Whether it’s your first-time using ArcGIS software, or if you already have experience, the Esri Academy provides new insight and introductions to an array of software. Penn State students have access to the courses, and while giving you functional skills, they can be completed in a relatively short amount of time. To log into the academy click the links associated with the individual courses, then click sign in. After that choose “Your ArcGIS organization’s URL” and type: “pennstate” (no caps or spaces).
This will provide a short introduction to three of these courses including ArcGIS Online, Interactive Dashboards, and Business Analyst.
Creating and Sharing GIS Content Using ArcGIS Online
The first course recommended is “Creating and Sharing GIS Content Using ArcGIS Online”. This makes for a good starting point given its use of ArcGIS Online, a staple of Esri services. It estimates that the course will take about two and a half hours to complete, and sets some goals for its completion. The course alternates between course work where you learn about the fundamentals of ArcGIS, and hands-on experience with the software.
Some of the basics you learn, as seen in the contents bar, are information about the practical application of ArcGIS online, and the roles of its users, as well as their respective capabilities. Additionally, the course teaches you about web layers, which are then expanded on in a small project.
The project gives you the following scenario: “Imagine that you are a member of the agency’s impact assessment team. You started a new construction site project that will require some content and expertise from other agency sectors. Your team has been given a tile package of
the site’s soil makeup and a zipped shapefile of wetlands in that area. Because multiple people and teams need to access this content, you have decided to publish the data as web layers.”
The project allows you to learn about the compilation of layers to display information on both soil types and wetland Identification. Additionally, it teaches you how you could hypothetically share the project with your team members who are also working on the project, and what they would be able to do with the map. My finished project. Afterward, there is a short exam that awards you a certificate.
Build an interactive dashboard
These Dashboards are useful for allowing the creator to give their users a large amount of information in one place, while keeping all the data minimal by using filters and popups so only what is needed is displayed.
The course is separated into four parts, each about fifteen minutes. The overall objective for the project is to make a dashboard where drivers can locate charging stations for electric vehicles, and filter for location and charger type.
The finished project. Based on your selections the popups, charts, and the displayed number of operational stations will change. This project is also very modular, meaning it is easily customizable and can be expanded.
Identify retail gaps with void analysis
The final recommended training we’ll cover uses ArcGIS Business Analyst, an important GIS tool for making planning decisions. It uses analytics to help compare the demand for services and businesses to help its users decide whether or not an area is under, or overserved.
The lesson plan is broken down into two half-hour sections; preparing and performing a void analysis.
The basic idea is to try and determine if an area, Plano TX, has the environment to
support a new Juice Bar. They know that the brand’s recent new store in neighboring
Frisco TX has been successful, and as such want to compare the areas.
Through this, we can see the estimated surplus or void of different drink restaurants,
with a final comparison involving age, household income, and population.
The end product can be used in different ways, and again this project is very modular, with a large number of factors that you can apply to filter the data
Conclusion
These courses will help to introduce you to or expand what you already know about some of the different applications of ArcGIS. Esri academy as a whole provides even more lessons and courses, as well as more certificates that you can achieve, spanning a variety of ways for which implications of GIS can be used.
August Paterno is a Sophomore majoring in Geography in the college of Earth and Mineral Sciences. August’s interests also include GIS, Computer Sciences, and Urbanism. He has been working at the Donald H. Hamer Center for Maps and Geospatial Information since May 2022.
Leave a Reply