44 GIS COMMUNITY NEWS New Training Offerings from Esri Cost-Effective Training Options for Organizations with Limited Travel Budgets Staying close to home but still need to learn how to use Esri software more effectively? Consider these training options to keep your GIS skills up-to-date: • • • • • • Instructor-Led Client-Site Training and Client Coaching Instructor-Led Remote Classroom Training Instructor-Led Virtual Classroom Training Virtual Campus Web-Based Training and Free Web Training Seminars Instructional Series Podcasts Esri Press Books Celebrate GIS Day November 18, 2009 GIS Day is just a few weeks away, but there’s still time to join this worldwide activity. Thousands of events will take place November 18 as GIS professionals, educators, and students share their knowledge to inform others about the many benefits of GIS and how it is used in our everyday lives. GIS Day events are held in just about every corner of the world, but another unique factor is the variety of events that are held. No event is too big or too small. To give you a little inspiration for planning your own event, here are two GIS Day celebrations that have already taken place. North Central Texas GIS Day—Collaboration Key to Successful Large-Scale Event As the saying goes, there is strength in numbers. Four organizations pooled their resources to hold a GIS Day event that reached more than 1,000 participants of all ages. Hosted by the Geospatial Information & Technology Association, North Central Texas Council of Governments, South Central Arc User Group, and University of North Texas, the purpose of the event was to render a greater awareness of what GIS means to local citizens, municipal leaders, and business and academic communities. A variety of activities helped inspire participation, including a GIS job fair, a Geography Wheel of Knowledge game, and a student poster competition. In addition, several Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex GIS firms demonstrated their use of GIS, and a map gallery showcased more than 50 maps from local users. “The event clearly demonstrated how multiple and diverse agencies can host a successful GIS Day for a group of participants with different interests,” states Robert Wachal, GIS administrator for the City of Highland Village. Learn more about these options at www.esri.com/taketraining. ArcGIS Data Interoperability The courses below introduce the ArcGIS Data Interoperability extension, which helps GIS and CAD professionals efficiently access, use, and share spatial datasets, regardless of format, structure, data model, and complexity. ArcGIS Data Interoperability Basics—Learn the fundamental concepts of data interoperability and the ArcGIS Data Interoperability extension. Virtual Campus Web Course (Free) Introduction to ArcGIS Data Interoperability Spatial ETL Tools—Receive an introduction to the spatial extraction, transformation, and loading (ETL) tools for data translation and schema mapping. Virtual Campus Web Course Data Transformation with ArcGIS Data Interoperability Spatial ETL Tools—Review the spatial ETL tools and discover how to use transformers inside these tools. Virtual Campus Web Course Advanced Format Translations with ArcGIS Data Interoperability Spatial ETL Tools—Find out how to choose settings and parameters to control data translations. Virtual Campus Web Course National College Iulia Hasdeu students, left to right: Ana Angel, Adrian Danciu, Stefan Stoiciu, Adrian Marton, Elena Mocean, Edward Comanici, Nicoleta Chiorean, Carmen Almasan, Florenta Bratu, Emilia Ion. Multiple Dataset Translations Using ArcGIS Data Interoperability—Discover how to select multiple datasets and set up translations with multiple formats. Virtual Campus Web Course Custom ArcGIS Data Interoperability Tools and Spatial ETL Best Practices—Explore best practices for spatial extraction, transformation, and loading, as well as how to create and use custom formats and transformers. Virtual Campus Web Course Desktop GIS Performing Analysis with ArcGIS Desktop—Learn a proven process for planning an analysis project and techniques for solving a variety of spatial problems. Instructor-Led Course Creating and Publishing Maps with ArcGIS—Apply a standard cartographic process to ensure your maps are easy to interpret and properly designed for their audience and delivery medium. Instructor-Led Course Server GIS Authoring and Serving ArcGIS Mobile Projects—Learn a recommended workflow for successfully creating and deploying an out-of-the-box ArcGIS Mobile project. Instructor-Led Course Building Web Maps Using the ArcGIS API for JavaScript—Find out how to create Web maps that are attractive, fast, and easy to use by their intended audience. Instructor-Led Course Introduction to Esri MapIt—Discover how to visualize and increase the value of your enterprise data for decision making and planning. Virtual Campus Web Training Seminar (Free) Getting Started with Map Templates—Learn the process of working with map templates to help you make professional-quality maps for print, the Web, and mobile applications. Virtual Campus Web Training Seminar (Free) Implementing ArcGIS Server Geoportal Extension—Learn how to use this solution (formerly GIS Portal Toolkit) to implement local, regional, national, and global spatial data infrastructure portals. Instructor-Led Course Offered by Esri Professional Services For More Information Esri Training Web Site: Esri Training Matters Blog: Instructional Series Podcasts: Follow Esri Training on Twitter: Esri Press Books: Subscribe to the Esri Course Catalog: Subscribe to the Esri Press Catalog: Subscribe to the Esri Training News E-newsletter: Subscribe to My Esri News: www.esri.com/training www.esri.com/trainingblog www.esri.com/podinstruct www.twitter.com/Esritraining www.esri.com/esripress www.esri.com/coursecat www.esri.com/epcatalog www.esri.com/edtrainingnews www.esri.com/myesrinews National College Iulia Hasdeu, Bucharest, Romania—Showing That Geography Matters to Society Under the guidance of Professor Elena Mocean and aided by ArcGIS Desktop, a group of K–12 students was introduced to the many ways that GIS technology is used to analyze conditions and improve society. The GIS Day activities focused on three issues impacted by a growing population: wind power, potential earthquake damage, and traffic congestion. One student wanted to answer a simple question: What is the wind power potential in Romania? The students used a published map that illustrated the number of hours per year in which wind speeds were above 4 meters per second (the minimum usable speed value). They then digitized the map and combined it with a map of restricted areas (buffers of different values for cities, airports, inhabited areas, national roads, railroads, electric grids, and flooded areas). Using these datasets, it was easy for students to calculate available wind power. Another student wanted to analyze the impact a major earthquake would have on Bucharest. Using a dataset of earthquakes that took place in 2000 and data provided by the National Institute of Research and Development for Earth Physics in Bucharest, the students identified the cities that could be damaged by an earthquake. Another student studied the impact on buildings in Bucharest if an earthquake of magnitude 6 or higher on the Richter scale were to occur. They found that 122 buildings housing more than 2,000 residents would have a significant chance of structural failure. Mocean took the students’ findings a step further and used GIS to make an interactive map of all the seismically challenged buildings and the shortest route to the closest hospital or school that could be used as temporary housing for the survivors. Traffic congestion is a major issue in Bucharest, the capital and largest city of Romania. Using some of the ArcGIS Desktop applications, students created routes designed to go around the city’s most crowded areas. The map was digitized and the street network created, streets were adequately marked, then the route was created using the ArcGIS Network Analyst toolset. Resources Abound Need more inspiration and ideas? Visit www.gisday.com to read other success stories, download activities and free materials, register your event, or ask us a question. No matter what the scale of your GIS Day event, it is just as important as any other and will make an impact. Join the GIS Day Discussion There are several ways to connect with others who are hosting GIS Day events this year: • Follow GIS_Day on Twitter. • Become a fan of the GIS Day page on Facebook. • Post a question or idea on the GIS Day Discussion Forum on the Esri Support Center (support.esri.com).