About the course

This GIS course for beginners is designed to get you creating your own web maps and apps quickly. This is a hands on course with a focus on using the ArcGIS online software. Explore the curriculum below.

Course curriculum

  • 1

    Welcome to the course!

    • A message from your instructor..

    • How to use this course...

    • Before we begin...

    • Create an ArcGIS developer account

  • 2

    An introduction to GIS

    • A brief introduction to GIS

    • GIS on the web

    • Quiz - GIS concepts

  • 3

    Using ArcGIS online

    • The ArcGIS ecosystem

    • Getting the data - Practical

    • Navigating the interface - Practical

    • Simple Symbology - Practical

    • Attribute tables and popups - Practical

    • Challenge solution - Practical

    • Filtering data - Practical

    • Thematic mapping - Practical

    • Saving maps - Practical

    • Quiz - filtering data

  • 4

    Where can I find GIS data?

    • The Living Atlas of the World

    • Third party data - Practical

    • Optional activity - finding GIS data

  • 5

    Teaching resources

    • ArcGIS online for schools

  • 6

    Build a story map

    • Create your own story map

    • Optional activity - post your story map

  • 7

    Next steps...

    • Congrats! Here's what's next...

    • More resources for you...

    • Before you go...

Reviews

5 star rating

A great intro to ArcGIS

Josie Stuart

I really enjoyed this course. I thought it was a really good intro to using GIS software and understanding the basic functions of it. The lessons are present...

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I really enjoyed this course. I thought it was a really good intro to using GIS software and understanding the basic functions of it. The lessons are presented in really nice, small chunks so it's easy to work through and not at all daunting, especially if you're brand new to GIS like me.

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5 star rating

Clear and concise

Cheryl Duerden

Great presentation style, very interactive and useful links provided.

Great presentation style, very interactive and useful links provided.

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5 star rating

Great Intro into New Software

Helen Davies

I decided to take this course as I was interested in learning how to use ArcGIS but wasn't sure where to begin. I am familiar with QGIS but didn't want to ju...

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I decided to take this course as I was interested in learning how to use ArcGIS but wasn't sure where to begin. I am familiar with QGIS but didn't want to jump into a course and feel lost. I really enjoyed the pacing of this course. It built up the knowledge gradually but at the same time I felt like I learned a lot in each section. Sometimes with activities you can be tempted to just do the example and then move on however the activities set on this course were really enjoyable and encouraged you to explore the functions. Support wise, Oliver replied really quickly on the discussion forum when I came across any issues and I felt that no matter how trivial my question might seem, I felt comfortable asking him for help. If you're on the fence about joining this course I highly recommend just going for it.

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Instructor

Oliver Burdekin

Oliver has been training people to use GIS for over a decade. He began his GIS career in Central and South America working on conservation and ecology projects. He now resides in the UK and provides GIS training and consultancy through burdGIS. He also tutors for the University of Oxford.
Watch Intro Video

Course info