Hotel Accomodations
The conference is being held at Tan-Tar-A Resort and Spa in Osage Beach, Missouri. The rate is $72.00 plus applicable taxes for 1-4 people. Please make your reservation directly with Tan-Tar-A. For details on accommodations and reservations, call 1-800-826-8272 or 573-348-3131. There are still rooms available in the room block. Be sure to mention that you are attending the Missouri GIS Conference to receive the discounted group rate. Note!! The room block ends January 18th. Please make your hotel reservations quickly to take advantage of the conference rates!
Sponsors
Missouri GIS Advisory Committee
Missouri Spatial Data Information Service
Missouri State Geographic Information Office
Contacts
Presentation Submissions
Colin Duewell 573-522-8465
Poster Submissions
Liz Cook 573-876-9396
Exhibitor Information
Jim LaScala 816-305-2808
Conference Chair
Tony Spicci 573-882-9909x3295
Workshops
The 2009 Missouri GIS Conference workshops are taking form with many exciting and informative workshops being offered. Once again we have a strong list of instructors that are already hard at work developing timely and relevant materials that will aid you in your current or future job. For those just beginning in GIS we are developing a suite of courses that will start right at the beginning with an abbreviated “Getting Started with GIS” course offered by ESRI, followed with the “Intro to GIS” course, through “Intro to Geodatabases”.
For the more advanced GIS professional we are also offering many courses of interest, everything from “Advanced Geodatabases”, “Customizing ArcGIS”, to “Whats new in Arc GIS 9.3”, and “Model Builder”.
For those of you needing to learn more about specialized applications we have “Python for GIS”, “Creating Map Books and Using Inset Map Tools”, and for the first time, “Processing and Managing LiDAR Data, A Hands-on Workshop”.
Don’t see what you are interested in? Send an email with your suggestion to rfox@usgs.gov and if an instructor can be found we will offer it.
Schedule
Monday
Lab: Getting Started with GIS
Stacy Priest, ESRI
In this workshop we will be providing a foundation for understanding what a GIS is and the possibilities it offers for discovering patterns, relationships and trend in data. We will learn the basic function of a GIS, the properties of a GIS map, the importance of a GIS database, and explore coordinate systems and projections. We will be using ArcGIS software to visualize data, query a database, and use common spatial analysis tools. This workshop is for those with no GIS background or experience, those who are new to GIS and ArcGIS software. Knowledge of windows based applications for file management and browsing required.
Intro to ArcGIS Server
Tim Hensley, ESRI
This technical full day workshop will provide a more detailed understanding of how to successfully implement and manage ArcGIS Server. ESRI will provide a brief overview of ArcGIS Server technology followed by an implementation workflow that provides in-depth coverage on: server installation and configuration, creating and using ArcGIS web services, out of the box applications and templates, leveraging ArcGIS Explorer, creating and deploying ArcGIS Mobile applications, and best practices. Workshop participants will also receive a detailed guide to available ArcGIS Server resources. Prerequisites: Users should have a general understanding of the capabilities of ArcGIS Server technology, as well as a familiarity with ArcGIS Desktop, ArcSDE, and internet application server technology. (Technical/Advanced, Class)
What’s new in 9.3
Dan Haag, ESRI
In this half-day seminar we will discuss what is new in ArcGIS. Topics will include:- more efficient data management - making better maps - advanced planning and analysis; - easier dissemination of spatial information - improved mobility.
Lab: Intro to Geodatabases
Steve Marsh, Jackson Co
This half day short course introduces basic elements of a geodatabase: tables, annotation, feature classes, feature datasets and relationship classes. Participants will explore the geodatabase structure and properties in ArcCatalog, as well as geodatabases storage options and techniques to convert existing data into a geodatabases. Notes on changes to the geodatabases at 9.3 will also be discussed. This hands on short course is intended for those familiar with ArcGIS 9.X. (ArcView / Arc Editor / ArcInfo), those considering migrating or just getting started with the geodatabases data model.
Lab: Advanced Geodatabases
Aaron Addison, WUSTL
This half day short course will explore the advanced capabilities of the geodatabases data model, highlighting the concepts of spatial and attribute validation. Topics also covered will be relationship classes and options for storing annotation. Participants will get hands-on-experience creating subtypes and domains and creating and editing a geodatabases topology. This hands-on-short course is intended for those with ArcGIS 9.X experience and general familiarity with the geodatabases data model.
Web Mapping
Jason Warzinik, Boone County
This class will look at the requirements of implementing a Web based GIS for your organization. It will outline the necessary computer hardware and software needed to develop a Web based GIS and what security features should be in place to protect the data on your Web server. We will then look at the benefits and values of Web based mapping and how it has changed the fabric of how GIS data is utilized by many counties and cities on a daily basis. Web GIS gives you the ability to access your GIS data anytime, anywhere, through an internet browser with no additional GIS software required. Your GIS data can be distributed to everyone in your organization, giving you the ability to leverage your GIS investment. Web GIS gives you the ability to selectively share your GIS with outside agencies and the general public while maintaining a secure environment for your GIS.
Tuesday
Lab: Map Books
Jason Ebersole, MoDOT
This course introduces ArcGIS users to the Map Book Developers Sample and Detail Area Inset Tools, and the advanced cartography that they offer. This class shows how to use Map Book and Inset Tools to create advanced map projects such as city and corridor study atlases. Students are provided with instructions on the use of the software, in addition to copies of the tools. This class is intended for users who have a need to create series of maps (i.e. district atlases, corridor studies, etc.), complex maps involving insets. These tools are not intended for simple map production or replacing the multiple layout capabilities of ArcView 3.x. Topics covered include an overview, installation, creation and use of index grids, creation and use of strip/corridor maps, locator maps, inset maps, creation of feature indexes, title sheet creation, and printing/exporting. Students will be able to implement Map Book and Inset Tools, and have the ability to create/use index and strip grids for mapping. Attendees will also have the ability to determine what type of map book is appropriate for specific projects. Prerequisite: Students must have attended Introduction to ArcGIS 1 (or equivalent), or be an advanced user of ArcGIS (based on experience). Basic ArcGIS skills will not be covered.
Lab: ModelBuilder
David Drum, MOREnet
ModelBuilder is one of the most powerful—and yet most underused—tools in ArcGIS. The ModelBuilder environment introduces a new and exciting way to perform analysis and to automate workflows. ModelBuilder can help you maximize your time and energy by providing a rich environment that closely integrates GIS and process models. This workshop will help you learn how to create your own models that automate workflows or perform analysis. You will learn how to create and execute models with geoprocessing tools and data, as well as how to use the many features of the ModelBuilder environment to document and distribute your models so they can be used by others. The workshop will include instruction, hands-on computer experience, and useful strategies for creating and working with models with ArcGIS 9. Audience: This workshop is targeted to those familiar with ArcGIS, but new to ModelBuilder.
Wednesday
Lab: Introduction to GIS
Sean Hills, Villagis
Can’t get to an ESRI led class? Can’t get the funding? Here is an opportunity to get a cost effective one-day hands-on exposure to the ArcGIS software, covering many of the same topics as the full class.
Lab: Processing and Managing LiDAR Data - Hands-on Workshop
Elizabeth Cook, USDA-NRCS
This half-day workshop will begin with an overview of the technical basics of airborne LiDAR, followed by a series of discussions and exercises using a LiDAR dataset from Missouri.
The industry-standard binary LAS file format will be examined for return number, classification and intensity data and how these can be used for various applications. The exercises will also take you through the steps of using LAS files as mass points to produce digital surface and bare earth elevation models as even-spaced grids or triangulated irregular networks (TINs). The differences among these elevation models will be illustrated. Slope, aspect, hillshade relief and contour files will be derived from elevation models, and 3-D applications such as cross-section profiles and cut-and-fill estimating will be shown. Accuracies of the models, given the LiDAR specifications, and improving accuracies with breaklines will be included in the discussion.
LiDAR data files are large and process slowly, and derivatives are not a “one size fits all”. The workshop will conclude with some strategies for managing data files through tiling, compression, new data objects, and assessing the format needs of your user community.
Lab: Customizing ArcGIS
Josie Bock, Great Rivers Engineering
This hands-on half day short course is designed for GIS professionals that are regular users of ArcGIS software but are not programmers in the ArcGIS development environment. Participants will learn how to customize ArcGIS with little or no programming. In this course we will cover how to take advantage of useful commands that are packaged with the software but are not part of the interface in the out of box product. We will also explore how to take advantage of the wealth of information available over the web and how to incorporate tools found on the web in ArcGIS. The class will also have discussions over COM concepts and how to read the ArcObjects Object Model Diagrams which will be an excellent primer for those that eventually want to do custom development in ArcGIS.
Python for GIS
Leonard Barnhill, George Butler Associates, Inc. and Eric Foster, MoDOT
Python is an easy to learn, powerful programming language, installed by default with all versions of ArcGIS. It has a simple but effective approach to object-oriented programming. Python's elegant syntax, its interpreted nature, and its myriad of freely available modules, make it an ideal language for scripting and rapid application development in GIS. This introductory class does not attempt to be comprehensive and cover every feature, or even every commonly used feature. Instead, it introduces many of Python's key features and modules that make a valuable tool in a GIS environment. As an introductory class, it assumes no knowledge of any other programming languages. After participating in this introduction, you will be able to read and write useful Python scripts and programs, and you will be ready to learn more. Course materials will include a list of resources for those interested in future pursuit of Pythonistic knowledge. You will also walk away with several scripts, provided as demonstration and those written in class, to help automate some repetitive tasks in geoprocessing.
