1GRG 360G &GRG 394K - SPRING 2005INTRODUCTION TO (ENVIRONMENTAL)GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMSLecture: Tuesday & Thursday 3:30-5:00; GRG 102Laboratory: Section 1 (34735): Monday 12:00-3:00; GRG 206Section 2 (34740): Wednesday 1:00-4:00 PM, GRG 206Section 3 (34730): Friday 9:00-12:00 PM, GRG 206Instructor: Dr. Rodrigo SierraOffice: GRG 402, phone: 232-1592Office hours: ANY TIME, by appointmentTeaching Associates: Mr. Manuel PeralvoMr. santiago LopezClass Web Page: http://www.utexas.edu/depts/grg/rsierra/introgis/ CourseScopeThis is an intensive, hands-on, course on geographical information systems (GIS). We will study GIS as asupport tool for resource management, urban planning, and other related applications using a problem-basedapproach. Activities (lectures, discussions, and exercises) will be anchored around a small number ofproblems. By addressing the different aspects of these problems, students will learn the principles and explorethe options of digital geographic analysis. By the end of the semester, students will be able to develop basicanalysis procedures requiring the manipulation and transformation of spatial data.Please note that this course IS NOT intended to teach the use of any particular system or software.Introduction to GIS emphasizes concepts and understanding of problem solving using spatial data. These skillswill allow students to develop applications using any fully developed analytical GIS package (i.e., ARC/INFO,ArcGIS, IDRISI, TNTMips, ILWIS, GRASS, SPRING, etc.). However, for convenience most of the work,especially lab exercises, will use ArcMap in a Windows environment.Specifically, this course will focus in the following topics:• Geographic data properties and Data models,• Database management for GIS applications, and• Data sources, input and output,• Principles of Spatial Analysis.Course FormatInstruction is based on weekly lectures and laboratories. In general, students should plan to attend 2 lectures(1.5 hours each) and 1 lab session (2-3 hours) and to work an additional 2-3 hours outside of class timesevery week. This class is designed to have a certain degree of repetitiveness in the tasks used. This is doneto force an experience component in the course. Students will learn to solve the most common problemsrapidly by resolving them several times.This is a fast paced course. Therefore, it is extremely important that students keep up with their work.Because, activities are anchored around specific problems, falling behind will mean that intermediate activities2cannot be completed until the previous steps are completed. Please note that university policy requiresstudents to give notice of planned absences at least 14 days in advance. Relevant question from students during class are not only welcome, but also encouraged. Class discussionand interaction will significantly improve the quality of this course. Students are asked to remain on a stableseat throughout the semester. PrerequisitesThis class does not have formal course prerequisites. HOWEVER, given the nature of the topics, the lengthof the material to be covered, and the significant amount of time dedicated to computer work, it is expectedthat students are proficient in: 1) general computer and file management, primarily in Windows platforms 2)basic math and algebra, and 3) general software applications, including word-processing, spread sheets,elementary DB management, and graphics. If you feel that your skills in these areas are weak, I STRONGLY encourage you to take advantage of the shortcourses, tutoring, and web resources available at UT.TextRequired: Longley, P. et al. (2001).Geographic Information Systems andScience. Wiley. Chichester, UK.Recommended: Land, L. 1998. Managing Natural Resources with GIS. ESRI Press Booth and Mitchell. 2001. Getting Started with ArcGIS. ESRI Press.Longley et al (2001) and Land (1998) are available at the University Coop’s bookstore. These are referenceresources for this class. They are not a chapter-by-chapter substitute or transcription of class material. Asreferences, both, but especially Longley et al. (2001), should be used as a source of information andclarification for specific concepts and techniques. FOR EXAMPLE, students needing clarification of the conceptof a “spatial database” can look for an explanation of its meaning in this text (found on page 226). You canorder Booth and Mitchell (2001) through ESRI (www.esri.com) or most internet book stores (e.g.,amazon.com).Evaluation.Students will be evaluated based on three criteria: 2 exams and 10-12 lab reports. The weights are:2 Exams, 40 points each 80 points12 Lab reports, 10 points each 120 points1 Research Project (GRADUATE STUDENTS ONLY) 50 pointsTOTAL 200 or 250 pointsLetter grades (A, B, etc.) will be assigned at the end of the semester, based on a standard grade interval (90-100% = A; 80 - 89% = B; 70-79% = C; 60-69% = D; < 59% = F).Exams will be on the dates indicated in the tentative schedule below. The first exam will consist of 10-20short answer questions and may include a number of problems to be solved in the computer. The final examwill be primarily a computer based test based on the application of GIS tools to solve small problems (seesample questions in the class web page). Questions or problems can be from class material, lab exercises,or reading assignments. Exams ARE NOT cumulative.Lab reports. Lab exercises will apply concepts and skills discussed during lectures using a problem orientedapproach (instead of recipe-type labs). Students will be asked to solve and/or answer specific spatial problemsas if they had been hired as consultants. For each problem, students are required to turn in a report for eachlab at the beginning of the following lab meeting (Note that a particular exercise may require two weekly labmeetings). Reports must be presented in Acrobat pdf format in a ZIP disk or CD clearly labeled with the student’s nameand inside a directory or folder for that specific lab. Paper reports will not be accepted. Please plan to havethree ZIP disks: two for saving alternate lab reports plus one for saving your data and project and lab files.WE WILL NOT ACCEPT LATE REPORTS.3La reports will have a brief explanation (max 1 page) of the activities in the particular lab. It should includeall lab products (graphs, maps and/or tables). Each graph, table, and map should be numbered and labeledas “graph1", “graph2", etc., “map1",