In this economy, going to a technical training class is a luxury.  Most businesses and organizations have had to make deep cuts and travel budgets are among them.   This makes attending a traditional classroom training class pretty much impossible.  But technology does not stand still and that is especially true in the geospatial industry.  It is also true in the technical training industry. 

New online software makes it possible to attend live training events from the convenience of your own office so you can keep your skills up to date.  If you haven’t yet attended a webinar online, it’s as easy as putting on your headphones and opening your internet web browser.  Sometimes the audio portion of the presentation happens over the internet and sometimes it happens over the telephone.  Either way, you can see and hear the presentation and interact with the instructor. 

No doubt you might not be convinced that e-training is as good as traditional classroom training.  Believe me, I understand.  Many of my fellow instructors and I lament that something is lost with e-training.  The classroom camaraderie is missing.   You don’t get the chance to meet and network with other students.  And if you enjoy getting away from the office and taking a work-vacation every now and then, e-training offers no salvation.  

Yet e-training is emerging as an affordable and practical way to keep a workforce motivated and up to date.  Consider the following benefits that e-training offers. 

• E-training is cheaper to attend than traditional classroom training.
• No travel is required. No airport procedures or jet-lag to contend with.  No time away from home or the office.  No searching out a decent restaurant in an unfamiliar town.
• Training can happen at a reasonable pace.  Traditional classroom training is usually condensed to fill entire days at a stretch because it’s more cost-effective to do so.  But it can be really challenging – even when you have a good instructor – to sit in class for two or three days straight all day long.  E-training classes can be spread out into smaller chunks so that you’re learning one lesson a day instead of seven or eight.
• E-training classes are often recorded so you can watch and/or listen to them again after the class is over.  This helps you retain the information better.  Some e-training courses are available on CD so you watch the lessons you want over and over.
• No one can monopolize the class.   This can happen in a traditional classroom setting – one or two students demand the majority of the instructor’s time.  Not so with e-training. 
• You are free to do what you want when you want.  You can answer that important email from your boss, get up to use the restroom, go get a drink of water, or whatever you need to do without disrupting the class. 
• In many online training classes, you have direct communication with the instructor and other students via discussion periods, chat rooms, online polling and quizzes. 

Yes, it’s true that something is lost when you move training from the classroom to an online environment, but something else is gained — flexibility.   Professional training comes to you, directly to your computer at a price you can afford and without keeping you tied up in the classroom all day long.   It fits into your schedule and allows you to take training on your terms.  The feedback I’ve received from our e-training classes has shown me that e-training is all about the student.  And that’s exactly how it should be. 

Try one of our online training classes or training videos on CD – we have many to choose from.

 Collecting field data using GPS technology has never been easier.  The equipment is smaller and lighter.  Many modern GPS units are all-in-one handheld devices that combine the GPS antenna, receiver, and field computer into one device.  Color screens that operate by touch make navigating the field computer a breeze.  If the unit does not have a built-in digital camera, laser rangefinder, compass, or other device, then it probably has Bluetooth and/or WiFi to enable wireless communication with such peripheral devices.

 With so many field data collection devices on the market, it can be overwhelming to figure out which one is the best for you.  Here are some things to consider when shopping for GPS field equipment that will be used to collect GIS-ready data.

 1.  There is a difference between professional and recreational GPS units.  One is designed for a professional GIS-GPS workflow, the other for hiking, running, and fishing.  If you need high-accuracy GIS-ready field data that includes all attributes then recreational GPS units will not work for you.  Ditto if you want an easy workflow that will take you from office to field and back to office seamlessly.  Recreational GPS units simply are not designed for a GIS workflow.  Many organizations use them, however, because they are considerably cheaper than professional grade GPS.  What they save in money, however, they make up for in time and frustration. Using a recreational GPS unit in a GIS workflow adds a lot of extra work.

 2.  Field software options vary among different GPS units.  GPS manufacturers typically have their own field software that will work only on their units.  Some of these applications are excellent and others terrible.  Other field software, like ESRI’s ArcPad, work on any Windows Mobile device.  Know what field software options are available for the unit you are considering.  Make sure that the software can connect with the GPS receiver (many GPS manufacturers program their field software to not recognize a competitor’s GPS receiver). 

 3.  How easily does the office and field software communicate?  Assuming you’re using ArcGIS in the office, make sure you know the workflow for getting your GPS field data into your GIS.  Products like ArcPad make this very easy.  Toolbars in ArcMap allow you to check-out your GIS data for the GPS unit and then check-in your field edits.  GPS manufacturers often have their own proprietary field and office software.  This adds an extra step or two to get your field data into your GIS.

 4.  Wireless communication between your GPS unit and other field equipment.  Would you like to add digital photos of field assets to your GIS?  You can do this with the right field equipment.  Find out before you buy a GPS unit if it will communicate with a digital camera, laser rangefinder, or other devices you plan to use AND if you need additional software or hardware to do so.  You want wireless communication between the device and your GPS unit – cables are problematic for field data collection. 

 5.  Options for differentially correcting your GPS data vary.  Nearly all current GPS units are WAAS or SBAS capable which means your GPS data are differentially corrected in real-time.  SBAS provides a level of accuracy that is much better than autonomous GPS, but there are other methods of differential GPS than can do better than SBAS.  Ask if a GPS unit you’re considering support other methods that may be of interest to you.  If you plan to post-process your GPS data to obtain higher accuracy in your data, make sure you understand what is involved.  Usually you will need to purchase additional software.  Post-processing adds a level of complexity to your workflow that most GPS manufacturers and salespeople gloss over.  Be sure you get the facts straight before you buy.

 Our custom GIS/GPS courses are designed to help educate you so you can make smart choices about GPS and GIS equipment integration.  Our e-training course, Introduction to GPS Technology, is a great place to start.

This is a common scenario.  A new user is attempting to do some fairly complex GIS.  The workflow of using GPS and then integrating it with an existing GIS is riddled with potential pitfalls that can trip up experienced GIS professionals.  Newbies without proper training or oversight can wreak serious havoc on an existing GIS.  I am a huge supporter of GIS training.  It’s what prompted me to pursue a career at ESRI as an instructor and what keeps me participating in ESRI’s Authorized Training Program as an independent GIS trainer.

Spatial data is complex.  There are many different formats — shapefiles, geodatabase, CAD, and many more — each with its own unique behavior.  Spatial data has to be properly georeferenced.  If it is not – as is all too common with spatial data – you need to know how to asess the problem and which tools will solve it.   Some spatial formats can be edited, some cannot.  You can convert some formats directly to your desired format while others require a bit more maneuvering.  Then there is the information about the accuracy of the data, how and when the data were collected, usage restrictions, and so on.  Oh, and let’s not forget about how to share the data with others.   Do you send the shapefile’s SHP, the layer file’s LYR, the MXD, or the entire geodatabase?  A GIS  professional needs to understand all of these issues.  These are just a few of the nuts and bolts of GIS.

Add GPS data collection to the workflow and you introduce a whole new toolbox full of more nuts and bolts.  Avoiding datum shift, applying differential GPS in the field or back in the office, converting data formats from your GPS format to your GIS, and so on.  GPS makes it very easy to go out and collect data for your GIS and it has become extremely popular for organziations to purchase their own GPS equipment and collect their own field data.  It is seemingly much cheaper to do it in-house than to hire a contractor.  Whether or not that is the case depends entirely on the training and skill of both the GIS manager and the GPS field workers.  I see too many emails like the one above for me to believe that organizations who do not invest in proper GIS & GPS training are really saving money.  They are running the risk of generating a whole lot of error-ridden data.

I’ve been helping organizations integrate GPS and GIS for years and I’ve identified the common pitfalls the GIS professional faces.  I am adamant in my training about educating GIS users how to avoid these pitfalls.  My Working with Coordinate Systems in GIS and GPS training CD addresses the  number one pitfall.  You can view a sample of the course here and order it by emailing training@geomattix.com.

Background

My client has a Trimble GeoXH GPS unit on which they use ArcPad to collect field data.  I was contacted to help them clean up their GIS data.  In addition to maintaining GIS data, they also had several CAD files.  They wanted to consolidate all of the data into one efficient geodatabase.  I designed and created a new geodatabase for them and converted/imported the CAD data into it.  Among the CAD data were very detailed roads data that my client wanted to use as background data in ArcPad.  In CAD format, the roads were stored as lines and the road names were stored in a CAD annotation feature class.  When I converted the CAD data into the geodatabase format, two feature classes were created:  Roads – which contains the line data, and Roads_Annotation – a point feature class that contains the road names.  See the figure below.  

Raw CAD data and converted geodatabase objects

The raw CAD data as rendered in ArcMap

Roads_Annotation layer and labels as rendered in ArcMap

It would be nice to use the road names from the Roads_Annotation layer as labels in the Roads layer.  I could accomplish this by joining the two tables if only there were a key field.  Alas, there is not.

 There is an Import CAD Annotation tool available in ArcToolbox that will convert a CAD annotation feature class into a geodatabase annotation feature class.  The annotation will look exactly as it does in the raw CAD data.  I used this tool to create the Annotation_rds feature class that works great in ArcMap.   ArcPad, however, does not support annotation feature classes.

The Problem

My client wanted both the roads and the road names to appear in ArcPad.  With no other options, I needed to find a way to use the Roads_Annotation point feature class to label the roads properly. 

The Solution

Here’s how I made the Roads_Annotation point layer mimic the raw CAD annotation.  First, I symbolized the points so that they do not appear on the map.  I did this by choosing a basic ESRI point symbol that does not contain an outline, such as Circle 1, and then shrinking the size down to 7 points – any small size will work.  In the color palette selector, I chose “no color”, see below. 

Use the Symbol Selector to make the points invisible

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The effect is that the points do not appear even though the layer is turned on.

 Next, I needed to make the labels orient with the roads.  Upon inspection, I discovered that the Roads_Annotation feature class contains an attribute field called TxtAngle.  The values range between 0 and 90 and represent the orientation angle of the original CAD annotation.

The default behavior for labels of point features in ArcMap is for the labels to be placed horizontally at a designated location around the point.  This works for point data, but not for my line data.  Fortunately, the default behavior can be changed.  From the labels tab in the layer properties, I chose the option to place the labels at an angle specified by a field in the table.  This allows ArcMap to position the labels as they were originally designed in CAD, see below.

Use the label placement options to align the labels based on a designated field

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Voila!  I now have labeled roads, see below.  The label font, color, and size can be adjusted to match the CAD annotation, see below.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now when my client checks data out for use in ArcPad, the Roads and Roads_Annotation layers both can be checked out as reference data.  This is an easy way to provide a light-weight and detailed labeled roads layer in ArcPad.

GeoMattix is pleased to post our December, 2009 newsletter.  We are preparing to leave for a few weeks and wanted to take a moment to wish you happy holidays and to share a little of what we’ve been up to and what we’ll be doing this spring.  Enjoy!

Custom Training

Lots of Training – We’ve been doing a lot of training lately – all over the place!  Though certified training has not been as popular this year, custom training has been popular for topics ranging from getting started with GIS to advanced GPS techniques.  

AGIC GPS Workshop a Success

AGIC Conference – Thank you to all who stopped in at my ArcPad workshop at the AGIC conference in Tucson this November!  This year we taught a half-day Intro to ArcPad 8 workshop and used Trimble Juno units to collect GPS data with ArcPad.  The weather was great in Tucson and it was fun see everyone at the conference.

Michele Mattix to Teach GPS Course for ASU MAS-GIS Program

Arizona State University’s geography department has a 1 year Master’s of Advanced Study in GIS certificate program.  Students can keep their day job and attend night classes to learn about the latest in GIS.  GeoMattix’s Michele Mattix is a faculty member of the program and will be teaching a GPS course in late January for this year’s group.  For more information, visit http://geoplan.asu.edu/mas-gis.

GeoMattix goes to Greece 

I will be on vacation for honeymoon (we did it!) and holiday travel December 14 – January 5.  I will check email intermittently during this period but will not be available for phone consultation. 

Start planning for the spring conferences now! 

MicroComputers in Education Conference

MEC 2010 will be held in Tempe, Arizona, on the Arizona State University campus, March 15-17, 2010.   MEC 2010 is hosted by ASU’s Applied Learning Technologies Institute in partnership with The Arizona Department of Education.  GeoMattix will be there to offer a hands-on workshop on how to create a GeoTreasure Hunt.

Happening March 30-April 1, 2010 in San Jose, CA, Where 2.0 is one of the world’s foremost events dedicated to exploring the emerging technologies in the geospatial industry. At Where 2.0, you’ll discover the tools pushing the boundaries of the location frontier. Register now and save at http://en.oreilly.com/where2010.

May your holidays be joyous and your new year full of sweet surprises!