Introduction to QGIS Course

Through a partnership with Valley Stewardship Network in Viroqua, WI, we had the opportunity to develop and teach the following Introduction to QGIS course. We did so in March and July of 2016.

The course materials are hosted in a GitHub repo, so anyone can use or contribute to them.

 

COURSE INTRO

The course consists of four two-hour, weekly sessions. You will need a laptop, and bringing a mouse is recommended though not required. We'll be using Quantum GIS, which is the best free and open source GIS software available. During the first session we'll be installing the software together, but it will be very helpful if you can download the correct installer ahead of time because it's about 375mb and we don't want to stress out our available bandwidth with a bunch of simultaneous downloads. See link below.

 

RESOURCES

QGIS download page: https://www.qgis.org/en/site/forusers/download.html#
    For this course we are using Version 2.14, and be sure to download the correct installer for your operating system.

 

GIS Packet for Class: Download

 

Documents:
    Glossary of GIS Terms this is an evolving google doc, so we can improve it throughout the class.
    Where to Find Geospatial Data this is an evolving google doc, so we can improve it throughout the class.

 

Further Learning Resources:
    Official QGIS Documentation it may be good to start with this section, which describes the interface
    Tutorials and Tips, links for videos near the bottom: www.qgistutorials.com

 

    WI County Projection Files: http://www.wisconsinview.org/research/projection_files/wisconsin_counties/

 

    Wild Projections: https://www.jasondavies.com/maps/transition/

 

    Google Maps Terms of Use: https://www.google.com/intl/ALL/help/terms_maps.html

 

COURSE OUTLINE

 

Day 1: Software Day

• General GIS overview

• General GIS software overview

• Hands-on activity

  • Install QGIS

  • Use prepared project to learn basic software navigation

• Materials:

  • slides

  • activity overview

  • QGIS Navigation Cheat Sheet

 

Day 2: Technical Stuff Day

• Data formats

• Coordinate Reference Systems (CRS)

• Hands-on activity

  • How does QGIS handle CRS?

  • Creating new shapefiles

• Materials:

  • slides

  • activity preparation

  • activity overview

 

Day 3: Data Day

• Who, what, and where of GIS data collection

• Metadata

• Hands-on activity

  • Using the NRCS Geospatial Data Gateway

  • Basic data import and styling in QGIS

• Materials:

  • slides

  • activity overview

  • Hydrology Datasets: Vernon County area extract from DNR WD 24k GeoDatabase

 

Day 4: Map Day

• General QGIS print compose overview

• Basic elements of a map

• Hands-on activity

  • How to use QGIS print compose

  • Create one or more PDFs with all basic map elements