.23-55
Sep 16 Measuring and Projecting Maps pp.57-88
Sep 23 Data Sources and Data Entry pp.89-125
Sep 30 Attribute Data and Tables pp.203-223
Oct 7 MIDTERM #1, Spatial Analysis pp.225-265
Oct 16 GPS pp.127-145
Oct 21 Aerial and Satellite Imagery pp.147-181
Oct 28 Digital Data pp.183-201
Nov 4 Raster Analysis pp.267-287
Nov 11MIDTERM #2, Terrain Analysis pp. 289-301
Nov 18 Spatial Modeling pp. 303-330
Nov 25 Interpolation pp.333-353
Dec 2 Data Quality and Standards pp.355-377
Dec 9 What's New in GIS pp.379-392
Important Dates
Midterms - #1 10/7; #2 11/11.
Withdrawal Deadline – October 31.
Final Exam – Monday, Dec. 16th, 7:30 PM.