GIS 5935 – Special Topics in GIS - Student Spotlight

Module #4 - Building Networks

Lab 4 in our graduate level Special Topics course had students becoming familiar with the process of creating a functioning network for use in network analysis in GIS. After proceeding through Network Analyst tutorials that come with ArcGIS, students put their network building skills to work. They were provided with a general geodatabase and were asked to create a functioning network from the inputs.

In this spotlight we would like to recognize Michelle Felde. Michelle is completing her GIS graduate certificate from the Great Lakes State of Michigan. It has been great to have Michelle in the class! She is very active in the student discussion forums and helps to move the class forward with her thoughtful questions and responses. Below is an output map that Michelle produced as a part of her final route analysis. Follow her progress on her blog at http://mf34.blogspot.com/

GIS 4043L – Introduction to GIS Lab - Student Spotlight

Module 5:  Projections 1

Module 5's lab assignment provides introductory information about geodetic datums, ellipsoids, geoids, and common coordinate systems. Students were asked to compare different projections systems (UTM, State Plane and Albers) with counties in the state of Florida by comparing the areas of counties that are recorded based upon the different projection systems. 

The STUDENT SPOTLIGHT AWARD goes to... Haley McQueen!

Haley consistently produces excellent maps and has a very professional blog. Great Job, Haley! Keep up the great work!

GIS 4035 – Remote Sensing and Photo Interpretation - Student Spotlight

Module #4 - Ground Truthing and Accuracy

The BLOG postings for Module 4 illustrated that a number of students, including Sara Rehrer and Matt Griggs, had a high level of understanding of sampling design for ground truthing and accuracy assessments of Land Use Land Cover (LULC) images. However, we thought Melissa Thrush's BLOG posting was especially good.

The goal(s) for this BLOG post were:

• Construct an unbiased sampling system
• Locate and identify features using Google Maps street view
• Calculate the accuracy of a Land Use / Land Cover classification map

Mr. Brian Fulfrost, the instructor for this course states that he chose Melissa because her BLOG posting provides both an excellent overview of the the steps (and logic) one would take to choose a systematic sampling design as well as a good description of the accuracy assessment process itself and her final results. The BLOG also includes details about potential issues she identified in the accuracy assessment process - specifically the role that mixed land use/cover can have on accuracy. In addition to her knowledge of using ArcGIS to generate the sampling points and make her final map, she seamlessly used Google Maps street view to evaluate the Land Use Land Cover (LULC) at the sampling point locations she created. Melissa also correctly identified the role that taxonomic scale of the LULC classification (Level I, II, II, etc.) can have have not only on the level of detail but also the accuracy assessment itself. What impressed me the most was that Melissa's BLOG post also demonstrates her ability to learn and build off of techniques and concepts from previous modules - in this case the role that an inconsistent Minimum Mapping Unit (MMU) might have also had on her accuracy assessment. It is the ability to connect concepts and techniques from one module to another and then communicate that "lesson learned" that made Melissa's BLOG stand out. Her final map also does a very good job communicating her results - it is well designed and easy to read. Overall, Melissa's BLOG posting was very good!

Follow Melissa's progress at her student blog: http://melissathrush.blogspot.com