Week Zero

Greetings and welcome to GSP 270 online.

Prerequisites

GSP 270 requires that you know the material from GSP 101. If it has been a while since you took GSP 101, or the equivalent, you'll want to review the material below and do some work in ArcGIS making maps before class starts.

• Spherical (geographic) Coordinates
  • Latitude and Longitude
  • Reporting Geographic Coordinates
  • Spherical Coordinate Video (MP4)
• Ellipsoids
  • The Earth is Not a Sphere!
  • Standard Ellipsoids
• Datums
  • Datums Defined
  • Common U.S. Datums
  • Local vs. Earth-Centered Datums
  • Datum Shifts

Requirements

To take this class you must have access to a good performance computer and a broadband connection to the Internet. If you are on the HSU campus, there are teaching labs around campus (FR 203, Kosmos, FR 204, and Science364A), computers in the library, and the new GSP Lab in NR 203. All of these rooms have computers with the software required for this class.

If you plan on using your own computer, please make sure it meets the requirements outlined on the HSU Geospatial Web Site (gsp.humboldt.edu) "IT" page. You'll also need to contact one of the instructors to obtain a "code" or CD to install ArcGIS. You will needto have the following software installed on the computer you use for class:

• MS-Windows as the operating system
• ArcGIS version 10.2.2
• Microsoft Word to write and edit your reports
• 7-Zip to decompress and compress GIS data sets for distribution (available for free from http://www.7-zip.org/)

You will also probably want to have:

• Microsoft PowerPoint or another drawing package to edit maps and other graphics for inclusion in reports.
• NotePad++ or another text editor
• Microsoft Excel to examine CSV files (text files with geospatial point data)
• The ability to convert MS-Word documents to PDF format

Course Content

There are two online resources you will be accessing regularly each week.

1. This web site contains the reading material and labs you'll be completing on a week-by-week basis.
2. The Learning Management System, Canvas. Canvas contains your calendar for when assignments are due, quizzes, discussions, and grades.

Before Class Starts

Please make sure you complete the following tasks before the class starts:

• Login to Canvas and add at least one item to the "Greetings" discussion board and take the "Syllabus Quiz"
• Go to the "IT" page of the HSU Geospatial Web Site (gsp.humboldt.edu) and follow the instructions at the bottom of the page to install ArcMap
  • Using the license code provided, make sure you can run ArcMap on the computer you have available for class
• Review the Syllabus and Schedule on this web site and complete the "Syllabus Quiz" in Canvas.

We've tried to make the course material accessible to you for your learning style. Please reivew the material and let us know if there is something we can do to help with any access issues you have.

If you cannot complete these tasks, please drop the class before the 19th so that other students on the waiting list can take the class.