
New to GEOG 489?
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This website provides the primary instructional materials for the course. The Resources menu links to important supporting materials, while the Lessons menu links to the course lessons. Canvas, Penn State's course management system, is used to support the delivery of this course as well as to provide the primary communications, calendar, and submission tools for the course.

Quick Facts about GEOG 489
- Instructors:
Jan Oliver Wallgrün (Fall 2: September - December)
James O'Brien (Spring 1: January - March & Summer: May - July)
Jim Detwiler (other times) - Course Structure: Online, 20-30 hours per lesson for each of 4 lessons. The course runs for 10 weeks
- Overview: GEOG 489 is an elective for Penn State's Master of GIS. In GEOG 489, you will learn advanced applications of Python for developing and customizing GIS software, designing user interfaces, and solving complex geoprocessing tasks, on both proprietary and open source platforms. The course consists of readings, walkthroughs, projects, quizzes, and discussions about advanced GIS programming concepts and techniques, and a final term project. It complements the material covered in GEOG 485: GIS Programming and Software Development. Software covered in the course includes: Esri ArcGIS Pro/arcpy, Jupyter Notebook, Esri ArcGIS API for Python, QGIS, GDAL/OGR. Students will also make use of the Git version control software for code management and learn techniques for distributing Python applications to end users.
- Prerequisite: GEOG 485
This course is offered as part of the Open Educational Resources initiative of Penn State's John A. Dutton e-Education Institute. You are welcome to use and reuse materials that appear in this site (other than those copyrighted by others) subject to the licensing agreement linked to the bottom of this and every page.