North River Geographic Systems Inc

Geospatial Problem Solving

Training

Introduction to QGIS Dec 7-8 2021

by

I should have titled this “Exploring QGIS” – but you may not have read the last blog post. Anyway – I will be rebranding the Intro class into Exploring QGIS for 2022.

So – the last class I will teach of 2021.

What will we do? Explore QGIS and run through all the core functionality. It will be a good introduction to see if this software will work for your organization (Spoiler alert – it will). We have lessons, Q&A, and generally try to be rowdy, and break stuff.

I will be offering a “health check” before we do this. I’d like to see how comfortable you are with everything and how I can make it better/easier/more fun for you as the student.

Things we will cover:

  • Interface
  • Community
  • Data
  • Symbology
  • Processing
  • Layouts.

Part of the proceeds from the class funnel into the QGIS Software.

  • Dates: December 7th and 8th from 12 to 4 EST. Just 4 hours a day for 2 days.
  • Cost: $175 US
  • Link: Eventbrite
  • Location: Zoom – so it’s everywhere and no where.
  • I’ll be sending out data/PDFS the closer we get to the class.
  • Seats: 10

Anyway – come join in for a rowdy final QGIS class that is a good overview for the new user.

QGIS Class Updates

by

I’ve been sitting here thinking about the class offerings. So I have some updates, thoughts, and general “here is what is going to happen”. Last month I taught the Intro class and the processing and tools class back to back. That was pretty nice because it gave me a pretty quick look at what worked and what doesn’t and how the two classes line up.

The Good:

  • I have a Part 1 (intro) and a Part 2 (intermediate) done now on QGIS.
  • In general they matched up well and Part 2 built off Part 1 better than I hoped.
  • I didn’t make it too terribly complicated overall

The Bad:

  • Things I thought were brilliant didn’t work….i.e. Too Complicated.
  • Things I thought were lame went over extremely well.
  • SQL is too hard to throw at people the last hour of the last day for part 2.
  • Class Names are deceptive: “Intro” is more than intro and “tools and processing” is more than that. So I need to re-name the classes.
  • The second class needs to be tightened up.
  • There is always room to improve.

There is one more class coming to make three total classes. Think of it as an intro, intermediate, and final…and final may mean advanced or final may mean enterprise. Final may be final as I really don’t want to do any more classes beyond the three as a core offering. I need to start working on that and get a first draft by the end of the year.

Back when I started NRGS I was an ATP…..or CTP….whatever the name I was teaching ESRI classes. So having people not wanting to take an intro class because it’s “intro” isn’t anything new. All that made me really re-think the phrase ‘Introduction” and I will probably rebrand this as “Exploring QGIS”. That way it doesn’t say “intro”.

Anyway – it was nice to finally get 2 classes finished and have it be something I was happy with overall. I just finished up updating the “intro” class and I’m doing that with the second class. Next year will see one class getting taught each month. So all 3 get taught per quarter. That way I know the last week of the month is teaching and the other three I can work.

Intro to QGIS Class – August 24-25th 2021

by

I’m holding a virtual Intro to QGIS Class (Over Zoom) On August 24th and 25th 2021.

The class is 8 hours spread over 2 days and covers:

  • Interface
  • Editing
  • Data and symbology
  • Layouts

If you’ve considered adding This open source GIS Desktop to your software stack or replacing existing software this is a good introduction. This is also the lead-in class to the QGIS: Tools and Processing class.

  • Class is limited to 10 total participants
  • Cost is $175
  • Registration is here!
  • Class will be using QGIS 3.16 or QGIS 3.20

This class also benefits the Community. When you take it you receive a certificate from the QGIS Community and approximately 25 dollars flows back to help improve the software.

Also – if you’re part of a non-profit and can’t swing the fee – give me a shout.

QGIS Tools and Processing

by

It’s ready….mostly.

The first class will be held August 31-Sept 2nd from 12 to 4 EST (12 hours). Cost is $200 dollars and you get a certificate from the QGIS Organization (so part of the money flows back to QGIS). This is an introductory price because the first class out of the gate will be a bit exciting.

Registration: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/qgis-tools-and-processing-tickets-164362441487

Cost is $200 US

The Intro class covers 5ish basic things about QGIS: Interface, Data, Symbology, Editing, and Layouts. The whole goal is you aren’t scared of QGIS and stand a good chance at making a map at the end. You might even see a reason to use Geopackage OR you’re able to pull in some ESRI File Based Geodatabases. Easy Simple.

This one gets more complicated. We cover: Field Calculator, Processing tools, Models, Editing, Forms, and SQL/Virtual Layers. There is a good chance that by the end of August it will contain a section on Layouts. Right now I’m at 12 hours (so this class will be three 4 hour days) but you may end up with 16 hours worth of material.

The assumption is walking into the class you know:

  • Something about Geopackages and data formats in general (You could run this all with Shapefiles or Spatialite – but I’m running with Geopackages for now).
  • Are very familiar with the QGIS Interface
  • Aren’t scared of typing (but I’m giving you the option of copying and pasting code to cut down on confusion)
  • Projections aren’t scary
  • You can symbolize data

If you don’t please take the Intro class – Trust me you’ll have fun.

Essentially you are comfortable with QGIS and you aren’t someone developing plugins or programming QGIS. If you are doing that – you’re good unless you just want to take the class for fun.

The Goal of the Class:

  • Take a hard look at Field Calculator and look at Expressions and Functions.
  • Look at processing tools and building models.
  • We take a look at editing and setting up fields and how field calculator plays a role in this. We also look at data cleanup.
  • Forms come into play and you can set up small tools to help you create and more easily maintain data.
  • We end with virtual layers and dig into SQL
  • **Maybe Layouts and Atlas. Maybe.

What happens next? All good things come in 3s – so there is one more class in the works and it will probably be connecting QGIS up to PostGIS. There is also a good chance there will be a series of small one day classes centered around a few topics I get asked about frequently – like mobile data collection and data cleanup. Maybe. That’s a lot of training and I need to start making some plans on that end. I’m still working with clients and I can’t bog myself down in a ton of training.

Oh no he’s talking about training again

by

I’ve been debating shaking up the blog portion of the website for a bit. I start writing and then go “What’s the point” and I’m sitting on a half dozen technical/non-technical things I’ve been working on. So anyway – where to start for this one.

So the Virtual training seems to be working. I teach the first one his month (actually just finished), the next one in April and after that I’ll know what is working and what doesn’t. There have been a never ending stream of emails from people on ranging from “I want to take an advanced class” to “Introduction is too simple” and “what are your plans for something harder”. To which I have asked “What do you consider harder?” and the answer is always “Not Introduction”. So I got that going for me which is nice.

There is another class coming. Actually when I had made all the arrangements to teach in a classroom setting – the class had turned into a 2 day event with the possibility of a third happening. Way back when I was an ESRI instructor it seemed like Intro to Desktop was 2 or 3 days, Intermediate was 2 days, and Advanced was two days. Which I have no plans on doing for 7 or 8 days – BUT – the second class is proving problematic as I’m sitting on about 19 hours of information which is about over 2 full days and almost Five 4 hour days virtually. What to do……..

The thought is currently to call this QGIS: Tools and Processing. Which means I get to cover Processing Tools, Modeler, Editing, and Forms. The problem with that is currently that looks like 10 to 12 hours of “stuff” and I’d like to keep this at 8. Maybe I can’t. Maybe it turns into 3 days which are 4 hours long.

Which in my fever driven fantasies about training that gives me an:

  • Introduction covering the basics
  • The Intermediate part where we are building models and exposing editing tools like forms.
  • Advanced…………

Advanced would end up being PostGIS being brought into the mix with QGIS. So end it on an Enterprise worthy note. Your organization needs multiple editors and a data repository and the normal directory structure isn’t cutting it so you would want this class. Of course this doesn’t cover:

  • Reports/Atlas
  • Time manager
  • LIDAR
  • Stupid amounts of Symbology like the Geometry Generator.

Those 4 things don’t suck up much of my life. They are important though….so Decisions. I don’t want to turn this into a training business which is a problem I worry about. I like working with data and clients. I also don’t want a repeat of 2020 where I realize how fragile my business is against a very small germ.

Anyway – more on training later….