[Omega_X13]

I took this course in Fall 2009-2010 with Dr. Scott as the instructor.

The mark breakdown was as follows:
Lab exercises (6) - 40% (weighted equally)
Midterm - 20%
Final Exam - 40%

Lectures
Lectures were organized into seven general topics, and you spend several lectures in each (except for GPS, which was done by a guest lecturer). Overall, I found the course to be well-organized as topics presented followed a clear order and builds on the previous. All the slides were posted on ELM before lectures, and they were actually very useful because they contained all the information you need to know, along with many diagrams and examples. The material covered in lecture are sometimes more detailed than in the textbook. In fact, I would say the textbook is largely unnecessary if you don't plan on taking the upper year GIS courses (they use the same one).

Dr. Scott is knowledgeable and a good speaker. He always makes sure that we know what to expect in terms of what is happening in the course (what the game plan is if we're behind in lecture and such). He goes through some of the material a bit slow though, which you notice especially for things that really don't need an overly long explanation. Generally though, he was nice and clear in his lecturing.

Labs
There are six lab exercises in total, and you get two weeks (two 2-hour lab periods) to work on them. Everything needs to be done in the GIS labs in BSB unless you buy the program ArcGIS for yourself. If you're the type that doesn't get along with computers, then you should think twice about taking this course. More often than not, you'll be frustrated because the program doesn't do what you want it to do, or you don't know what to do at all because the instructions are unclear. As well, the later labs begin to skip detailed instructions for things that you've already done, so you really need to know how to do things. The TA is there to answer your questions, but I found myself waiting a lot because there is only one TA in the room.

In terms of what you actually do, you'll be following instructions that involve making maps to solve problems and such. It's pretty much an introduction to the features of ArcGIS. There are questions that you need to answer in a Word document, which usually aren't too difficult. If you stay on task during the lab periods, you won't need to come in on your own time to finish. The labs will also help you understand the lecture material (and vice-versa) as you're learning background for the tools in the program.

Tests
There was one midterm and a final exam. Both consisted of three parts: multiple choice/true or false/fill-in-blank, short answers, and problem solving. They were both fair for the most part, but I found the final to be a bit harder. The problem solving questions will be the more difficult questions as it involves application rather than stating facts, which the short answers cover.

Interest
The actual material may be a bit dry because you're pretty much just learning how to use ArcGIS. If you think about all the possible applications of GIS though, it can be interesting. For example, we had a guest speaker who works with the Edmonton Police, and she uses GIS to map crimes in the city. Another guest lecturer taught us about GPS, and we actually had to go out on campus with handheld GPS units to record some coordinates for one of the lab exercises. GIS is used everywhere, so even if you don't want to take the upper level courses, it might be useful to at least have a basic understanding of it.

[jachill]

Since Omega_X13 already went into detail about the course, I'll just add some personal notes.

I actually really liked this course. The labs were long and sometimes got a bit frustrating but having a partner to work on them with made them SO much more bearable. I don't think I would've made it otherwise.

The beginning of the course had me doubting if I'll enjoy this at all but the course material deffinitely got a lot easier as the semester progressed because at the beginning you're being introduced entirely new and overwhelming concepts of GIS that are much different than any other concepts I've learned. Once you get a basic understanding, you can easily add to it and you go over the same concepts constantly throughout the term so it'll sink in eventually. Same thing with the labs, when you do the same procedure over and over, it becomes second nature.

As for the lectures themselves, I can't really comment on them since I didn't attend them at all - mainly because they were just at a bad time for me. However, since the prof posted the notes, I had aboslutely NO problem on the midterm or exam. Also, I never used the textbook once. The prof (Scott) made VERY good lecture slides and were enough - in combination with the labs - to grasp the concepts.

So overall, the workload was large for the labs and the material can be a bit dry but honestly I had no problem understanding it and I'm really glad I took this course because it is very useful and looks good on your resume. Also I recommend buying the software too so you can work on labs at home but the textbook wasn't necassary (and jeez was it expensive!).

[arcuriga]

good class to take and provides useful knowledge for environmental science students

[widursi]

What textbook did you guys use for this course ?

[akikokoyoki]

Originally Posted by widursi

What textbook did you guys use for this course ?

the textbook is called Introduction to Geographic Information Systems

[drslayer987]

What is the difficulty of the course at the moment? could someone provide a more up-to date information?

[Curlysue]

Took GIS in the Fall of 2016 with Pat Deluca. The course breakdown is as follows:

5 Assignments each weighed equally at 12% (60% of mark)
Midterm worth 10% of final Grade
Final exam worth 30%

Overall, this course wasn't too difficult, but definitely make sure you go to class, even though it is boring. Deluca definitely knows his stuff, and adds on to the lecture notes.

Both the Midterm and the Exam consisted of M/C, T/F, Fill in the blanks, and Short answers. The short answers weren't as terrible as you would think. One of the questions was "What is GIS?"

The labs also weren't too difficult. You have 2 weeks to complete each lab, and 2 hours a week in a computer lab. Very rarely would you have to come back at another time to finish 2GI3 assignments. For the labs themselves, make sure that you follow the instructions precisely, because sometimes, for no reason, ArcGIS just wouldn't work. Also some advice, never leave these types of assignments till the last minute!

Overall, this course is just an introduction to GIS and Arc, and isn't too difficult to do well in. Just make sure to actually study for the midterm and exams, and you should do well in this course. This course is also a pre-req for all upper year GIS courses.