Christa's GIS Archive

The time has come for the final project to be completed and the class done! It's a bit wild for me to think that much time has passed where my first GIS grad course is over. Throughout the entire final project, I had a lot of fun actually creating these maps -- maybe too much since I ended up losing sleep some days because I was so in a flow state, so into just constantly trying and tweaking ideas of how the basemap should be or how the insets should look, etc. I think the biggest takeaway I have from my first grad course in a long time is that I'm way too much of a perfectionist. I even chuckled at myself how frequently I wanted to redo the recordings of my final presentation just because I didn't like how I said something, stuttered, or so on. At this point, no amount of minor editing will change my grade that drastically -- it's not worth it to mull over to no end. Ultimately, I'm still very proud of the map deliverables I created and are maps I would be content ...

It's the last module before the final project assignment -- it's both exciting and a bit nerve-racking since the deadlines are coming up so fast! Module 6 covered georeferencing, editing, and 3D mapping. Since 3D mapping was not a requirement, I didn't do it; however, if I have time later in the week, I'd like to make an addendum to this post and add my 2nd map deliverable if possible. As someone who hasn't made a 3D map, it intrigues me and would love the opportunity to finally get one underneath my belt. Since the lab assignment focused largely on georeferencing and editing vector data, we worked a lot with satellite aerial imagery of the University of West Florida campus. We had to take 2 JPEGs of the north and south sides of the UWF campus and georectify them using different transformations -- the north aerial I performed in 1st order polynomial while the south aerial I did in 2nd order polynomial. Georeferencing was one of the first things I learned at my workp...

Module 5 covered adding XY coordinate tables into ArcGIS Pro and also geocoding schools, which we eventually publicized the data on ArcGIS Online. I've had a few occasions in the past where I've received nothing but excel sheets from clients, but it doesn't happen all that often -- so, it was good to refresh how to go about it. For the Add XY part of the lab, we cleaned up coordinate data to be useable in ArcGIS Pro, then ran the XY Table to Point tool in order to have the Eagle Nests points populate at their proper locations. It was fairly straight forward; however, the geocoding section of the lab was a little more demanding. I thought it was good practice to get us used to actually retrieving the data for once from organizations, since the data we had been working with so far had been mostly just given to us. Albeit, we weren't looking for the data blindly (and the websites were given), but getting used to where to find credible and substantial data useful to what yo...

We're hitting the halfway mark of the Introduction to GIS course, and this week's lab is on vector analysis. We focused on running spatial queries in the first half of the lab and ran buffers in the second. I learned a lot about other ways of running buffers that I haven't yet to perform in my workplace, such as compound/multi-ring buffer. I can see how this would be useful in cases where certain distance thresholds must be met, like distance from road that is safe to build sidewalks or enough cushion for a safe bike lane, etc. The map that was created this week centered around the buffer tools, where we had to take De Soto National Forest feature classes and find out possible site locations for future amenities, such as campsites, pavilions, and the sort. We did this by running various buffers on both the water and road feature classes and finding where the buffers overlapped, while also taking into consideration conservation areas, which are non-construction zones. Screen...

Module 3 focused on two topics: ArcGIS Field Maps and Projections. For the first half of the lab, it required individuals to go out and collect data. It truly gave me a small sliver into what the inspection teams at work have to go through when they go out into the field. Being able to go out for once--I ended up choosing to "inspect" Cascades Park's amenities--and actually use the Field Maps app instead of having to troubleshoot what's going wrong with the device or the app itself was a nice change of pace. Although, speaking of troubleshooting, I did have a few occasions where the app would not keep my data point or photos if I didn't submit the point and instead turned the display on my phone off. It was when I had found trash in the main water fountain that I had went to recycle the cans and wash my hands in the middle of recording data. I learned the hard way to not expect the app to retain that submission window when turning my screen back on. Simply submit ...

This week's lab assignment was a walkthrough on how to be a good cartographer and what a map layout entails in order to convey information effectively. Even if you have all the knowledge/data to get a point across, if you can't display or deliver it in a way that's understandable, it's not an effective map. Thankfully, I'm confident that I can and will continue to create meaningful and clear maps. Screenshot of the UWF Main Campus map assignment for Module 2, Lab 2. It showcases Escambia County, FL and its major features. The main star (quite literally) is the UWF Main Campus location. Being able to flesh out a full layout with all the key elements was very satisfying. When making the orientation map last week, I was so tempted to complete the layout despite the directions not saying to do so; however, I did follow the directions and did not get ahead of myself. So, it was cathartic this week to be able to create a complete map and have free-reign over some decision...

  Welcome to my first post here! Today is technically my first day of the UWF M.S. Program in GIS Administration. On my first day, I got to do an orientation assignment with data involving countries and cities around the world. I had to take external data, the shapefiles, and connect them to the project in order to pull them into our Contents pane. From there, I assigned new symbology to the polygon and point layers. Then, I created a layout to produce a digital JPEG/PNG of the map. Overall, I found it interesting to work through the module as someone that is not a novice to GIS. I can see how this assignment would help introduce newcomers to ArcGIS Pro and GIS in general, allowing them to get used to terminology as well as getting comfortable with the program and its interface. It reminded me of my first day on the job as a GIS Engineering Technician with barely any knowledge prior -- I simply dove right in nearly blind back then! It felt nostalgic in a good way, and I can't wait ...