Course Goals

Course Objectives

    • learn fundamental concepts of GIS and remote sensing including the electromagnetic spectrum, map projections, and nature of geospatial data
    • understand and apply simple to complex analyses of geospatial data
    • gain familiarity with computer architecture, file systems and programming
    • make maps and present findings to lay and scientific audiences
    • develop a dogged persistence in the solution of complex computer algorithms by overcoming the errors and pitfalls inherent in the process

This is NOT a course in how to use ArcGIS  or QGIS software, although you will at times think it is.   A specific software is just the tool for you to learn how to complete GIS and Remote Sensing analyses. However, along the way you will also learn how to

    • find and eliminate errors and difficulties with files, folders, and programming (the author Theobald calls it “one part logic and one part intuition”)
    • use the web to find answers to questions about spatial data processing