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.

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.