GIS Tutorial: Workbook for ArcView 9 [With CD-ROM and DVD ROM]

The GIS Tutorial Workbook for Arcview 9 is very helpful. You can learn at your own pace, granted it does take a while to learn (a few hours per section - including the exercises). Everything is layed out including side notes. I like how it says what to correct or how you can change back to the original settings, which makes this workbook a good future reference as well. The pages are not overcrowded, so you don't feel overwhelmed with information overload in one page. The material is spread out nicely and not too wordy. Compared to the online ERSI tutorials/modules, this book is really user-friendly, because the online ERSI tutorials/modules are very wordy and they give a lot of sale pitch language that I could do without. (It already takes a good deal of time to do the online tutorials; I don't need to be bogged down with rubbish introductions.) However, the GIS Tutorial Workbook gets right to the point, which I like. Thank you for such a comprehensive workbook! Yay!

This is a great publication for beginning GIS users. It goes through each ArcView function in a step by step process with visual aids for each step so you know you are on the right track. The tutorial CD is very helpful too.

If you want to learn GIS, this is the book for you. It teaches you how to use ArcGis and ArcMap very effectively. I have bought and used this book to learn GIS and by the end (about 3 months) I was very comfortable doing my own GIS analysis, without needing the book in front of me. The examples and tutorials in the book which guide you through the material, are easy to follow but challenge you to learn the material, which is the goal. The assignments at the end of each chapter reinforce what was taught in each chapter very well. They are very applicable and after completing all the assignments I consider myself very capable at using this complex program. I have tried to learn many programs from books and found that, although GIS is probably the most powerful and complex program i've tried to learn, this book teaches you better than any other. It makes it very easy to learn GIS and apply its powers. The CD provided is adequate to learn the program as well. The book also can serve as a reference when doing other GIS work, as key commands and concepts are well organized throughout the book and are easily referenced. I wish all other programs had a book which was this easy to use!

For a workbook for ArcView 9, Wilpen Gorr and Kristen Kurland's GIS Tutorial is the perfect item of choice. It pairs a 180-day trial version of ArcView 9 on CD-ROM and data with exercises which require learners to perfom basic GIS tasks without step-by-step instruction - requiring both thought and a real ability to understand ArcView rather than routine memorization. Students learn how to use ArcView 9 to create maps, collect, collate and analyze data, and more. Many a teacher will make this a course text.

I use this book (as a teacher) in a GIS class at a community college. It has that rare mix of step-by-step directions and challenging, thought provoking exercises. Each chapter starts with a tutorial that is well explained and thought out. Interspersed are "Your Turn" exercise that allow students to flex their muscles a bit. The directions are easy to follow, with color screen shots and explanations. At the end of each chapter is a set of 2 exercises. Students are given an assignment, provided with a few hints, and then need to use what they learned in the tutorial to complete the exercise. This allows students to do some thinking on their own, which many other ArcGIS software books neglect. In my years of experience as a teacher and from using this book in class, I can say that the exercises are what make this book stand out. The authors provide great support for teachers using this book. There is an instructor's CD with assignment answers and grading sheets. Included are 2 Case Studies that I assign as homework. They even provide slides for use in lectures! The authors have also been quick to respond to any questions, comments, or suggestions from me and my students. I would recommend this book to any instructor using ArcGIS. Unless you hate Pittsburgh (some of the exercises use Pittsburgh data) I think you will like this book.