GIS Basics

GIS stands for “Geographic Information Systems” and can be described as the combination of the 5 components shown in the diagram below:

People can use GIS software, such as ArcGIS or QGIS, to manage and store geospatial data, create custom maps, or conduct a multitude of spatial analyses.

For more information about GIS, please see these resources:

My GIS Education

GIS Certificate – Algonquin College

I learned about Geographic Information Systems (GIS) while doing a graduate certificate in GIS at Algonquin College (2009-2010). During this one-year, hands-on program, I completed 15 GIS-related courses.

It was in this one year that I developed a strong foundation in all-things GIS. This included also learning about remote sensing (e.g. satellite imagery), programming (e.g. Python), and database management (e.g. PostgreSQL). We learned by doing and would spend several hours each day simply using the software (ArcGIS) and becoming familiarized with the interface and all its functions. 

Select works:

MIS – uOttawa (Example 1)

Throughout my MIS program, I tried to incorporate some elements of GIS when I could. 

In one project for Principes de gestion pour le professionnel d’information (ISI 5705), I worked on a group project where we had to come up with a proposal to improve the Canadian Museum of History’s website. After thinking of a few different options, we finally settled on creating an interactive web map to provide an alternate way for the public to search through their collection of artifacts. 

Here are the slides for this project: Projet d’amélioration des services virtuels – Carte intéractive 

And here is the sample interactive map that I created for the project (): 

MIS – UOTTAWA (EXAMPLE 2)

For my Learning and Instruction (ISI 6371) class, we were asked to develop a 30-minute lesson plan for a target audience of our choice. We also learned how to customize our instruction to our audience using the USER method (Understand/Structure/Engage/Reflect), and we also produced a supporting lesson plan for someone else to be able to deliver the same instruction. I decided to deliver a lesson on how to create a basic Web map using ArcGIS Online and my target audience was first-year graduate students. 

To view the presentation, see here:

USER template: Creating a Web Map in ArcGIS Online – USER template

Lesson plan: Creating a Web Map in ArcGIS Online – Lesson plan

My GIS at Work

GIS Analyst – Agriculture Canada

After completing my GIS certificate, I worked as a GIS Analyst at Agriculture Canada. Here, the major project I worked on was updating the Soil Landscapes of Canada (SLC) dataset. To find out more about this project, see: Soil Landscapes of Canada Project.

GIS Analyst – Fisheries and Oceans Canada

During my time at Fisheries and Oceans Canada (2012-2014), I worked on a wide variety of projects. In this job, my primary responsibilities included organizing my branch’s geospatial data collection, developing high quality maps to support decision making, and supporting GIS work for a variety of ongoing projects. Unfortunately, the work that was done in this role involved working with data that were not available to the public, which limits what I can share here. Needless to say, I produced hundreds of maps and learned a lot about cartography, creating maps for non-GIS users, and how to use Python code to streamline map-making. 

Data Analyst – uOttawa Library

While working as Data Analyst at the uOttawa Library, I regularly supported users with GIS-related projects and offered numerous GIS-related workshops.

Here are a few workshops that I designed:

Here are samples of Web maps I created: