Series: Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

Thursday, March 27, 2025 from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm

The workshops below are offered in person in Computer Lab 103 in the MacOdrum Library with a maximum attendance of 15. Register here.

Thursday, January 16, 1-3pm
If you’re thinking about using GIS (geographic information systems) in your research but aren’t sure where or how to start, this workshop is for you. We won’t be working in any GIS software but we will introduce GIS and spatial analysis concepts with examples, categories of data you may encounter, how to select a GIS software, and general tips for starting a GIS project. We want to help set you up for success and will leave plenty of time for questions.

Thursday, January 23, 1-3pm
Using Google My Maps is one of the quickest and easiest ways we know to create a dataset of locations, whether in Ottawa or anywhere around the world. Using the Google My Maps search engine you can find, save, create, annotate, and export collections of locations. You can also use Google My Maps to collaborate with colleagues to create datasets or sharable interactive online maps.

Thursday, January 30, 1-3pm
ArcGIS Online is an online mapping and spatial analysis platform that enables collecting, analyzing, sharing, and displaying spatial information. This hands-on workshop will walk you through common skills for working with data in ArcGIS Online and how to make an interactive web map with custom pop-ups.

Thursday, February 6, 1-3pm
Create a professional-looking website with (or without!) an online map using ArcGIS StoryMaps. This hands-on workshop will include tips for creating a story map, copyright considerations, pros and cons of Express Maps, possibilities with StoryMap Collections, and more.

Thursday, February 13, 1-3pm
This workshop provides an introduction to ArcGIS Pro, Esri’s powerful desktop GIS application. Topics covered include navigating the user interface, managing geospatial data, working with and querying attribute tables, and conducting some basic geoprocessing tasks.

Thursday, March 6, 1-3pm
ArcGIS Field Maps is a mobile data collection app that makes it easy to capture accurate data. In this introductory workshop you will learn how to create feature layers to collect data (in ArcGIS Online), add layers to a web map, share maps and layers to a group, and access the map in Field Maps.
Pre-requisite: Introduction to ArcGIS Online workshop and/or experience using ArcGIS Online

Thursday, March 13, 1-3pm
Building on concepts from the Introduction to ArcGIS Pro workshop, learn more about finding and analyzing geospatial data. Answer a research question by finding and downloading geospatial datasets, using shapefiles and a geodatabase, performing geoprocessing tasks, and creating a map layout with essential cartographic elements.
Pre-requisite: Introduction to ArcGIS Pro workshop and/or experience using ArcGIS Pro

Thursday, March 20, 1-3pm
Building on concepts from the Introduction to ArcGIS Pro workshop, learn more about working with raster datasets – air photos, elevation models, etc.
Pre-requisite: Introduction to ArcGIS Pro workshop and/or experience using ArcGIS Pro

Thursday, March 27, 1-3pm
QGIS is a free and open source alternative to commercial GIS software. The workshop will include an introduction to census data and GIS data manipulation and processing. Once complete, students will be able to navigate the user interface, manage geospatial data, work with attribute tables, conduct attribute and spatial joins, and clip datasets.
Pre-requisite: Familiarity and experience with GIS data and software as we will not be reviewing basic concepts in this workshop