Esri Higher Education E-learning Guide for Imagery and Remote Sensing

CanserinaKurnia

Overview

Global imagery powers visibility into operations and opportunities. Drones, crewed aircraft, and satellites capture more imagery than ever, creating a near real-time picture of our entire planet. With imagery and GIS combined in a geospatial technology system, you can unpack more information from every pixel and transform static images into dynamic digital representations of our world. This guide provides e-learning resources on the latest tools and techniques for imagery and remote sensing utilizing ArcGIS technology.

This guide is for educators who want to use authoritative Esri web-based learning resources as part of college or university courses. Listed items are available as of July 01, 2026, through Esri Academy. This guide is expected to be updated annually. The information provided in this guide is subject to change without notice. New listings are shown in orange.

All items listed are web courses unless otherwise noted. For full descriptions use the links provided. The complete Esri Academy catalog can be found at esri.com/training/catalog. Please email [email protected] or call (800) 447-9778, ext. 5757 with questions about courses.

A learning plan is a set of learning content with a suggested order. You can create your own plan or copy and edit one that you find. You can assign your plan to students or colleagues and track their progress. See the Esri Academy Help page (Category: Learning Plans) for more information.

You and your students may be eligible for unlimited access to the entire collection of self-paced e-Learning (web courses, training seminars, and more) if your institution has a qualifying product with a current maintenance subscription. To determine if this applies to you, contact your Esri software license administrator, check online, or email [email protected].

Technology

ArcGIS foundation

The following resources cover foundational concepts and skills to give students a basic familiarity with ArcGIS Pro software. Some courses also use ArcGIS Online.

The free ArcGIS Pro Terminology Guide is recommended for all students of ArcGIS Pro.
GIS Basics: Presents fundamental components and capabilities of GIS and how ArcGIS can help organizations address business needs. (2 hrs., 35 mins.)
ArcGIS Pro Basics: Introduces tools to integrate, visualize, analyze, and share data. (50 mins.)
Integrating Data in ArcGIS Pro: Teaches basic skills to add various types of data to a file geodatabase to support a planned project. (1 hr., 15 mins.)
ArcGIS Online Basics: Presents basic ArcGIS Online terms and capabilities. (1 hr., 50 mins.)

Esri Tutorial

Get ready for deep learning in ArcGIS Pro (Esri Tutorial, 15 mins.)

Capabilities

Get started

Getting Started with Imagery and Remote Sensing: Provides a high-level overview of remote sensing and imagery concepts. Explores a wide range of imagery applications to prepare students for imagery analysis. (3 hrs., 20 mins.)
ArcGIS Online: Working with Imagery: Teaches how to get started with hosted imagery in ArcGIS Online. (3 hrs., 30 mins.)
Introduction to Lidar Data Using ArcGIS Pro: Introduces the basic concepts of lidar data, along with workflows in ArcGIS Pro to visualize, analyze, and create derivative products from lidar data. (2 hrs., 35 mins.)
The ArcGIS Imagery MOOC: Foundations and Frontiers: Introduces modern workflows to seamlessly combine imagery, remote sensing, and geospatial data with cutting-edge GIS tools. (MOOC, 6 weeks; Aug 26–Oct 7, 2026)
Getting started with SAR satellite imagery: Learn about Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) fundamental concepts, explore SAR satellite imagery from all over the world, and process SAR data to perform image analysis on real life examples. (ArcGIS documentation)

Esri Tutorials

Introduction to Imagery and Remote Sensing (Esri Tutorial collection)
Get started with imagery (Esri Tutorial, 40 mins.)

Managing imagery

Managing Raster Data Using ArcGIS: Teaches how to organize raster data within a mosaic dataset in preparation for visualization and analysis. (2 hrs.)
Working with NetCDF Data in ArcGIS Pro: Teaches how to use NetCDF-derived data to incorporate scientific data and models into common GIS workflows. (2 hrs.)
Accessing Satellite Data for Analysis Using ArcGIS Pro: Focuses on accessing imagery layers obtained from the Landsat and Sentinel-2 programs to display and analyze in the same map. (ArcGIS Lab, 1 hr., 5 mins.)

Visualization and exploitation

Displaying Raster Data in ArcGIS: Teaches techniques to display and symbolize rasters and imagery, modify raster properties, and apply appearance functions. (3 hrs., 15 mins.)
Introduction to Voxel Layers: Teaches key concepts associated with multidimensional data as well as how to create and visualize voxel layers in ArcGIS Pro. (1 hr., 50 mins.)
Bring Your Imagery to Life with ArcGIS Reality: Explores uses of reality mapping data products across the ArcGIS system and the process to create popular imagery-derived products, including True Orthos and 3D meshes. (Training seminar, 1 hr.)
Using Imagery to Locate Areas of Interest: Teaches how to use the ArcGIS Landsat Explorer app available from ArcGIS Living Atlas of the World to learn more about how raster bands can be used to discover a desired feature. (ArcGIS Lab, 40 mins.)

Esri Tutorials

Discover imagery with ready-to-use apps (Esri Tutorial series)
Explore imagery resolution (Esri Tutorial series)
Get started with multidimensional multispectral imagery (Esri Tutorial, 40 mins.)
Inspect and visualize imagery (Ersi Tutorial, 15 mins.)

Analyzing imagery

Tools and techniques

Getting to Know ArcGIS Image Analyst: Presents essential workflows for getting started with the ArcGIS Image Analyst extension in ArcGIS Pro. (Document, 13 pages.)
Processing Raster Data Using ArcGIS Pro: Teaches efficient ways to process raster data and extract information products on-the-fly using raster functions in ArcGIS Pro. (2 hrs.)
Creating Python Scripts for Raster Analysis: Teaches how to use ArcPy and raster object classes to automate raster analysis workflows in ArcGIS Pro. (Web course, 1 hr.)
Deep Learning Using ArcGIS Online: Teaches how to use pretrained deep learning models from ArcGIS Living Atlas of the World to solve everyday problems. (1 hr., 45 mins.)
Deep Learning Using ArcGIS Pro: Explains how deep learning supports GIS analysis. Teaches how to use a pretrained deep learning models from ArcGIS Living Atlas of the World. (2 hrs., 15 mins.)
Automating Workflows Using ArcGIS Pro Tasks: Teaches how to create and share ArcGIS Pro tasks to increase productivity. (4 hrs.)
Building Geoprocessing Models Using ArcGIS Pro: Introduces the steps to create, validate, and run geoprocessing models that automate ArcGIS analysis workflows. (2 hrs., 30 mins.)
Analyze Imagery with Raster Functions Using ArcGIS Online: Uses ArcGIS Online to analyze imagery layers using raster functions. (ArcGIS lab, 40 mins.)
Measuring Land Cover Change Using ArcGIS Pro: Uses ArcGIS Pro to identify and measure change between two thematic datasets. (ArcGIS lab, 25 mins.)

Related Learning Plan

Esri Tutorials

Prepare imagery and raster data for analysis (Esri Tutorial series)
Using imagery in ArcGIS Online (Esri Tutorial series)
Clip raster data (Esri Tutorial, 15 mins.)
Combine raster data into a mosaic (Esri Tutorial, 30 mins.)
Solve common projection issues (Esri Tutorial, 15 mins.)

Image analysis applications

Change Detection Using Imagery: Explores improving the appearance of imagery, NDVI and NBR analysis, and digitizing features to quantify areas of change. (2 hrs., 30 mins.)
Performing Change Detection Using Raster Functions in ArcGIS Pro: Teaches how to detect changes in imagery using raster functions in ArcGIS Pro. Uses raster functions to perform raster analysis to see how the extent of mangrove forests has changed over time. (ArcGIS lab, 25 mins.)
Making Predictions from Multidimensional Data Using ArcGIS Online: Teaches how to create a tiled imagery layer from a NetCDF file containing multidimensional sea surface temperature data and analyze data to predict coral bleaching. (ArcGIS lab, 2 hrs., 20 mins.)

Esri Tutorials

Extracting information from imagery (Esri Tutorial series)
Map floods with SAR data and deep learning (Esri Tutorial, 45 mins.)

Image classification

Introduction to Image Classification: Introduces options for creating thematic classified rasters in ArcGIS. (1 hr., 15 mins.)
Performing Supervised Pixel-Based Image Classification: Introduces the supervised pixel-based image classification technique for creating thematic classified rasters. (1 hr., 20 mins.)
Performing Unsupervised Pixel-Based Image Classification: Teaches how to identify computer-created pixel clusters to create thematic classified rasters in ArcGIS. (55 mins.)
Performing Supervised Object-Based Image Classification: Introduces how to classify images based on user-identified objects or segments, paired with machine learning. (1 hr., 15 mins.)
Performing Accuracy Assessment for Image Classification: Introduces the accuracy assessment technique to test raster data products using statistical analysis to understand how well they represent the study area. (50 mins.)
Classifying Objects Using Deep Learning in ArcGIS Pro: Teaches how to prepare and use data to train a model to detect whether buildings were impacted by a wildfire and how to apply and evaluate the accuracy of the model. (ArcGIS lab, 1 hr., 20 mins.)
Working with the ArcGIS Solution for 3D Buildings: Uses a point cloud dataset to create a 3D scene with building roof forms and attributes. Teaches how to convert the data to a multipatch feature class that can be shared. (ArcGIS lab, 1 hr., 25 mins.)
Extracting Features with Deep Learning Using ArcGIS Online: Teaches how to use ArcGIS Online to detect buildings in imagery with deep learning. (ArcGIS lab, 35 mins.)
Processing SAR Data in ArcGIS Notebooks: Teaches the basics of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) remote sensing and how to automate the processing of SAR data with Python in ArcGIS Notebooks to classify the images into different land-use categories. (ArcGIS Lab, 1 hr., 25 mins.)

Related Learning Plan

Image Classification Using ArcGIS

Esri Tutorials

Calculate impervious surfaces from spectral imagery (Esri Tutorial, 1 hr., 15 mins.)
Detect objects with a deep learning pretrained model (Esri Tutorial, 20 mins.)
Extract high-resolution land cover with geospatial AI in ArcGIS Online (Esri Tutorial, 30 mins.)

Suitability modeling

Suitability Modeling: Introduction: Teaches how to define a problem in terms of an analysis goal and suitability criteria, plus how to prepare data for a suitability model. (2 hrs., 40 mins.)
Suitability Modeling: Creating a Simple Suitability Model: Teaches how to create a suitability model that produces an easy-to-interpret binary result. (2 hrs., 35 mins.)
Suitability Modeling: Creating a Weighted Suitability Model: Teaches how to create a weighted suitability model and use sensitivity and error analysis to evaluate results. (4 hrs., 15 mins.)

Related Learning Plan

Finding the Best Place

Mapping imagery

Creating Python Scripts for Raster Analysis: Discusses creating a raster object, accessing its properties, and using them in your Python scripting. (1 hr.)

Mapping imagery with drones

The following e-Learning courses cover key skills and concepts for working with drones and drone-captured imagery.

Getting Started with Site Scan for ArcGIS: Presents the capabilities and features of cloud-based Site Scan for ArcGIS, including drone flight planning. (1 hr., 5 mins.)
Creating Imagery Products with Site Scan for ArcGIS: Explores workflows for creating and examining imagery products and sharing them to ArcGIS Online. (1 hr., 20 mins.)
ArcGIS Drone2Map Basics: Explores the capabilities and workflows that ArcGIS Drone2Map provides for creating accurate digital representations of physical objects and places. (2 hrs., 20 mins.)
ArcGIS Drone2Map Essentials: Provides an overview of the latest ArcGIS Drone2Map capabilities and workflows to add, process, and analyze droned-captured imagery for spatial accuracy. (Training seminar, 1 hr.)

Related Learning Plan

Reality Mapping Using ArcGIS

Esri Tutorials

Get started with ArcGIS Reality Studio (Esri Tutorial, 1 hr., 30 mins.)
Try ArcGIS Reality for ArcGIS Pro (Esri Tutorial series)
Try ArcGIS Drone2Map (Esri Tutorial series)

Deep learning (AI with imagery)

Deep learning functionality in ArcGIS enables you to easily create map layers extracted from imagery. These offerings teach why and how to use different tool options. More courses are listed in the Higher Ed Guide to Esri E-Learning for Geospatial AI.

Introduction to Image Classification: Introduces options for creating thematic classified rasters in ArcGIS. (1 hr., 15 mins.)
Classifying Objects Using Deep Learning in ArcGIS Pro: Teaches how to prepare and use data to train a model to detect whether buildings were impacted by a wildfire and how to apply and evaluate the accuracy of the model. (ArcGIS lab, 1 hr., 20 mins.)
Performing Accuracy Assessment for Image Classification: Introduces the accuracy assessment technique to test raster data products using statistical analysis to understand how well they represent the study area. (50 mins.)
Deep Learning Using ArcGIS Online: Teaches how to use pretrained deep learning models from ArcGIS Living Atlas of the World to solve everyday problems. (1 hr., 45 mins.)
Deep Learning Using ArcGIS Pro: Explains how deep learning supports GIS analysis. Teaches how to use a pretrained deep learning model from ArcGIS Living Atlas of the World. (2 hrs., 15 mins.)
Understanding GeoAI in ArcGIS: Explores how organizations can leverage geospatial AI capabilities across the ArcGIS system to automate workflows, create rich models of the real world, and analyze all kinds of data at scale, including imagery, 2D and 3D features, tabular data, videos, unstructured text, and time-series data. (Training seminar, 1hr.)
Extracting Features with Deep Learning Using ArcGIS Online: Teaches how to use ArcGIS Online to detect buildings in imagery with deep learning. (ArcGIS lab, 35 mins.)

Related Learning Plans

Esri Tutorials

Try geospatial AI tools and models in ArcGIS (Esri Tutorial series)
Train a model using automated deep learning(Esri Tutorial, 40 mins.)

Additional instructional materials

ArcGIS Imagery Workflows is a library of authoritative resources within the ArcGIS documentation that includes an extensive gallery of tutorials, help articles, and best practices for using imagery and rasters. Esri’s Imagery and Remote Sensing in Higher Education page provides more resources for teaching and research, including access to remote sensing education webinar recordings, past proceedings and upcoming Educators Summit events, authoritative resources for ArcGIS imagery workflows, and more. The following resources are provided to support topic exploration and research. These resources are subject to change without notice.

Modern GIS - Imagery (ArcGIS Tutorial collection)
List of Resources for Teaching and Learning Imagery and Remote Sensing using ArcGIS (Esri Community blog)
How to get started with GeoAI in ArcGIS – A practical guide for students (Esri Community blog)

Final thoughts for educators

You can view lists of new training, training pending retirement, and retired training on the New and Retired Training Options page. You will receive a message when retirements are announced. (Click to view alerts while signed into Training.)

If you plan to assign a MOOC to a group of students or to an entire class, please review the following resources:

For students: Get Ready for an Excellent MOOC Experience
For instructors: Top 8 Tips for Educators Assigning Esri MOOCs to Students

To request a transfer of training history from an institutional account to another account, students should contact Esri Customer Service at [email protected] or (888) 377-4575.

Imagery and Remote Sensing guide URL

The published guide can be accessed with the following link:

https://www.esri.com/training/assets/downloads/Higher_Ed_Guide_Esri_Imagery_Remote_Sensing.pdf