GIS Education & Resources

William E. Huxhold

Professor

Department of Urban Planning

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

 

My teaching philosophy treats GIS technology as an information system that processes geographic data rather than as a computer mapping tool that also performs spatial analysis functions. My research and experience have shown me that the utilization of maps and geographic information within an organization is the driving force behind GIS adoption and use. This leads me to emphasize that GIS technology must be viewed within an organizational context - addressing an organization's critical geographic information management needs on an enterprise-wide basis - rather than as a software product used to produce a particular product.

My teaching efforts concentrate on transferring knowledge of the concepts behind the technology to the students so they can gain an understanding of how it can be effectively and efficiently used and applied to real world situations. Thus, my courses emphasize how and why organizational functions can benefit from GIS and what is happening with the data and the software inside the computer rather than how to use the software to produce a mapping product. My goal is not to emphasize the commands of GIS software, but to use the commands to demonstrate a particular feature of the technology (database manipulation, mapping, topology, polygon processing, geocoding, etc.). (NOTE: The commands versus concepts issue is, to some extent, debatable since most GIS students are getting prepared for a professional career where most job requirements favor those who have in-depth knowledge on specific software products.)

GIS Courses:

I have developed my three GIS courses to address the needs of two types of students: those who seek a GIS education to gain the skills necessary for a career as a GIS professional, and those who desire only an exposure to the technology in order to become GIS-literate for enhancing their career opportunities within a particular discipline. Thus, my courses are progressive in nature, beginning with introductory concepts, functions, and applications (Introduction Urban Geographic Information Systems - URB PLAN 945-791), to hands-on experiences with the technology in a laboratory environment (Using Urban Geographic Information Systems - URB PLAN 945-792), and ending with a capstone course (Applied Projects in Urban Geographic Information Systems - URB PLAN 945-793) that uses authentic data in specific GIS software to plan, complete, and present the results of a particular GIS project for a specific client within the Milwaukee area. Representative projects completed in previous years can be observed in the Student Projects in Urban GIS page. I expect those students who seek only an exposure to GIS in order to become GIS-literate within their own discipline to learn an understanding of the complexities of the technology, awareness of the applications of the technology to solve problems, and the basics necessary to communicate appropriately with GIS professionals within their future organizations. For those students who desire to concentrate on GIS as a career, these three courses form a structure on which to build and enhance their skills by enrolling in the formal "Certificate Program in Urban Geographic Information Systems" which was initiated in 1993. In the first five years of the program a total of sixteen graduates received the certificate.

Since these GIS courses were first offered in the fall of 1988, a total of 472 students have completed at least one of the three courses. Only 34% of these students have been Urban Planning students, with others majoring in geography, architecture, urban studies, engineering, business, anthropology, and others. About 65% of all the students have been graduate students.

URB PLAN 791/692: Introduction to Urban GIS

 

This course was introduced into the curriculum to introduce students to the emerging geographic information systems technology and address topics that we felt were important to know from many years of GIS experience at the City of Milwaukee. These topics cover a wide range of technical skills, including database management, topology, spatial analysis, and land records and surveying principles. Additionally, the applied experience of the professor in developing GIS for a local government is emphasized throughout the course.

 

The course was designed to introduce the topic without providing any "hands-on" experience.  Students are given demonstrations of the software in site visitations and some in-class demonstrations by the Teaching Assistant.

The primary evaluation tool used in the course has been, and still is, a semester long paper which the student prepares to describe how GIS technology can be used in an application with which they are familiar. The students are asked to define the application and the current problems that the organization has without using GIS; describe what data and other resources are needed in order to apply GIS to the situation; and then provide a manual simulation of how the GIS would be used. Two exams and four homework assignments (three being non-essay assignments) are additional evaluation tools that help provide a more comprehensive understanding of the students' grasp of GIS concepts.

 

The text for this course is An Introduction to Urban Geographic Information Systems, by William E. Huxhold, Oxford University Press, 1991.

 

URBPLAN 792/692: Using GIS for Planning

This course consists of a five-week set of exercises that can be accomplished manually and alsogive the students experience in organizing geographic data, defining topological relationships among the points, lines, and polygons displayed on maps, and then using those data to answer geographic questions without looking at the maps. The purpose of these manual exercises is to demonstrate to the student the importance of organizing and defining geographic data in the same manner as a computer stores data, and then process those data sequentially as a computer does, since the computer does not have the ability to "see" the map as a human does and therefore cannot answer questions from implicitly understanding the relationships among map features as the human does. This has resulted in a good introduction to the computer by emphasizing the data without confusing the student with specific commands of a software product. It also provides a generic introduction to GIS data because the exercise was not dependent on any one particular software product.

 

It then turns to PC ARC/INFO software and the manual exercises are repeated on that GIS software. Twenty-one exercises on PC ARC/INFO have been developed, including digitizing maps,creating topology, building attribute databases, searching databases and generating reports, and performing map overlay, buffering, and other spatial analysis and cartographic display techniques.

 

The text used is GIS County User Guide: Laboratory Exercises in Urban GIS, by W. Huxhold, D. Turnpaugh, B. Maves, P. Tierney, and K. Cassidy, Oxford University Press, 1997).

 

URBPLAN 793: Applied Projects in Urban GIS

This is the "capstone" course in the three-course series of GIS courses. The objective of this course is to immerse the student in GIS software and real geographic data in order to solve a problem or address an issue that is needed by a local organization. It therefore allows the students to apply their understanding of GIS technology to a real problem with authentic data from local government. In addition, it provides them with a structured approach to a GIS project, introducing them to GIS management techniques that are necessary to manage a project from its conception through final completion.

It uses ARC/INFO and ArcView (which have been introduced to them in the two previous courses in theseries), authentic parcel map and attribute data from the City of Milwaukee (Milwaukee Property File - MPROP) that contains attribute data describing all parcels of land in the city and the buildings on those parcels, and a client -a local organization that requires GIS services to solve a problem.

 

Students, working in teams of three to five, are required to interview people and research the client agency and its problems; prepare a Scope Document describing the problem and how it will be solved; develop an Implementation Work Plan defining the necessary tasks, timing of those tasks, and personnel task assignments; report progress and problems on a weekly basis; and then produce a final product (defined by the client), including documentation of the work and a final presentation to the client. (See Student Projects in Urban GIS).