SITE LOCATION ANALYSIS GY454 and GY454G

PREREQUISITE: This course is an advanced course using ArcGIS from ESRI. GIS510 OR GY307 OR equivalent prior experience with ArcGIS is absolutely required.

22905 Section 001 (undergraduate) OR 22944 002 (graduate) WWW Blackboard http://jsu.blackboard.com 3 semester hours

Professor: Dr. Miriam Helen Hill
Office: 205 Martin Hall
Office Hours: Mondays 1:45-5:45 OR by appointment and through Blackboard IM, Blackboard Virtual Office Hours, or AOL IM
E-mail addresses: mhill@jsu.edu that will go to hillmir@aol.com
Telephone: 256-782-8063 (please, contact me by e-mail)

Course Description: Site Location Analysis (3). Emphasis on evaluating existing site location efficiencies, determining of appropriate point site and area site locations for organizational entities, and analyzing environmental impact analyses using GIS.

Purpose of the Course: This course is to designed to build skills working with raster GIS applications including both display and analysis. Topics include surface creation and analysis, map algebra, lidar data, 2D and 3D visualization, and site selection applications.

Learning Outcomes: The student will be able to:
  1. thoroughly differentiate between using raster and vector data models
  2. use different types of raster data for display and analysis
  3. create continuous surface maps, straightline and cost-weighted distance surfaces, contours, density maps, hillshading, viewshed analysis, and neighborhood and zonal analysis
  4. use map algebra in spatial analysis
  5. perform site selection analysis
  6. create 3D features and surfaces and perform spatial analysis
  7. use 3D visualization techniques
  8. (graduates) use lidar data to create terrain datasets, DEMs, and 3D visualizations and to perform spatial analysis
Text: all materials will be available through Blackboard or www.esri.com

Software required ArcGIS 10.0 (available from professor), MS Office 2007 or 2010, USB 2 G jump drive, microphone and speakers

Class Homepage: The class homepage is at http://www.jsu.edu/depart/geography/mhill/SLA/index.html and is linked to Dr. Hill's webpage at http://www.jsu.edu/depart/geography/mhill/index.html. This site is mirrored at http://www.aegis.jsu.edu/mhill/index.html. The syllabus is, also, linked to the class homepage.

Grading: The class will be graded based the mean of four scores. The mean of the required ESRI module scores will count 25%. The midterm will count 25%. The final will count 25%. The portfolio will count 25%. Discussion board contributions will be considered for bonus credit. Bonus points may be awarded for exceptional work and extra credit activities. Graduate students are required to complete additional graduate assignments to pass the course and are expected to conform to higher academic standards. Final scores: above 90% A; 80-90% B; 70-80% C; and for undergraduates only 60-70% D; below 700 (graduates) and 600 (undergraduates) F. All work MUST be submitted before the DUE date. No late work will be accepted. All work must be submitted through Blackboard. Invalid data submissions will receive no credit.

Reading Assignments: Reading assignments will be combined with the laboratory modules. Use the attached schedule to complete the work BEFORE the due dates as indicated. Work may be completed early! Complete the assignments in Blackboard and the ESRI Virtual Campus.

Laboratory Modules: Laboratory modules are provided through ESRI's Virtual Campus. Complete the modules indicated in Blackboard before the dues dates. Submit the required materials to Blackboard BEFORE the deadlines. Late work will NOT be accepted. Pay close attention to deadlines and work ahead of the schedule. Course access codes will be provided to enable enrollment in the courses without payment to ESRI. Although passing the courses without completing the work is possible, you are expect to complete the exercises to gain the experience and to add the results to your portfolio. Submission of your ESRI transcript will be required to document your module scores.

Midterm and Final Examinations: The midterm and final examinations will have multiple parts and include a variety of question types. Formats may include multiple choice, true-false, essay, and lab activities. All course materials may be content material. Blackboard scoring and timing constitute official records.

Portfolio: A PowerPoint portfolio of your professional accomplishments from the course will be submitted in Blackboard. More information will be available in Blackboard.

Discussion Boards: A discussion board will be posted to allow an interchange of ideas and experience concerning the materials being covered. Evaluation consideration will consider the educational and beneficial merits of the information posted. All posts must be written in a professional manner and formally documented as required.

Additional Graduate Student Requirement: Graduate credit requires the completion of the designated courses on the ESRI Virtual Campus. Course access codes will be provided to enable enrollment in the course without payment to ESRI. Although passing the courses without completing the work is possible, as a graduate student, you are expected to complete the exercises to gain the experience and to add the results to your portfolio. Submission of your ESRI transcript will be required to document course completion. Work through the courses at your own pace, but complete them before the deadline.

Class Membership: Class members are expected to answer and ask questions, be involved in activities, and to facilitate an educational academic atmosphere. Proper attitude and behavior are expected. At all times presence should facilitate a smooth flow of intellectual ideas, knowledge, and intelligent discussion. Failure to contribute or promote this important goal demonstrates poor professional development.

Graduate Comprehensive Examination: For those graduate students who will be taking comprehensive examinations in order to complete their degree programs, sample comprehensive examination questions are posted in Blackboard. You are advised to archive all course materials, including these questions and the discussion board in order to enable yourself to prepare as your "comps" approach. The Blackboard course may no longer be available. The time to begin your preparation is as you start each course.

Portfolio: Your work from this course should be retained in your professional portfolio. A subset of that portfolio derived from the work undertaken for this course will be graded.

Note: All materials presented in this class are done so with educational goals in mind and are not intended to cause distress of any nature. Please be aware that controversial materials, theories, exhibits, etc. will be presented in this class. If you are unwilling or unable to view these presentations in the educational light in which they are presented, then you need to reconsider your enrollment in this class.

Answers and grading will usually be succinct and to the point. No value judgment of you, your personality, character, or your intelligence is intended. Feedback is provided so that you can learn from your mistakes and improve the work that you are doing. The focus will center on what you can improve, and it is up to you not to lose sight of the accomplishments and progress that you are making. Do not get discouraged, but you must strive continually to improve your work. GIS is complex and multifaceted, and your work will contain far more things done correctly than the few things highlighted for improvement.

Citation of Sources: All sources must be properly credited. Work containing copyright violation or plagiarism will be rejected. Use Turabian format AS DEFINED by Microsoft Word 2007 (2010) for the documentation format. Entering the requested information correctly into the software with the Turabian setting will automatically generate the correctly formated information.

Academic Dishonesty: Academic dishonesty is defined to include any form of cheating or plagiarism. A discussion of the topic is set forth in the student handbook. Working and studying with classmates are beneficial and to be encouraged. Copying work is not to be confused with comparing work and discussing similarities and differences. You are responsible for both understanding answers submitted and the completion of the materials. The material in this course is important not just for your grade but also for your future profession. All of the work is open book. SafeAssign will be used to check for plagiarism. Thoroughly document your work!

Notice: This syllabus is in no way binding. All information is subject to change. Any changes made by the instructor will be announced to the class through emails or posting to the Announcements area of Blackboard.

Questions or problems: Please contact the professor. Asking questions is an extremely important part of the learning process. Be specific. Incomplete information and vague questions only expand the time it will take for you to get an adequate response. Expect that I will ask you questions to ascertain what you understand so I can begin the answer from that point.

Making Contact: When e-mailing the professor, provide detailed information. Identify yourself, the course, the level, and the specific assignment. This will facilitate a more rapid and accurate response. We will use Blackboard IM to facilitate communication. If GEM (JSU e-mail system) is not your primary e-mail, place a forward on that account, and test it to be sure that it is functional. Blackboard uses GEM for e-mail contacts.

Disabilities: According to Public Law 504 and the Americans with Disabilities Act, Jacksonville State University will provide reasonable access and appropriate accommodations for otherwise qualified disabled students. If you need such access or accommodations, please consult with Disability Support Services and your professor immediately. Where extended testing sessions are allocated, Blackboard continues to function after the original time settings are reached, and the scores and actual times used are reported. By clicking on the ! or grade, both student and faculty can view these reports and verify completion within the appropriate time limits.

Class Schedule: Use the outline provided to complete the assignments BEFORE the designated dates.

GY 454 and 454G Spatial Data Collection and Management Syllabus* S12

DATEWEEK TOPIC Comments
January 11-171Data Model and Raster Basics pretest
18-242Managing and Displaying Rasters  
25-313Spatial Analyst and Surfaces  
Feb. 1-74Map Algebra and Interpolation  
8-145Mapping of Spatial Values  
15-216Surface Modeling and Distance  
22-287MIDTERM EXAM and 3D Analyst   midterm grade computation
29-March 683D Display and Analysis  
7-139Surface Manipulations  
14-2010Interpolation and Visualization  
21-April 311Terrain Analysis and Site Selection  
4-1012Lidar Data  
11-2213FINAL EXAMINATION posttest
*Any major changes to this schedule will be announced. All grades are final at 11:55 p.m., Sunday, April 22, 2012.