Lesson 9/10 is two weeks in length. Please refer to the Calendar in ANGEL for specific time frames and due dates. To finish this lesson, you must complete the actvities listed below. You may find it useful to print this page first so that you can follow along with the directions.

A. Present the Final Project in Your Portfolio
(or in a Cumulative Document if Access is restriced)

Your portfolio is a very valuable showcase for the work you've completed in this entire program. Approach the presentation of this project as if it will be viewed by a potential employer who is looking to hire a GIS Director for her organization. The presentation should highlight your resourcefulness when it comes to starting a new GIS project.

Some things you should include:

1. Include a summary of your project idea. This should provide enough information to someone who is looking at your project for the first time. Why did you pick this project? Did you start off with another scenario and then change? If so, why?
2. Discuss the challenges you faced with the project. e.g. Were there too many data? Were data scarce? Were you able to find contacts who provided good information? Were you able to find metadata?
3. Document the process you followed to complete the assigned course objectives. You should have been keeping a log of the steps you've taken throughout the course. You've done a lot of work; show that off here. What goes into taking on a data assessment/acquisition project?
4. Create maps showing the data you acquired and provide captions.
5. List at least five things you learned as a result of taking on this data acquisition and integration project. Were you successful? If so, why? How do you define success? If not, why? What should you have done differently? What advice would you give someone else starting a similar project?

Some things you might want to include:

1. How did you identify contacts?
2. What questions did you ask? What additional questions would you ask if you were to do it all again?
3. How hard was it to track down data?
4. Do organizations in your area communicate about existing GIS data or future GIS needs? Are there data duplication problems?
5. Did you encounter any issues with data integration? How do you feel about the progress of interoperability - data or software?
6. Did you identify a need for additional data in your area? If yes, can those data be acquired with GPS? What grade of receiver would be necessary?
7. How was the process of publishing your data? Do you foresee more and more users publishing their own data to a site like geodata.gov?

B. (Optional) Upload Data to a Web Portal

1. Many of your projects will have useful and important data for the public, so you might like to share it -- extra credit if you do.
2. By now you should have already registered with geodata.gov. Log in to that site.
3. Click Publish a New Record.
4. You can choose to complete the online metadata form or to upload a metadata file. If you complete the online metadata form, you can upload your data directly to the site instead of only providing the metadata for your data. Be sure to provide complete metadata, as the publishing process will be made much faster.

   NOTE  The review process can take up to 24 hours, so please try to publish your data a couple days before the end of the course.

C. Deliverables

This module is two weeks in length. Please refer to the course Calendar tab in ANGEL for the due date.

1. Readings:

Required:

• "The Spatial Web" [1]
  An Open GIS Consortium (OGC) White Paper about data production and sharing via the web. (Click on the link to "The Spatial Web" from the list of White Papers.)

Recommended:

• How to Publish Your Data on GEODATA.GOV [2]
  Answers to common questions about publishing data on geodata.gov. (On the left frame under "About This Site," click on the link to "How to find the maps & data you need and how to publish your data here." Read the "How to Publish Your Data on geodata.gov" and the "Frequently Asked Questions" sections.)

2. Post your final project presentation, including:

• Summary of your project idea;
• A discussion about the challenges you faced throughout the course;
• Documentation or workflow of the process you followed to complete the assigned course objectives;
• Maps showing data you acquired from local sources, clearinghouses, and GPS (be sure to include descriptions of each map);
• List of things (at least five) you've learned as a result of taking on this data acquisition and integration project.

3. Discuss the weekly topics on the discussion forum.

4. End of Course Evaluation [3].
From: Janet May, Associate Director for World Campus Evaluation
Penn State's College of Earth and Mineral Sciences and the World Campus are dedicated to offering educational programs that best meet the educational needs of our learners. Your feedback is important for improving Penn State online courses and services. We are requesting that you submit an end-of-course evaluation for the course you are currently completing.

That's it for Part I and the Final Project!

You have just completed module 9/10.

Don't forget...if you have any questions, feel free to post them to the Lesson 9/10 Discussion Forum.