FINAL ASSIGNMENT: Phase iii –
Project Completion and Presentation
Environmental Resources 372:362
Intermediate Environmental Geomatics
PHASE iii
The final projects will be due on the last day of
class (Monday, May 4th).
REPORTS: TWO (2) copies of the final report must be submitted by each team. One
will be marked up and returned. The other will become the property of CRSSA.
The report should be prepared in a professional manner -- spelling and grammar
should reflect the senior/grad level of this course, all graphics should be
easy to understand, and printing, photocopying and stapling/binding should be
sharp. Each report should be of sufficient quality to present to a potential
employer and should include:
- A Cover Page -- The cover should incorporate the
names of all team members, a title for the project, and some sort of
graphic that provides at least some hint or representation of the primary
content of the report.
- An Executive Summary -- The report should begin
with a 2-3 paragraph summary of what is in the report.
- Written Content -- The primary written content of
the report should be a section of no more than 10 pages explaining the
problem addressed, the methods used, the results found, and the greater
implications or significance of the project.
- Graphic Content -- Each report must include a
minimum of two black-and-white, 8.5" x 11" maps produced during
the project. The report must also include at least two 8.5" x
11" color maps. These should be well-composed, well-labeled
illustrations.
- Command List -- At some point in your document
you must include an appendix or table detailing the technical steps you
took, more or less in order. While this does not need to include every
zoom and pan, it should show all of the major alterations to data that you
have made. There should be enough detail that one of your classmates (with
a decent knowledge of the basics) could recreate your project.
- Data Dictionary (mini-metadata) -- At some point
in your document you must include an appendix or table detailing the data
layers you started with and where they came from, as well as your final
product files.
- Analysis Diagram -- At some point in your
document you must include brief summary of your analysis using a diagram
to show the basic steps.
- Metadata: Your team should also submit a robust metadata file for one of the spatial data sets that you have created. It should be in FGDC Classic format and complaint with the FGDC standards. You should include a printout of the metadata at the end of your report.
FINAL PRESENTATIONS: The final presentations will be made in class on Monday,
May 4th. ALL teams are be expected to provide short (~5
minute) presentation showing their work.
)
The final presentations should include a BRIEF and simple description of the real world problem (I know that most of our grad students could do a full seminar on their topic -- they don't need to prove it), an explanation (including new tools/commands) of how you used ArcGIS to complete the project, and ample graphics to demonstrate it.
WEB PAGE: If you are making one, your web page(s) should more
or less be a copy of the BEST parts of your report, in particular your major
maps and your executive summary. It should be designed as an example of how GIS
works for both non-technicians and for GIS whizzes. Lengths should vary
dramatically. The web page(s) should be turned in on a CD or DVD and the main page
should be saved as index.html. And you should test it somewhere else to make
sure it still works.
EARLY DEADLINES: By April 16th your team should have already acquired ALL of
its data and should have performed all
transformations (projections) that are necessary. By April 22nd your team
should have performed all analysis that are required
for your particular project. Your team should also submit a robust metadata
file for one of the spatial data sets that you have created (FGDC Classic
format please). And, April 29th is your plotting/printing deadline.
How will these deadlines be enforced? After
the listed deadline dates, we will stop providing assistance on the particular
topics. That doesn't mean that you can't go back and fix analysis problems
after the deadline, but you should have worked through it at least once before
the deadline so you can get any help or comments from me during the day of the
deadline. We need to be stern about these deadlines so that we don't become an
enabler of your bad habits.
FINAL PROJECT DEADLINE: Must be handed in BY start of class on May 4th.
They will be accepted early. The late submission of assignments will result in
the lowering of the project grade. Late means any unexcused reason for turning
in the project after the deadline. Excused reasons include near-fatal car
accidents and deaths in the family. Unexcused reasons include (but are not
limited to) problems printing the final report, limited computer access over
the last weekend of the semester, data conversion crises, a teammate who missed
the 2:00 bus, a teammate who is flaky, and a teammate with a very hungry dog.
Remember, your inability to plan ahead is not our problem.
Late grading penalties will be calculated as
follows:
|
AFTER 2:25 on May 4th
|
minus 5 percent |
|
Before 5pm on Tuesday, May
5th
|
minus 10 percent |
|
Before 5pm Wednesday, May
6th
|
minus 20 percent |
|
Before 5pm Thursday, May
7th
|
minus 30 percent |
|
Before the final exam |
minus 50 percent |
Any later and there is no penalty left to
calculate because we simply will not accept it at all. This is for your own
good. It means that no one should be getting any temporary grades. It means
that you can focus on studying for the final.
DATA STORAGE: Keep your major data layers in a directory where we
can get to it later. If for some reason we need to see/copy it we will let you
know on/by the day of the final exam. Otherwise, all files and directories in
Teach/Intgeo and your home directories may be erased as soon as May 21st.
Special arrangements can be made if you ask Jim Trimble in advance. All of the computers in the lab have DVD
write capability, so if you want to burn your data to a DVD it won’t be a
problem.