North River Geographic Systems Inc

Geospatial Problem Solving

GISP

What’s in a name……

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I’m having an identity crisis.

I was a Geology Major in College. For a while I was registered with the State of TN as a Geologist.

When I first started working for the Gov’t,  I was a SE Technician. What was SE? I can’t remember. You progressed up the ladder from 1 to 4 and then tried to make the jump to something else.

When I made the jump I became a SD Scientist if I remember correctly. What was SD? I can’t remember. You progressed up the ladder to a 3 or a 4 and hopefully didn’t die from high blood pressure or a stroke when you entered management.

When I left and started NRGS everyone wanted me to have a title. You should be President Randal Hale. That was all too pretentious. Correct mind you, but I don’t like being called President. I’ve had people approach me and go “Why don’t you hire me and make me CEO or CTO or something?” I would always go  “What’s in a name? Are you going to answer crazy emails? Or not digitize data if it needs it? How dirty are you willing to get as CTO/CEO?”.

For a while I would just go “Randal Hale, GISP” What’s a GISP? I’m a Geographic Information Systems Professional. Except when you think about it GIS is just a tool and that’s like saying you’re a Hammer Professional or a Stapler Professional. I’ve soured a bit on the GISP and I’m not sure what I need to do to reconcile that in my head.

Then I went through the “I’m a GIS Analyst” Phase which still didn’t answer what I did. I analyze GIS.

As of late due to a  lot of changes in the way I’ve ben approaching clients I’ve started going when people ask “What are you?” I answer Geospatial Data Scientist/Analyst. I’m working with data that has a geospatial component and I’m providing the client with reports/data/maps to help them make a decision. My skill set has been growing as I introduce more QGIS/PostGIS/things to my clients. I haven’t had one yet yell “It has to be in ArcGIS”. Most don’t care if the data is sound. Of course Yesterday I spent more than half the day in ArcGIS. Which was sort of nice ultimately. Hadn’t done that in a long time.

Of course I could just go “I own a small business that makes noise with geospatial data”.

So what’s in a name? Do I have the skills to actually add “data” to a description of me. Have I walked far enough into the database pool? Dive more into R? Do I start quoting statistics at every corner? Do more GIS people need to treat their data as a database vs a pile of files or connections to a server……..

I don’t know. I guess another hazard of Small Business. I know what I do. So what do I call myself. For the record at the last few conferences my job title was Janitor.

Does it really matter – currently not a great deal – it just something else rolling around in my head.

Anyway – all this made me think:

August 2015 GIS Workshops at Jekyll Island Georgia

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Jekyll Island, Georgia
2 Days of GIS Workshops
August 24th and 25th, 2015
And
August 26th, 2015

GIS/GPS Resources Room at
Georgia Environmental Conference

 

Georgia URISA extended the workshop itinerary and is going to a new event location for 2015. This year the annual workshop conference will take place at Georgia’s beautiful Jekyll Island Club Hotel and Conference Center and features 2 days of classes to meet the diverse needs of Georgia’s GIS community. Students, GIS professionals, and leaders looking for focused GIS training will all have great opportunities to develop their GIS knowledge and skills while networking with colleagues engaged in GIS projects and vendors delivering excellent GIS/GPS services and products.
The registration fee includes entrance into both days of workshops, access to the common area with vendors and posters, lunch both days, and the social on the evening of Monday August 24.
In addition to the workshop training classes, Georgia URISA has partnered with the Georgia Environmental Conference (GEC) and will have a GIS/GPS Resources Room on August 26th. This event is free to attend and includes GIS/GPS vendors and professionals with expertise in targeted areas that will be available for open discussions to assist all attendees of the GEC and walk-ins that may not be registered for the conference. All who attend will enjoy this great way to connect with people and resources targeted to help keep GIS investments valuable and productive or find the right way to get started utilizing spatial technologies.

Workshop and Conference Registration
Early Bird Rate through July 15, 2015
GAURISA Member $125
Non-Member $175
Become a GAURISA member for $40

After July 15, 2015
GAURISA Member $150
Non-Member $200
Become a GAURISA member for $40

Itinerary
August 24

1 Day Training 8:00 am – 12 pm
LiDAR – Ernie Smith
This course is designed to give the student a practical, hands-on approach to learning the basics of working with LiDAR data with GIS desktop software. **Students attending this class must bring a laptop running appropriate software. ArcGIS Advanced with 3D Analyst extension or similar software is required.

  • Explore the NOAA Contract deliverables
  • Overview of the LAS structure and metadata
  • Building a synthetic surface model from the LAS data
  • Constructing contours from the surface model
  • Cleaning the contour file

Training 8:00 am – 12:00 pm
QGIS – Randy Hale
Learning new software can be intimidating for some especially if you are used to a certain product that you have been using for years. Or are you new to GIS and looking for an affordable, user-friendly alternative to other popular and pricey GIS software? The introduction to QGIS course will get you familiar with the interface and many tools and features that will assist you with viewing, editing, analyzing, creating, managing, and serving GIS data in a variety of formats. At the end of this workshop, you should have a good understanding of what QGIS consists of, pros and cons when using it, and feel informed to make your own decisions about how to incorporate QGIS into your project workflows.

Training 1:00 pm – 5:00 pm
PostGIS – Sara Yurman
PostGIS is the open source spatial database to support your enterprise. It is the most mature option for a “back end” to open source GIS desktops like QGIS. This workshop is built for database beginners. It will start with a “naked database” and go through to a working model. We’ll use point-and-click interfaces in QGIS and pgAdmin3 to work with the database.
We’ll explore enterprise opportunities in PostGIS, including:

  • Loading vector data from shapefiles, geodatabases or spreadsheets
  • LiDAR
  • Address data
  • Offline editing
  • Backup and maintenance
  • Setting up permissions for workgroups

Itinerary
August 25

1 Day Training 8:00 am – 5:00 pm
Addressing Workshop – Sara Yurman

The address workshop explores the state of the art of the most common form of geographic information. We’ll talk about the challenges of handling address data content, and solutions that work. Current thinking about addressing systems will be explored. We’ll look at address data sources, the strengths and weaknesses of each, and ways that you can succeed in integrating address data across your enterprise.
The workshop reviews:

  • Understanding and working with your Addressing System
  • Address standards
  • Addressing methods
  • Address data sources
  • Quality control practice
  • Evaluating address sources
  • Deploying addresses across the enterprise
  • Handling “dirty” address data
  • Succeeding with addressing projects and address-dependent projects

½ Day Training 1:00 pm – 5:00 pm
ArcGIS Online – Trip Corbin

Georgia URISA January Luncheon

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I’ve been a bit slack posting as of late – so here is the next Georgia URISA luncheon. I might make it to this one but most likely not. It’s applicable to many of you though – so make plans to attend if you can.

Georgia URISA Luncheon – January 13th 2014

Date: January 13, 2015
Time: 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Location:
City of Roswell
City Hall
38 Hill Street, Suite 220
Roswell, GA 30075

The GISP (Geographic Information System Professional) Certification has been around now in its original form for over 10 years now. However, things are changing. There is an exam currently under development along with a host of other changes to the program and how you can apply. This presentation will review the current GISP certification requirements and discuss upcoming changes to the certification.

Biography: Tripp Corbin, MCP, CFM, GISP, eGIS Associates, Atlanta, GA
Tripp Corbin is the CEO and a Co-founder of eGIS Associates, Inc. He has over 20 years of surveying, mapping and GIS related experience. He is recognized as an industry expert with a variety of geospatial software packages including Esri, Autodesk and Trimble products. He holds multiple certifications including Microsoft Certified Professional, Certified Floodplain Manager, Certified GIS Professional, CompTIA Certified Technical Trainer and various Esri Certifications. Tripp is a past President of Georgia URISA and former URISA International Board member. He currently serves on GISP Application Review committee and an At-Large GITA Southeast Board Member.

Luncheon Overview: Luncheons are held on the 2nd Tuesday of every month unless otherwise noted. They are intended to provide a social and friendly atmosphere for learning about the successes of our members and to provide opportunities for networking. All are invited to join and students are especially encouraged! You’ll earn 0.1 conference attendance points towards your GISP Certification by attending each luncheon.

Agenda: Meetings are orchestrated according to the following agenda:

11:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. – Lunch and Networking
12:00 p.m. – 12:10 p.m. – Announcements
12:10 p.m. – 1:10 p.m. – Presentation
1:10 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. – Discussion

Cost
Member Pre-Register and Prepay (ends Sunday, January 11th at 11:59 pm): $12.00
Member Pre-Register and Pay at Door / Walk-In: $15.00

Non-Member Pre-Register and Prepay (ends Sunday, January 11th at 11:59 pm): $15.00
Non-Member Pre-Register and Pay at Door / Walk-In: $18.00

Register HERE

Low Balling K-12 GIS Education

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This is another one of those posts that I started….stopped….started….then decided to take in a completely different direction.

K-12 education is all the rage these days in GIS. It’s gotten so popular I’m starting to question if anyone talking about it has actually set foot in a school. I’ve talked off and on about the high school I’ve worked with. I haven’t worked with them that much over the last year because I’ve been busy and distance has been an issue. Friday I found myself back at the school to load software.

They’ve got a new computer lab – I talked about it. I ended that article with “nothing bad can come out of volunteering”. I stand by that.

BUT

Back a few months ago ESRI donated software for K-12 education. I tweeted about it – my tweets were not kind. I was called out and back tracked as well as I could because I was wrong on the tweeting end of things (Imagine that). Essentially the schools get ArcGISOnline for free. Friday (September 2014) I spent time loading QGIS and ArcGIS on the new computer lab at the high school. They’ve got 20 something computers. The plan once again turned into flash drives and shoe leather. So I started. Log into one “bank” of about 7 computers and start uninstalling qgis. By the time I had walked to computer 7 I could start installing QGIS at computer 1. By the time I walked to the end I could start installing ArcGIS (desktop) on computer 1.  It was a repetitive thing and I was good with that.

So shortly after the ESRI announcement another announcement came out – GISCI was pushing GISPs to help get the ESRI donation into the schools. As a consultant I had a bit of heartburn about that – I like to donate my time. I can understand an organization jumping on the bandwagon. “GISP GeoMentors will be required to help set up ArcGIS Online accounts at local schools and tutor teachers on ArcGIS Online use and administration.” Yeah….No. If I’m volunteering I will volunteer. I’m all in – like with my clients. I’ll bleed by the time this is done. At one time I had signed up with the geomentor program – never got a call. So I will do what I want to do.

I went to public schools. I could tell you stories all day about my school. Granted this was way back when and there weren’t a lot of computers. There wasn’t much of anything new – it was probably by all accounts a Title 1 school (if that existed in the late 80’s). The school I go to is Title 1. They stretch dollars for everything.

Halfway through my install the kids appeared – which was good because in 30 minutes I was starting bank 2 of 4 on the upgrades. IMG_20140926_103202Then it became fun.

Part of our problem (as GIS People) is we don’t fully understand K-12. I couldn’t get 4 computers to log in – one kid determined I was logging into the domain and not the local admin account. She fixed it. I’ve talked about kids being spatially aware. You can thank Google earth/maps for that and their smart phone. Kids understand geography. They may not understand the relevance – but place they get.

They started getting ahead of me. I had one flash drive and I should have planned better so individual assignments started getting handed out. I assigned one kid to license ArcGIS once it had installed. I put one in charge of downloading QGIS. Suddenly the network choked. What should have been a 5 minute 200 something MB download turned into 15…then 20 minutes. A lot of the kids have chromebooks now. “WHAT! WHY? I’M SO OLD”

Another computer choked and rebooted. One just wouldn’t act right – all the computers are identical.

Right now the kids are mapping for the EBOLA outbreak for HOT. That was another conversation I won’t rehash but the teacher ties in the EBOLA outbreak with the news (which kids don’t watch) and next they are going to work on the Palestinian map (if you remember there was a little bit of issue between them and israel before the nude celebrity pic leak).

We need data – the local county has donated some of their GIS data. Can you help us download it?

I can do that and click – teachers computer has a virus which sprang to life. “Did you know your computer has a viru….”. Yes. I’ve asked for something to be done and I’m still waiting. “OK – Lemme fix that”.

By the time the kids left we had 80% of the computers finished. I kicked off the download on the computer that is now virus free and “4 hours and counting”.  It’s a 4GB download.

So I sat there. GISP’s donating expertise for Education is a bit of a low ball deal. Low Ball for those who haven’t had any relatives who were used car salesmen is where you present a great offer – but IMG_20140926_105654then change the terms of the agreement – it gets more expensive after completion of the deal. It’s a great thing to donate software. It’s a great thing to ask GISP’s to donate their time for an anomalous objective. It’s not a great thing to cherry pick a school which is what you will have to do to feel successful. “I’m going to the private school – they all have tablets”. It is your time and you can do what you want with it – but I will call shenanigans if you don’t sweat it a bit.

When we finished up “Can I turn on the projector I want to show you guys something in OSM?” Ahem and she points up. “You’ve HAD THIS LAB FOR A YEAR…OR MORE”. We will get one eventually.

So I’m not telling you to not volunteer. I’m encouraging you to volunteer. BUT – I’m encouraging you to go in and fix things. Some schools will run with the K-12 arcgisonline donation and do fabulous things.

What you won’t see advertised is what I’m pointing out. A lab that was gained through  grant writing . Computers that don’t act right. A missing projector. Computers with a virus. When I left the download was somewhere near 3 hours from completion. It would have been easier to drive to the county department and load the data on a flash drive and come back. I’m tired. We never touched GIS.

So I make you an offer – it’s the NRGS “Get your arse in a school” initiative. Go to your local school. Not that school. The one that is having a rough time of it:

  1. Go find someone that might teach GIS or at least knows what it is.
  2. Find out if they have computers and fix them. If they can’t be fixed try to get them new ones.
  3. Figure out how to make the teachers life easier.

Enable the teacher to do more with their equipment. If you succeed – then go in and start talking about GIS. Call ESRI to figure the K-12 donation thing. Load QGIS. Load ArcGIS. Explain GIS. Use Google Maps. Use Google Earth. Explain the science of location.

I hit one school. With travel and everything that was one day. One day to get things working to where I could explain GIS on Day2. That’s not mentioned in any press release. How many are prepared to spend Two days. Three? Four? A Week?

There are probably over 20 schools in the county.

You’ve got to want to hurt to make this happen. Not just hope you get a GISP point out of it. If you’re there for GISP Points you are there for the wrong reason.

 

 

 

 

GIS Certification Survey

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First off – I have 0 personal interest in this survey whether anyone fills this out or not…but I think it does serve some good.

I’ve had this back and forth with being a GISP. I was a huge proponent at one point…now I’ve gotten to the point where I think it’s past it’s prime. When GIS was a niche thing and you had to spell out to everyone why, who, and what…..I could understand having one. Now that GIS is mainstream….mostly everyone has one or knows about it, I question the relevance of this certification. Even with the upcoming test…I still that is a bit too little too late to pull this back into a useful state. Everyone is in a rush to beat the test……and I think that speaks volumes to the state of the certification. For my part – make it retroactive (HA).

Anyway – enough of my grouchiness.

Take the Survey: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/13ehP1jfyFK2Mg_IDLbeWE_ZVo3mRKUp_aeLz6qjp3h0/viewform

Results will probably be posted online and will be shown at GISPro.