FINAL ASSIGNMENT: Phase iii – Project Completion and Presentation

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 5th).

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, 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 will 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.

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-R and the main page should be saved as index.html. And you should test it somewhere else to make sure it still works.

PRESENTATIONS: 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 commands) of how they used ArcGIS to complete the project, and ample graphics to demonstrate it. Our digital projection system will be available, so you will be able to use PowerPoint to create and display your presentations.

ALL teams will be expected to provide short (~5 minute) presentation showing their work.

EARLY DEADLINES: By April 16th your team should have acquired ALL of its coverages and should have performed all transformations (projections) that are necessary. By April 23rd 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 30th 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.

PROJECT DEADLINE: Must be handed in BY start of class on May 5th. 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 5th	minus 5 percent
Before 5pm on Tuesday, May 6th	minus 10 percent
Before 5pm Wednesday, May 7th	minus 20 percent
Before 5pm Thursday, May 8th	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 Teach2/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.

FINAL PRESENTATIONS: The final presentations will be made in class Monday May 5th, with a potential optional session on the evening of Sunday May 4th. Each team will present about 5 minutes. All presentations should use a PowerPoint file as their basis. This file can be turned in with the final project.