GIS Workshops: Spring 2006

I am really, really excited about the workshops we have lined up for next (Spring 2006) semester. Here are the three workshops that we have in mind:

1. Murder Mystery (See this earlier post)
• Of course this is a play on the hit TV show Numb3rs.
• I am planning a workshop early March 2006, in which I will lead all workshop participants through an exercise where we use GIS and spatial technologies to track down the cause of a series of fictitious mysterious deaths in Fort Worth.
  
  Here is how I plan to set this up. In mid to late January, I want to announce this event. Announcing the event will involve laying out some basic facts about the fictitious deaths. Then, I want to release more facts and maps of the area pinpointing locations each Wednesday during the month of February. Each week during the month of February, any UTA person may email their solution to the crime. Then, during the first week of March, anyone who has been following the mystery can come to the Library for a hands-on analysis of the fictitious crime details using GIS software to search for patterns using complex mathematical algorithms, thereby solving the crime. The person who solved the crime correctly during the month of February will win something, but of course only if they attend the workshop. (A possible solution that I have been tossing around is following the bus lines, but I do not think I will settle on something so simple.)
  
  I want to release these facts in the campus newspaper various Library publications. I think that I can get the campus newspaper to go along with this, as long as we have an enticing idea, which I believe this to be.


2. ArcGIS & the Google Maps API
• I plan on holding this in early April 2006. This workshop will be designed for ArcGIS users to learn how to use Google Maps as the front-end for their GIS applications. This is what we did for the Friday Night Hangout project.
• I plan on demonstrating how to download the API and how to export various feature classes into an XML format fit for Google Maps.


3. Where to Open a New Pizzeria in the DFW Metroplex?
This is one of the most popular workshop that I have held and repeat it at least once a year. More than any other, I receive requests from faculty to hold this exercise specifically for their classes. The exercise uses the ArcMap ModelBuilder to provide a form-driven suitability analysis. This is already complete, and you can download the exercise, complete with step-by-step instruction and intro power point here.
• This will be held between the Google Maps workshop and the end of the semester.