Introductions

Just for fun

Your Professor, Jim Graham

• Bachelor's in CS and Math from Chico State
• Over 20 years as a software engineer
  • 15 with HP as an engineer and manager
• Owner of tecBugs and now SchoonerTurtles
• PhD from Colorado State U. in Forestry/GIS
• Eight years with the National Resource Ecology Laboratory at Colorado State
• Two years with Oregon State U.
• 15 years doing GIS, five years teaching GIS
• Research with: State Dept., USGS, USDA, DOE

But who is he really?

• Grew up loving the mountains of California
• Usually had a 24k topo in his back pocket
• Discovered computers
• Put together computers and maps to solve problems
• After over 20 years in the commercial world, returned to academia to teach and help improve decisions on how we interact with the natural world

Our other instructor, Nick Malloy

Who are You?

In this class we have majors in:

• Anthropology
• Biology
• Chemistry
• Forestry
  • Resource Conservation
  • Hydrology
  • Forest Operations
  • Wildland fire management
  • Soils
• Geography
• Geology
  • Geoscience
• Environmental Management and Protection (formerly Natural Resource Planning and Interpretation)
  • Environmental Natural Resource Planning
  • Interpretation
  • Recreation
• Environmental Science & Management
  • Ecological Restoration
  • Energy and Climate
  • Geospatial
  • Environmental Policy
• Fisheries Biology
  • Freshwater
• Range Resource Science
  • Wildland soils
• Undeclared
• Wildlife
  • Wildlife Management and Conservation
  • Conservation Biology / Applied Vertebrate Ecology

This Class

• This class is about GIS
• We will not cover everything you need to know to be successful
• We will cover the basics and how to learn what you need to know to be successful
• Write down this URL: www.humboldt.edu/gsp
  • All the class information is in this GSP web site under "GSP 270"

To Be Successful

I will do everything I can to make this class interesting and provide content that will help you in your future. If you want to get a good grade in this class, and not have to put in excessive time, you'll need to:

• Attend class and lab and be on time
• Be present in class and lab (i.e. no texting)
• Turn in assignments on time
• Start assignments early so you can get help
• Ask for help within 20 minutes of getting stuck
• Look ahead on the schedule and do the homework so you're ready for discussions (and quizzes)

What do you Need From Me?

Take 5 minutes at your table and come up with the four most important things that we can do to help you learn GIS faster and with less struggle. Have someone write these down.

Good to go:

• Help outside class and lab
  • Office hours
  • Email me and/or Nick
  • Make friends!
• Practical applications: Almost all will be but sometimes we put in a lab that is more "fun" to get all the students engaged.
• Test prep & reviews
  • I will let you know some of the things you need to know for quizzes
  • I will review areas where students struggled
• Ability to use program outside school
  • Contact me or Nick for Arc Licenses, see the GSP IT web page for instructions
• Slides/lecture notes online (on web site)
• Slower demos of computer programs
  • Please let us know when to slow down
• Easy to follow instructions
  • Let us know if you have problems and/or suggestions
• Clear explanations
  • We try, let us know if we need to add more detail
• Assignments
  • Constructive Feedback
• Study sessions
  • See the calender for when TAs are available
  • Use the time in labs to meet and work together
• Cohesion between labs and lecture
  • The lectures and labs for the week are treated as a unit. The lectures are their to set you up for success in the lab and then answer and discuss follow-up questions.
• Job expectations
  • This class is built on what potential employers want and what will make you successful as a GIS technician or a starting position as a analyst.
  • See: HSU GSP Jobs Web Page
• Projects :
  • Cover collecting data, input, mapping
  • Clear expectations
• Step by step tutorials: Sometimes, especially at the start. As you learn, we'll provide fewer steps as eventually, you'll need to do GIS outside of a class.
• What's next (see the GSP web site and a presentation at the end of class)
• Entertaining: We try!
• List of main GIS commands (see labs and flow charts)
• Respond to emails: Typically we will respond within 24 hours (usually faster)
• Hands on data collection: We'll pull data from a variety of sources, to collect field data, you'll want to take GSP 330.
• Extra credit opportunities, there are many:
  • Address issues and resubmit labs with low grades
  • Attend a conference and/or seminar and do a one page write-up
  • Contribute to the GSP infrastructure we have here (data sets for the Data Hub, new or improved labs and examples).
• How to make informative maps: Definitely, cartography courses are good as well.
• Web Resource List: See my resource list page (this will change and move in the future).
• Lab availability: There are three: SciA 364, FR 203, FR 204. See the sign on doors for open times.

In Progress/Partial:

• Larger Print during Presentations
• Appeal to multiple learning styles
• Readings
  • Time to absorb reading: All readings are listed on the calendar and I recommend read the week before and the go back over sections that you struggle with.
  • Study guide: What would this look like?
• Glossary of terms & acronyms - Great idea!
  • See the quick reference
  • I'll work on a glossary!
• Fixed syllabus: There will be a few changes to adapt to the class but I'll try to minimize them
• Discussions: It's hard to have discussion in a large intro class, we'll have a few and there will be more in higher level classes
• Advice on taking lab notes: Great idea - we'll add a web page on it.
• Troubleshooting: Great idea - working on it.
• Organize study groups: I'll leave this up to you unless you have suggestion on what I could do
• How the IT works: We'll touch on this in each class and lab, especially the parts that are critical to GIS.
• Finished examples(?): Previous student work
• Repetition: There will be some repetition and you'll use the basic methods over and over again in each lab.
• Where to look for images(?): The web is a great sources, search with "clip art" and/or use government sources and cite them.

Good ideas but...

• Comfortable with ArcMap: I only know one person who is comfortable with ArcMap. We can get you started, more classes and practice will help.
• Field trips & specific topics: See GSP 330, other classes
• Examples relevant to major: I would love to but I've got to provide general examples to a wide audience
• Write notes on board: Sometimes but typically, see the web site.
• Larger screen: I'll ask
• Learn Portuguese: How about Spanish?
• Comprehensive Power Points on Moodle: Sorry, the web is far more accessible, faster, and more flexible than Moodle (i.e. I can provide more information more quickly than Moodle).

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