GEO 465/565
Geographic Information
Systems and Science
Tuesday/Thursday
11:00 a.m. - 11:50 p.m.
Kelley 1001
4 credits
Dr. Dawn Wright
114 Wilkinson Hall
dawn@dusk.geo.orst.edu
http://dusk.geo.orst.edu
Office Hours:
Tuesdays/Thursdays
12:15 - 1:15 p.m.
or by appointment
Focus of the Class
Not just about software …
About theory, about basic, fundamental
concepts
“education” vs. “training”
general coverage by necessity - GIS
world is too big now
term paper or project is opportunity to
go in depth
online resources as well
However, please remember….
This is a “slash” course
Some are advanced, others have no GIS
experience and did not take GEO 365
This is a large enrollment course
Who Am I?
Over 20 years of GIS experience
B.S. in Geology
Wheaton College in Illinois
M.S. in Oceanography
Texas A&M
Ph.D. in Physical Geography & Marine
Geology
UC-Santa Barbara
Application and analytical issues in GIS for
oceanographic data
data modeling, analysis, conversion, metadata
Seafloor mapping and interpretation
volcanic, hydrothermal, & tectonic processes
analysis and interpretation of camera, submersible, &
bathymetric data
Geography of cyberspace, web GIS
Marine sanctuaries, protected areas
Some Committee Involvement
Certificates in Geographic Information Science
www.geo.oregonstate.edu/gcert
University Consortium for Geographic
Information Science
Association of American Geographers:
Coastal & Marine, GIS, Cyberinfrastructure
specialty groups
American Geophysical Union: Earth & Space
Informatics, Tectonophysics sections
Other Interests
Snoopy, Calvin and Hobbes comics
Building Legos®
Competitive cycling
Animation / “Art House” films
Pasta
New puppy Sally
Arcade Fire, Weezer, Snow Patrol, Coldplay,
The Shins, U2, Erasure, Moby, Celtic music
Who Are YOU??
On the Sheets Provided:
Your name & email address
Your CLASS level and Major
Your comfort level with computers
Scale of 1 to 5
Learning styles
Your expectations for this class
(i.e., what do you want to get out of this class,
besides a good grade??)
Learning Styles
You may be interested in the web site test at
www.vark-learn.com/english/page.asp?p=questionnaire
study strategy helpsheets that apply to your own “learning preference,” and
may thus help you to further succeed in this course, as well as others
Textbooks
Required Text for Lecture
Geographic Information
Systems and Science, 3rd ed.
by Longley, Goodchild, Maguire,
and Rhind
Textbooks
Required Text for Lab,
2nd half of term
GIS Tutorial 2: Spatial Analysis
Workbook for ArcGIS 10, 2nd ed.
by Allen
Textbooks
Optional and on reserve
Place Matters: Geospatial Tools
for Marine Science, Conservation,
and Management
in the Pacific Northwest
edited by Wright and Scholz
WHAT Will I Learn?
How GIS data are captured, stored, retrieved,
displayed, & analyzed
Where GIS and GIScience are going as a field
GIS software and its functionality
Basics of ArcGIS 9 and ArcGIS 10
Where to go for more information
Web Site - Syllabus
HOW will I learn ?
Warning: 2 quarters crammed into 1
“Ideal learning” via The Matrix?
Learning Outcomes
Understand, articulate, demonstrate:
GIS theory and methods
GIS ANALYSIS (more than getting data in
and displaying it)
Simple spatial analysis
Geographic Information Science
Basic software skills
Internet Access
“Web Site of the Week”
dusk.geo.orst.edu/gis
Bookmark this site!!!
www.geo.oregonstate.edu/ucgis
Labs
Teaching Assistants are Alexis
Smoluk and Kelvin Raiford
Lab sessions are in Wilkinson 210
Section 10, T 1:00 - 2:50 p.m. (Both?)
Section 11, W 10:00 - 11:50 a.m. (TBD)
Section 12, W 3:00 - 4:50 p.m. (TBD)
No labs this week!!
Labs (cont.)
Purpose is to give you a
BRIEF hands-on
experience
what software can do
what problems can be
solved
longer learning curves
in reality
1st half of term
w/ArcGIS 9.3, 2nd half
w/ArcGIS 10
Exams & Grades
GEO 465 Grades
GEO 465
Midterm (Feb. 3) = 30%
Final (Mar. 16) = 40%
Labs = 30%
Tests will be largely multiple choice due to
large size of class
GEO 565 Grades
Midterm = 20%
Final = 30%
Labs = 20%
Web Biblio/Term
Paper = 30%
Midterm = 20%
NO FINAL
Labs = 30%
Mashup Project = 40%
“think for yourself” factor
465/565 Final Grades
Weighted Percentage
95-100 = A
90-94 = A85-89 = B+
80-84 = B
75-79 = B70-74 = C+
65-69 = C
No competition between students
Questions??
Storytime
An aviatrix was piloting a hot air balloon.
She ran into some unexpected weather and
was blown about for a long time. When the
weather cleared, and she was able to
descend, she had no idea where she was.
As she came down, she saw
someone immediately below her
and yelled, “Where am I?”
“You are 75 feet
above my head.”
“You must be an
economist.”
“How did you
know?!?”
“Because what
you have just told
me is perfectly
accurate, but
perfectly
useless!”
Moral of the Story...
“Location, no matter how precisely
specified, is sterile in and of itself.
Context determines whether or not
knowledge of location is invaluable. . . .”
-- Ron Abler, former executive director of the
Association of American Geographers
“Computing is not about
computers anymore. It is about
living.”
-- Nicholas Negroponte, Founding Director of MIT’s Media
Lab. Being Digital (1995), p. 6.
“GIS is not about systems anymore.
It is about geography.”
(… and about geographic DATA)
-- Keith Clarke, Director, National Center for Geographic
Information and Analysis (NCGIA)
Geography of a Recession
http://bit.ly/3xsef0