National Center for Geographic Information and Analysis

This introduction provides a historical overview of the GIS Core Curriculum for Technical Programs. It describes the working group and initial work session where a framework for the curriculum was developed, and it includes a task list outlining the topics originally intended for the curriculum.

An outline of the GIS Core Curriculum for Technical Programs, organized by topic, is presented with hyperlinks to each unit's material on eScholarship. Note that hyperlinks are only active if the PDF file is downloaded.

This unit discusses registration and conflation, two related procedures in which two or more geographic datasets are combined, compared or merged. It presents procedures for re-projecting or rubber-sheeting a spatially referenced dataset to another, and it discusses issues including data model conversions, scale aggregations and other GIS manipulation and analysis functions.

This unit provides the instructor with a simple overview of GIS. After learning the material covered in this unit, the student should be able to provide a general definition for GIS; list some of the application areas of GIS; provide examples of how GIS is used; and describe topics that will be learned in an introductory study of technical GIS.

This unit focuses on methods for acquiring GIS data over the Internet, including understanding Internet data transfer methods and developing skills in manipulating a variety of data formats. Procedures for connecting to remote computers, locating desired data sets, retrieving data in various formats and preparing data sets for transfer to other users are described.

This unit presents an overview of common GIS data formats, computer systems, spatial data handling software programs and scripting languages. Two step-by-step examples are given: (1) converting a text file of point locations to an Arc/Info point coverage; and (2) rounding floating-point data to integer values.

This unit presents an overview of projection issues that are likely to be encountered by a GIS user. It discusses common map projections and associated parameters, how to determine appropriate projections for certain GIS applications and issues specific to raster data including the choice of grid cell size and resampling methods.

This unit introduces the mechanics of scanning and the concept of resolution. It discusses scanning hardware, how to select the appropriate resolution for a scanning project and image file formats.

This unit gives an overview of the buffer operation, including its potential uses, basic vocabulary, parameters, and implementation. An example application from natural and archaeological resource management in a national park is presented, along with illustrations of different types of buffers and list of useful related operations in ARC/INFO.

This unit introduces some of the uses of digital terrain data, the types of elevation data available and how to obtain them. Through examples and discussion it presents examples of data sources and formats, software for viewing and processing elevation data, and a comprehensive list of data and software resources.