GIS Fundamentals (Mapping and Spatial Analysis) in Disaster and Emergency Management

Course Overview

This intensive six day course provides the foundation for understanding and appreciating GIS, what it can do, and how others are using it.

Participants shall learn the basic functions of a GIS, GIS terminology, and why GIS is powerful tool for data analysis, retrieval andvisualization using Esri's ArcGIS for Desktop software. In course exercises, students work with ArcMap, an application within ArcGIS Desktop, to visualize geographic data, create maps, query a GIS database, and perform spatial analysis. Participants shall also use ArcGIS online to share GISdata and analysis results.

Prerequisites and Recommendations

This is a beginner level class. Participants should know how to use Windows-based software for basic file management and browsing.

Course Goals

After successfully completing this course, you will have acquired an understanding of general GIS terms and the basic functionality of Esri's ArcGIS Desktop software. These new skills include:

• Explain what a GIS is and what it can do
• Create GIS maps in ArcMap
• Access and query a GIS database using ArcMap
• Display map data using symbology and labels
• Describe two common GIS data formats
• Perform simple GIS Analysis

Topics Covered

• Introduction to GIS
• Introduction to ArcGIS Desktop
• Exploring ArcMap & Data
• Symbolizing Features
• Labeling Features
• Querying Data
• Creating a Map
• Preparing Data for Analysis.
• Performing Analysis

Software Used

The following software licenses or applications are used in this course: ArcGISDesktop 10.2 (Advanced)

Course Materials

Each student will receive:

• Course manuals and training data
• ArcGIS 10.2.2 evaluation license

Course Facilitator

Sam Nthunie is a GIS Consultant with over 10 years of practical experience in GIS, Remote Sensing, GPS and Cartography mostly in the humanitarian sector. He holds a Master’s of Science in Geomatics from Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Germany and is also a continuing Doctor of Philosophy (Geospatial Engineering), University of Helsinki. He is a training specialist with vast experience in training Esri technology and open source GIS.