GIS111

Introduction to Geographic Information Systems

Back to GIS at CCC home

Taught by

Dr. Abu Z. Badruddin

Professor of GIS
Cayuga Community College
197 Franklin Street, Auburn, NY 13210

Live: (315) 294-8610
Fax: (315) 255-2117
Email: badruddin@cayuga-cc.edu
Office: M274 Main Building

Textbook

Getting to Know ArcGIS, Fifth Edition, for ArcGIS 10.6, ESRI Press (required)

References

  • GIS Fundamentals - Paul Bolstad, Eider Press

Course Purpose

This is an introductory level GIS course designed to introduce students to the basic theories and concepts of GISs and their application in exploring and analyzing geographic data. This course is divided into lectures and lab sessions. The conceptual elements are explained and discussed in the lecture sessions while the labs are designed to provide hands-on training to reinforce the concepts and lessons learned in the lectures.

Course Objectives

At the conclusion of the course, students will:

  • be aware of the basic structures and functionality of GISs.
  • understand, at an introductory level, the nature, characteristics, specification, types, acquisition, processing, organization, and management of spatial or geographic data.
  • be able use a desktop GIS package (ArcGIS) for typical spatial analysis.

Laboratory Exercise

Each lab assignment will be considered as an exercise and is due following week. Late submission will not be accepted! Please see me if you have an emergency. Laboratory exercises will contribute substantially to your course grade. Students may be asked to repeat work that is not satisfactory.

Grading

Component Weight
Exams 70%
Lab exercises 20%
Quizzes 10%

*** The above grading is subject to change at the instructor's discretion ***

Requirements

  • A three-ring binder for an orderly & sequential organization of class materials
  • Logbook for recording operation, steps, filenames, and problems

Lecture Topics Outline

Week Topic
Week 1 Coordinate and reference systems
Lab: Introduction to ArcGIS & Map reading
Week 2 An overview of GIS data: spatial and attribute data, data vs. information
Lab: Introduction to ArcGIS
Week 3 Maps and its characteristics: Concept of scale, accuracy, and standards
Lab: Working with scale
Week 4 Map composition and design
Lab: Designing your company LOGO
Week 5 Introduction to Global Positioning System (GPS)
Lab: GPS data collection and downloading
Week 6 Working with spatial and attribute data
Lab: Querying and managing tabular data
Week 7 Midterm Exam
Lab: Querying and managing tabular data (cont.)
Week 8 An overview of data types and sources
Lab: Exploring and downloading online GIS data
Week 9 Map classification and symbolization
Lab: Querying and managing spatial and attribute data
Week 10 Spatial data models (raster and vector), advantages, limitations, and examples
Lab: Working with coverages, images, CAD drawings, etc.
Week 11 Data Automation: creating and editing spatial data
Lab: Heads-up digitizing from DOQ
Week 12 Data Automation: creating and editing spatial data (cont.)
Lab: Editing spatial data and adding attributes
Week 13 Thanksgiving
Lab: Joining and linking attribute data
Week 14 Spatial modeling with map overlay
Lab: GeoProcessing
Week 15 Advanced topic and review
Lab: Practice Exam
Week 16 FINAL!