11.520 : A Workshop on Geographic
Information Systems
11.188 : Urban Planning and Social Science Laboratory
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Fall 2008 SYLLABUS INSTRUCTORS Prof. Joseph Ferreira, Jr., MIT Room 9-532, jf@mit.edu Sue
Delaney, Room 9-530, x3-0779, sld@mit.edu MEETINGS Monday: Lab
prep and Lab exercises 2:00-5:00 PM in Room 37-312 Additional lab time (optional) is to be arranged after the first class (most likely on Friday). Wednesday: Lecture:
2:00- 3:30
PM in Room 14E-310 (no longer in 1-379) CREDITS Undergraduates
should enroll in 11.188; this subject will satisfy both the Department
and the Institute lab requirement. 11.520 is a full-semester graduate subject that earns 3-6-3 units
of H-level graduate credit. NOTE: The subjects 11.520 and 11.188 meet at the same
time with nearly identical content. GOALS This class
uses lab exercises and a workshop setting to help students develop an
in-depth understanding of the planning and public management uses of
geographic information systems. The goals are to help students: The
workshop teaches GIS techniques and basic database management at a
level that extends somewhat beyond the thematic mapping and data
manipulation skills included in the MCP core classes (viz. 11.204 and
11.220). Instead of focusing on one thematic map of a single variable,
students will focus on more open-ended planning questions that invite
spatial analysis but will PREREQUISITES The
prerequisites for the course are: REQUIREMENTS Students
will be expected to complete weekly lab exercises plus three homework
sets covering readings and basic GIS skills. Students will also
complete one in-class test and a small project of the student's
choosing that draws on the skills taught in the class. This project
will be presented to the class in an oral presentation and a brief
written report. The project should require about the same effort as one
of the homework sets. Due dates for these requirements are given in the
schedule below. The GIS exercises will use ArcGIS software on WinAthena
workstations. GRADING Lab
Exercises (collectively) 25% Three
Homework Sets (collectively) 30% In-Class,
Open-Book Test 20% Small
Project 20% Class
Participation 5% Please include your name and Athena
username on all assignments, tests, etc., including those
turned in electronically. We need this information to identify your
work easily. LATENESS POLICY Turning in
assignments promptly is important both for keeping current with the
subject matter, which is cumulative, and to keep all students on a
level playing field. Hence, we have adopted a strict policy
towards credit for assignments that are turned in late. We will consider
requests for extensions due to extenuating circumstances on a
case-by-case basis, but please do not count on such requests being
granted. Lab
exercises are typically due one week after the corresponding lab. A
late lab exercise will be accepted up until one week after the original
due date for a loss of one grade (e.g., a "check" becomes a
"check-minus"). After that, late assignments will receive no
credit and will not be accepted. Late
problem sets will have two points deducted for each day (weekends
and holidays count for a single day ) that it is turned in after the due date. Hence, a problem
set turned in three days late would lose 6 points. If it would have
earned 90 points if turned in on time, it would receive only 84 points
under these conditions. Regardless, after two weeks, no problem sets will be accepted
if the answers have been posted. Final
project write-ups are due on the last day of classes, Wednesday,
December 10. Write-ups turned in after Friday, December 12 will lose 5 points. No
project write-ups will be accepted after Monday, December15. TEXTS Texts
marked with an asterisk (*) will be held on reserve at Rotch Library. The books may
be purchased from online retailers such as borders.com, amazon.com, and barnesandnoble.com. They may
also be available from brick-and-mortar bookstores such as Quantum Books or various used book sites. SCHEDULE Lecture Wed., Sept. 3
Introduction to the Class and GIS; GIS
Principles & methods; Lab Mon., Sept. 8
Lab
1: ArcGIS Basics (intro to ArcGIS, paper output) Lecture Wed., Sept. 10
GIS
Principles & Methods, Coordinate Systems
Lab Mon.,
Sept. 15
Lab
2, 3
posted online: Thematic Mapping in ArcMap
(symbolization, exploratory vs. explanatory mapping)
and Database Operations
in ArcGIS (spatial selection, query selection,
tabular joins, spatial joins)
Homework Set 1
posted online Lecture Wed., Sept.17
GIS Data Models
and Relational Databases Holiday - no
lab (continue labs 2 and 3 from previous week) Lecture Wed., Sept. 24
Relational Databases
Lab Exercise 2 due Lab Mon., Sept. 29
Lab 4: Database Aggregation, SQL, and Charts Lab Exercise 3
due Lecture Wed., Oct.1
Making Sense
of the Census Lab
Mon., Oct.
Lab 5: Working
with 2000 Census Data & MIT Geodata Repository
Lab Exercise 4 due.
Lecture Wed., Oct. 8
Spatial Analysis
(Vector Analysis).
Mon., Oct. 13 NO LAB (Columbus
Day Holiday) Lecture Wed., Oct. 15
Spatial Data
Models and Spatial Analysis II (Raster)
Lab Mon., Oct 20
Lab 6: Vector Spatial Analysis (buffers, polygon overlay, area allocation, using ArcTools)
Lab
Exercise 5 due
Lecture
Wed., Oct. 22
Advanced Raster Operations, and Model Builder
Lab Mon., Oct
27 Lab 7: Raster Spatial Analysis (Interpolation, Raster Operations, Spatial Analyst) and Model Builder Lecture Wed., Oct. 29
Intro to Web
Services
Lab Mon.,
Nov.3
Lab 8: Introduction
to Web Services
Lecture Wed., Nov. 5
GIS Data Creation & Conversion Lab Mon., Nov.
10 NO LAB (Veteran's
Day Holiday ): start project + catch up on labs/homework Wed., Nov.
12
Intro to network Analysis and Interoperable Web Services Project Proposal Feedback
Homework Set 3, Part I due by 5 PM on Friday, Nov. 14, via Stellar Mon., Nov.
17
Test
(in class, open book) Wed., Nov.
19
Project
Work Mon., Nov.
24
Project Work Homework Set 3, Part II due Reading: Wed., Nov.
26 Tips on Project Presentation and Writeup, plus Project
Work Mon.,
Dec. 1 Project Work + Project Title and Abstract due Wed.,
Dec. 3 Project Work Mon., Dec.
8
Brief
Project Presentations Wed., Dec. 10
Terrain Models, 3D & Course Wrapup Project
Write-up due Last modified on 3 September 2008
[jf] Back to the CRN Home Page.
Please send comments about this page to the 11.520/11.188 class staff
<11.520staff@mit.edu>.
Office
hours : Tuesday 2:30 - 4 &
Thursday 10:30 - noon
Yi Zhu , Teaching Assistant,
zhuyi@mit.edu
Office hours
: TBACOURSE ADMINISTRATION
The class staff collectively can be reached via e-mail at 11.520staff@mit.edu.
[Lab prep and start of exercise are the key parts. Students can leave for other classes beginning at 3:30 or 4 and finish the exercises later on their own.]
Graduate students should enroll in 11.520.
11.188 is a full-semester undergraduate subject
covering the same material as 11.520 that earns 3-6-3 units
of undergraduate credit.
WinAthena Introduction
(required for students who did not do CRN computing orientation).
Homework Set 2 distributed