Curious about spatial computing? Or more than curious?
This course from the University of Minnesota via Coursera delves into spatial computing for geographic information systems (GIS). Now that might seem heavy going but the course caters for three different goals of participants;
- Curiosity – learn about one or two spatial concepts of interest to you
- Concepts – learn about spatial concepts but not get involved in programming or statistics
- Technical – the lot!
Why might this course interest you?
If, like me, you use data from various sources then you will doubtless have run into issues ranging from data formats to co-ordinate systems to projections to …. So you might want more than a passing knowledge of what you are dealing with.
I am hopeful the Curiosity track will increase my knowledge of co-ordinate systems and projections so I can bother Russell Rigby a little less. And if I can get through at least some of the Concepts track maybe I will further broaden my knowledge of ESRI Shape files and the like as I use them in nearly every map I produce.
This course introduces concepts, algorithms, programming, theory and design of spatial computing technologies such as global positioning systems (GPS), Google Maps, location-based services and geographic information systems. Learn how to collect, analyze, and visualize your own spatial datasets while avoiding common pitfalls and building better location-aware technologies.
Best of all…
It is free unless you specifically want a certificate of attainment.
You will find out that egocentric maps exist but they are not necessarily your maps 🙂 And did you know orienteering maps are allocentric?
Sign up here. But be warned, it does take a fair bit of time and commitment. 8 weeks of 4-10 hours per week. However I understand you have until Christmas to complete it.