You will also find selected GIS workshop materials on OpenCourseWare.

Follow along with these video tutorials and hands-on exercises to learn how to read and interpret maps and data and use basic cartography principles to create maps that can be used in reports and presentations. Content includes video tutorials, hands-on demonstrations using QGIS or ArcGIS Pro and a final exercise to do on your own.

The tutorials are a pre-recorded, self-paced version of our GIS Level 1 workshop.

Download all materials from Dropbox before beginning the video tutorials and read the setup instructions for information on installing software.

January 2023

Learn how to read and interpret maps and data and use basic cartography principles to create maps that can be used in reports and presentations. After learning basics concepts, attendees will work through an exercise using ArcGIS Pro or QGIS.

January 2023

Expand your experience with desktop GIS software and learn how to use analysis tools to query data, conduct spatial statistics, and analyze vector and raster data using ArcGIS Pro or QGIS & Geoda.

January 2022

This presentation includes a brief overview of census data and links to both free resources and library databases you can use to query and download demographic data. While the workshop focuses on US data, it includes general search strategies for finding international data and includes links to library databases. We also mention resources you can use to map this data.

January 2021

You have probably seen countless election maps, but how do you interpret them? What are the best ways to represent election results? How can you make your own maps?

This workshop will explore different maps of election results, cover how to aquire US election data, and discuss best practices for creating your own map. We will demonstrate how to create maps using online tools available through MIT. The workshop is oriented toward those with no Geographic Information System (GIS) experience.

January 2020

Learn the basics of visualizing geographic information and creating your own maps in a Geographic Information System (GIS). We will introduce open source and proprietary mapping and GIS software options and let attendees choose to work through exercises using ESRI ArcGIS (proprietary) and/or Quantum GIS (QGIS) (open source). Learn how to read and interpret maps and data and use basic cartography principles to create maps that can be used in reports and presentations.

January 2020

Expand your experience with GIS software and learn how to create and edit GIS files, geocode addresses onto a map, re-project data, and use tools like Clip, Buffer, and Spatial Join. This workshop uses ArcMap.

January 2019

In this 5 hour workshop, you'll learn just enough Python scripting to work with it in ArcGIS. You will create a model, then export that model to Python and edit it.  Then you'll use the ArcPy mapping module to create and update map layers and content to produce customized maps that can be exported for presentations and reports. Whether you need to create 10 or 1000 maps, you'll learn how to save time by using Python.

January 2018

Are there clusters in your data? Are similar values grouped together? How are several pieces of data related? This workshop will introduce you to the spatial statistics techniques of point patterns analysis and spatial autocorrelation in both ArcMap and Geoda.

January 2018

Learn about important satellite remote sensing concepts. Then utilize the different image processing software we have available in the GIS Lab: ENVI (on computers 1 & 2) and ArcGIS (on all computers).

January 2018

Did you ever wonder where grocery stores are located in a city? Or perhaps biotech firms? We will learn how to query several business directories and then take that information one step further by creating customized maps and finding detailed information for specific companies.

January 2017

There are many websites and databases that include census and demographic data. How do you find them? Which is the best for your project? We’ll explore sources of US and international data and provide tips for finding additional datasets. For those interested in mapping, we’ll teach you the steps necessary for creating customized maps.

January 2017

Learn how to tell a story with your map by adding photographs and videos or creating a customized map viewer using a Web App. No coding required!

January 2016

Before you can start a research project, you need data! Learn about the different types of spatial data, resources for accessing it, and how to understand and organize it. At the end of this workshop you will be ready to work with spatial data. This workshop is appropriate for GIS users of all levels as well as those who intend to work with spatial data outside of GIS software.

January 2015

Many people use buffers in a GIS to estimate distances from a place or event, but buffers don’t allow for the fact that we usually travel on paths and roads, not as the crow flies. The Network Analyst extension in ArcGIS gives you the capability of creating buffers based on travel time or distance along roads and finding optimal routes using existing road networks. 

January 2015

Are there clusters in your data? Are similar values grouped together? How are several pieces of data related? This workshop will introduce you to the spatial statistics techniques of spatial autocorrelation and regression. We will use both ArcMap and Geoda.

January 2015

Where are the power plants and pipelines? How close are they to population centers? In this session, MIT GIS Services will introduce you to energy maps and spatial data available and demonstrate GIS in action on the energy front.

1/27/2014

Do you have a set of points that you measured on your trip?  You can’t measure a phenomenon at every point in your field area but you can estimate the values between your samples with various interpolation techniques.  We will cover Inverse Distance Weighting and Spline interpolations and talk a look at geostatistical techniques (Kriging).  Bring your own data if you have it.

1/30/2014

Learn about GIS tools for surface water analysis and modeling. Apply ArcGIS tools that pre-process data for HEC-RMS and pre- and post-process data for HEC-RAS model results.