Workforce Training

Introduction to the geodesy course

  What is a projection?  Can I really wreck a data set with a transformation?  What is RMSE?  How can I bring PLSS data into GIS?  

  During our 40+ years of consulting in the international GIS community, we found that we had to frequently answer the same questions.  This led us to develop a course in Geodesy that answers those questions.  Whether you are a beginner or advanced GIS user, this will benefit you, at your level.  Over 3000 people have already taken the course.  

  This course is available in two formats: 

(1) Individual training during live web sessions, or

(2) On-site personnel training. 

  For the first format, a series of training sessions is announced frequently here:  

https://www.geocounsel.com/services/training/ .  For the on-site personnel training, we are ready to come to your offices and offer one or two-day sessions that are tailored to your business.  Please contact us to discuss your needs. 

  In any case, we rely on our collection of over 1,500 technical and business slides to provide very valuable information that is not available elsewhere.  A solid mix of practical, business, and academic detail is the basis of all of our courses.  This course does not contain sales pitches.  

  This is a practical course that creates a link between academic topics and operational know-how.  For example, if no-one has ever explained transformations, least squares, and datums to you, then you have come to the right place.   

  This course is intended for busy people, and therfore there are no exams or grades.  However, certificates are issued.  

  This course is given as a series of 15 live and interactive web sessions lasting about 1 to 1.5 hours.  The schedules are arranged with the students, and some flexibility is built in so that some classes missed can be made up, and some conflicts managed.  

 Syllabus 

  For a complete copurse description, please open the document at the bottom of this page.    

  The first group of sessions three sessions covers the following.  It reviews basic trig functions, bearings, azimuths, relevant types of coordinate systems, and transformations.  Included is an introduction to least squares adjustment, something that most instructors are unable to cover, but that is very relevant in database operations, GIS, etc., because you can actually deform a million-dollar database.  It is provided because the rest of the course depends on this information. 

   The second group of 4 sessions covers the basic geodesy concepts.  It covers the standard geodetic georeferences that are used in mapping, surveying and GIS with sufficient detail that you gain an understanding of how they work, and what can go wrong.  This travel through topics like gravity, geoids, ellipsoids, GPS and datums is interesting and adds to your professional judgment.  It also covers precision and accuracy, like RMSE and sigmas, in a practical-to-apply manner.  This is a carefully assembled track that will enrich everyone, regardless of your knowledge level.  

   The third group of 2 sessions covers projections, as used for State Plane Coordinate Systems (Polyconic, TM, and UTM), topics not often carefully explained.  An academic approach normally does not cover the practical aspects, and a GIS operator's perspective normally does not include the all-important academic detail.  This track provides both.  

   This fourt group of 3 sessions covers horizontal and vertical datums that fix the position of maps and GIS databases.  Included is the Public Land Survey System (or American Rectangular System), which is the basis for sections and townships, and which therefore affects CAD work that deals with land parcels.  

  The fifth group covers the sciences that are used to create map detail.  Photogrammetry, long used for the USGS Quad Sheets (or Quadrangle Maps), has advanced significantly in the last 10 years, and this track covers the modern concepts that are implemented in production software, such as block adjustments, epipolar geometry, orthorectification, autocorrelation, and camera calibration.  LiDAR is also covered.   

Price

  The cost of this course is $495 / student.  This translates to $33 / session.  Due to this low price, a minimum of four students need to sign up for the course to be scheduled.  We will gladly discuss prices for on-site training with you.  We can also tailor training to specific topics your workforce may need.  

For the live web course you will need:  

• A computer with a good web connection
• A headset with microphone 
• A session handout for note-taking will be provided to attendees