Training

Learning GIS with Esri software is a long process. With everything that follows, please give yourself time to learn, patiently try, experiment and ask me about what you're experiencing. I am also still learning after 15 years in the biz, so know you are not alone...

Also, approach learning this new technology with an idea in mind of what you’d like to do with it. Often, new learning like this quickly evaporates unless you use it for your own project, and have the experience of actually applying the new skills to something you know.

The point of this is to learn what GIS data actually is, what you can do with it, and how to arrange it to get that result.

The Basics

GIS Primer

from the City College of San Francisco's GIS Education Center

Basics of GIS, what it is, how it differs from GPS, what it is good for

http://www.ccsfgis.org/resources/gis-primer

US Forest Service GIS Training

short videos

http://nctc.fws.gov/courses/references/tutorials/geospatial/

US Fish and Wildlife Service class recording

A full recorded training

http://training.fws.gov/resources/knowledge-resources/video-gallery/geospatial-training-workshop.html

Conservation Training

GIS stuff specifically for those in conservation fields. This one looks very good, emphasizing the stuff you'll need

https://www.conservationtraining.org/mod/page/view.php?id=3835

We have a book I can loan you

with self-paced exercises on a number of subjects in GIS. Let me know, and I can check it out to you:

The GIS 20: Essential Skills

Learning ArcGIS from Esri

Esri self-paced tutorials, already loaded on your machine

You have them built right in: ArcGIS 10.2 Tutorials

These are for people who have an intermediate level of skill, so try the Virtual Campus courses below, first.

I'd suggest taking the tutorial on Editing, since it's so key to what we do.

Since Maplex is the new labeling engine by default, I'd suggest taking that one also to learn how to drop feature labels on your maps like a pro.

These also are saved on your C: drive which don't have write access to. In order to try these tutorials, you will have to copy things from C:\arcgis\ArcTutor to My Documents or your Desktop, where you do have write and create access.

Esri Virtual Campus

Park Service buys a suite of classes from Esri and offers these to their staff and their partners, like us. I request course codes for individual classes from NPS, and they send us the unlock codes. You can then go to the Virtual Campus site, and use the codes to access training, usually self-paced web courses, with data to download and run in your own copy of ArcGIS.

You can take more than one, but note the length of the classes… 24 hours means three full eight-hour days.

These codes expire after a year, so don’t put off building this new skill!

This is the full Esri catalog of courses

But here is the selected Esri courses NPS gives access to

I'll suggest these to start. These would be good to take after access the more general information at the links above.

The 15-Minute Map: Creating a Basic Map in ArcMap (Workshop) – 3 hrs

Learning ArcGIS Desktop (for ArcGIS 10) – 24 hrs

Understanding GIS Queries - 3 hrs

Understanding Map Projections and Coordinate Systems – 3 hrs

Contact me to get a code. Once you receive it, here's how to use it to access your class:

From a computer that has ArcGIS installed:

1) Go to the Esri Virtual Campus site:

http://www.esri.com/training/main/my-training

2) Click the button for “My Virtual Campus Training”

3) At the login page, create a new account for yourself

4) When you are logged in, enter one of the codes above at “Start a New Web Course”

5) Follow the directions to download the course data and follow along in the web-based course work.

6) Ask me if you have any questions at all!

Software changes at version 10

Interface

Data Access

Tables

Editing

Selecting

Symbols

Dynamic pages

Metadata

Graphs

New in version 10.2

Tables: rename fields Alter Field Properties

Export to Excel

ArcGIS Online - traffic

No Bing

Maplex default Tutorial on Maplex

Useful Guides to ArcMap

ArcMap Menus – The Last of the Unsung Heroes

ArcGIS Online

Like the rest of the technology world, ArcGIS is moving and has moved to the cloud. Online GIS represents "a new pattern" for using GIS for understanding the world.

A good place to start is here:

Learn ArcGIS

Check this blog post on the new Learn ArcGIS site.

You'll need to create a new account (different than existing Esri accounts you may have) and get an invitation to the LearnGIS organizational account. Details at the link above. This site from Esri will be developed over time.

GPS

Trimble's training site is mostly for-pay web-based classes, but some intros are free http://learn.trimble.com/

Some Conservancy resources:

Using Trimble GPS for Park Stewardship tasks

Processing field data for export for Park Stewardship

(more development coming on this section!)

Parks Conservancy Specific notes

For fans of ET GeoWizards, I will soon be adding back the test version of 14-day test version of that toolbar. After the trial period, the tool will only give you access to the free tools. This is not one supplied to us by NPS.

Remember the Stamp Tool that let you tag your maps with the date, your name, and path to the MXD? It was such a good idea that Esri adopted it in the main program! It’s now called “Dynamic Text” (text that changes based on conditions) and is implemented under the Insert... menu choice:

Networking, Skill Building, and Finding a Job

It's always easier to learn something new by connecting with others who know or are interested in what you want to learn. Here are places to meet and collaborate with other mappy folks and find even more resources:

Maptime! is an almost-weekly map hack night hosted alternately at Stamen Design and at various locations in Oakland. We meet every Wednesday at 6:30pm to work on maps, learn about geospatial data, and teach each other the latest cartographic tools.

Maptime's resources page Amazing resources for learning open source mapping

BAAMA (soon to be BayGeo) The professional association for Bay Area mappers and related fields. Quarterly networking and skill-building meetings

GeoMeetup We are a group of developers, enthusiasts and users interested in the technical aspect of different geo technologies. This group is meant to be an open, friendly, technical forum where you can find answers to your geospatial questions or learn more about Geographic Information Systems (GIS).

Advice for Young Professionals

Sean Bloom, GIS Director & Biologist at Catawba Lands Conservancy in North Carolina asked the Society of Conservation GIS listserv this question:

I am three years into my GIS career in the conservation field. I work for a small, local non-profit that covers an area approximately 3,200 sq mi (8,300 sq km). The extent of my GIS education was two courses in college and then learning through hands-on experience. I am at a point where I know we could utilize GIS in more powerful ways but at the same time I don’t know what I don’t know.

I am the sole GIS employee at my non-profit so there is no one who can help me develop my GIS skills or provide direction for my career development. I have taken advantage of some webinars that are posted to this list-serve and have also attended local user group meetings. What I have found with the local user-group conferences and meetings is they are generally focused towards local governments, utilities, and business. Then the webinars generally are more geared to non-profit conservation groups that are working across very large geographical areas.

One goal is to attend the SCGIS Conference next summer so that should help. In the meantime, I was wondering if folks would be willing to share some wisdom for those of us newer to the conservation field. What tools and extensions would be most beneficial to learn? Can you recommend some inexpensive online courses or resources?

Here is the summary of responses he received:

1) Many people recommended checking out The Nature Conservancy's on-line GIS course website at http://www.conservationtraining.org/.

2) Penn State has an on-line catalogue with free GIS courses at http://open.ems.psu.edu/courseware. Penn State also has a course specific to Conservation GIS (https://www.e-education.psu.edu/geog587/)

3) Look at conferences hosted for other conservation fields (Wildlife Society, Sustainability Conferences, Ecology groups, etc). These conferences may have an GIS tract that applies to conservation or at least a few GIS-geared sessions which focus on conservation.

4) One of our members hosts a weekly twitter chat to discuss GIS topics. http://blogstuffbyemily.blogspot.com/p/gis-tribe.html

5) Reach out to folks who can serve as a mentor and contact local GIS professionals to set-up informational interviews.

Is It Worth It to Learn GIS?

Avoiding the GIS Nerd Trap

Becoming a GIS developer

As the GIS world diffuses into the general tech world, having some developer shops will serve GIS specialists well. Here are some clues about how to migrate from a GIS specialist to a GIS developer:

GIS blogger James Fee interviews GIS developer Dave Bouwman

These guys are pals and B.S. a lot, but the good stuff is here:

07:16 Looking for GIS analysts to be turned into developers

10:52 the steps involved in making a map application

15:20 start with the backend

19:58 how would you solve this if you didn't know GIS

20:23 people think geospatial technology is to take ArcMap and stick it here -- wrong!