Intermediate GIS -- GEOG558
This is a living document. Changes will be announced in class.
Instructor: Jim Coll
Office: 404C Lindley Hall
Email: jcoll@ku.edu
Office Hours: Monday and Wednesday 10:00 — 11:30 or by appointment
Class Meetings: Monday 2:00 — 4:30 pm
Class Room: Lindley 228
Labs: Wednesday or Thursday 11:00 — 12:50 pm
Lab Room: Lindley 310
Hello all!
My name is Jim Coll and I am your instructor for the semester. A few notes for you pertain to how I run this course. Although the KU blackboard site will be the “official” site for this class and the place you submit all work to, I use this site here for the benefit of all and my own selfish desire to streamline my digital footprint. I will keep both sites as identical as possible when double posting material (e.g. the syllabus and course schedule), but in case of a conflict treat this version as the most recent. Use the navigation table to the left to find the syllabus, labs, and other documents. I have made myself as available to you as I can so feel free to find me via:
- Class slack channel
- Cornering me in the hallway
Below you’ll find the course outline and slides as appropriate. I look forward to an exciting, productive, and stimulating semester with you all.
Best,
Jim
To help us stay on track, I have pinned the semester schedule below with the relevant tasks, due dates, and other important institutional dates: Note that this is a living timeline subject to change.
| Date | Topic | Weekly Activity Due | Lab | University Dates |
| Week 1 | Syllabus Day & Overview of Spatial Analysis | Spatial skills pretest | ||
| 1/27 | ||||
| Week 2 | Mapping and Representations | Lab #1: Survey of data and mapping technologies and building a database | ||
| 2/3 | ||||
| Week 3 | Map Algebra (Local Operations) | Lab #2: Making composite image, calculating normalized water index, and Kudzu suitability | ||
| 2/10 | ||||
| Week 4 | Map Algebra (Focal Operations) | Lab #3: Segment waterbody and extract waterbody boundary | ||
| 2/17 | ||||
| Week 5 | Map Algebra (Zonal Operations) | Lab #4: Estimate water surface elevation and water volume change | ||
| 2/24 | ||||
| Week 6 | Review for mid-term & Geoprocessing in ArcGIS | Lab #5: Analyze long term lake water surface area dynamics (ModelBuilder & Python Scripting) | ||
| 3/2 | ||||
| Week 7 | Spring Break - No class | No Lab | ||
| 3/9 | ||||
| Week 8 | Midterm exam | Lab #6: Sea level rise inundation using region group and cost distance | ||
| 3/16 | ||||
| Week 9 | Fundamental spatial relationships (distance) | Lab #7: School siting and fungus dispersion modeling | ||
| 3/23 | ||||
| Week 10 | Multi-criteria evaluation and MA applications | Lab #8: Viewshed, hydrological and NEXRAD blockage terrain analysis | ||
| 3/30 | ||||
| Week 11 | Terrain Analysis | AAG meeting (No Lab) | ||
| 4/6 | ||||
| Week 12 | Characterize Spatial Pattern | Lab #9: Tornado point pattern Analysis | ||
| 4/13 | ||||
| Week 13 | Spatial Interpolation/Prediction | Lab #10: Groundwater interpolation | ||
| 4/20 | ||||
| Week 14 | Review for final exam & Final project presentation | Open Lab | ||
| 4/27 | ||||
| Week 15 | Final project presentation | Spatial skills test | ||
| 5/4 | ||||
| Week 16 | Final Exam 1:30 – 4:00 p.m. | |||
| 5/14 |