Latest Contributions by Suzanne-Boden

Updated June 25, 2020 Over the last few months, many organizations and ArcGIS users have transitioned to remote work environments. Here in Esri Training, our team members are also working remotely. While individuals' geography may have changed, the need to support business operations remains the same. In fact, the demand for GIS resources (and GIS skills) is in high demand. Likewise, the need for GIS training is in high demand. We know this because we've been fielding questions. Individuals who registered for an instructor-led class weeks ago are wondering if their class will take place as scheduled. Managers who want their team to quickly learn specific ArcGIS workflows ask if classes are available.  We want to assure everyone that instructor-led classes are available now and going forward. Our team has all the resources needed to seamlessly support your training needs and, as always, a strong commitment to helping our customers be successful with ArcGIS. Over the last decade, the popularity of our instructor-led online classroom has exploded. Many people like the convenience of learning from their own workspace. Many managers like that they can stretch their training budgets farther by eliminating travel costs.  Given these advantages and our responsibility to ensure safety and compliance with reopening protocols, all public instructor-led classes will be taught in the online classroom for the remainder of 2020. If you've never attended an Esri online class, know that it is an excellent option used by thousands of GIS practitioners each year. All instructor-led courses are designed and delivered with the online classroom in mind. In addition to Esri technical certifications, all instructors have expertise in technical facilitation. They are experts in the technology they teach and have validated skills to present technical concepts in a meaningful way. We host the Esri software needed to complete course exercises on virtual machines. The online learning environment is active and engaging. Instructors and course attendees use the phone, chat, and virtual whiteboards to talk and collaborate in real time. Group breakout sessions and interactive content reviews happen just as they would in a physical classroom. Tour the online classroom. Of course, all Esri customers with a current maintenance subscription have unlimited, organization-wide access to e-Learning at Esri Academy. Also available through Esri Academy, learning plans are popular and useful tools that support individual skill-building and professional development goals, as well as organizational workforce development plans. Managers (and educators) can assign learning plans and track progress through them. However you like to learn, whatever your GIS training needs, wherever you're working from—we've got you covered. Esri Technical Certification Testing To ensure the safety and health of certification candidates and staff worldwide, our testing partner Pearson VUE is limiting test center availability and cancelling existing appointments as needed. If you registered to take an Esri technical certification exam at a Pearson VUE testing center and receive a cancellation notification, or you would like to proactively reschedule an exam appointment, please access your Pearson VUE account to choose another exam date.    You may also choose to take your exam using Pearson's OnVUE option (available in most regions). This exam delivery model allows you to test from home or your workplace, as long as you meet the system requirements. If you have specific exam-related questions, please email certification@esri.com. ... View more

If your job involves managing or working with network data for an electric, gas, water, telecommunications, or other utility organization, mark your calendar for our March 26 free live training seminar. Over one hour, Esri presenters Remy Myers and Hussein Nasser will share current utility network capabilities you may not be aware of and preview new features planned to be released later this year. Learn how the utility network has evolved since its release two years ago, and see how product advancements in 2020  will help utilities even more effectively manage, visualize, and analyze network data and address key business needs.  Three sessions will be broadcast live, and each session includes Q&A with the presenters. View more details and get a calendar reminder at the link below. What: What's New in the ArcGIS Utility Network When: Thursday, March 26, 2020 — 9:00 a.m., 11:00 a.m., and 3:00 p.m. Pacific time Where: Online at the Esri Training website  ... View more

Updated August 21, 2025 So you heard about one of our upcoming free massive open online courses and you're interested in the topic. As someone who's always on the lookout for opportunities to grow their skills and develop professionally, you take the plunge and register for the course. You add the course start date to your calendar and even block off time each week to attend. Nice! All you need to do now is wait patiently for the course to open. Or is it? Taking an Esri MOOC is a low-risk strategy to explore a new topic, test-drive ArcGIS software, feed your curiosity, and live out a lifelong learning goal. Courses are free, Esri provides the software, and if it turns out that work/life responsibilities are eating up all your free time, you don't have to keep attending. You're in complete control of the experience. And there are a few things you can do before the course opens to help ensure your experience is excellent. Such as... Understand the course setup and ArcGIS accounts.  A MOOC includes multiple sections, each of which includes videos, discussions, quizzes, and one or more step-by-step exercises. Each week, a new section opens early Wednesday morning (Pacific time). Completing a section takes about 2-3 hours, though individual time will vary. One Course, Two ArcGIS Accounts To access the course environment (watch the videos, participate in discussions, complete exercises, take quizzes, etc.), go to Esri Academy, sign in with the same ArcGIS account that you used to register for the course, then start or resume the course from your My Schedule page. To complete the course exercises, you use an ArcGIS account created by Esri for your use in the MOOC. This "ArcGIS exercise account" provides access to all the ArcGIS software and credits needed to complete each exercise, and it has a unique naming convention that includes the course abbreviation. Your exercise account username and password are provided to you inside the course. At the beginning of each exercise, you'll open a second (incognito) browser window and sign into your ArcGIS exercise account. The exercise instructions will step you through the process—it's easy and soon will feel like second nature. Key Takeaway: In a MOOC, you use two accounts: 1) your own ArcGIS public or organizational account to register and access the course environment on Esri Academy, and 2) an Esri-provided ArcGIS account for the exercises.  Tip: If you're ever unable to resume a MOOC (i.e., access the course environment on Esri Academy) or if you see an "Esri access is not enabled" message when trying to access the software during an exercise, there's a strong chance you've accidentally signed in with the wrong account. Try signing out, then signing in with the correct account. Understand the software setup. As just mentioned, everyone who joins an Esri MOOC is given a temporary ArcGIS account that's been assigned the software licenses, permissions, and credits needed to complete the exercises. This account is for use inside the course and is active only while the course is open. If you're attending a MOOC that uses ArcGIS Pro: The first course exercise will step you through the process to download ArcGIS Pro and install it. Your computer must meet the ArcGIS Pro system requirements.  If you want to complete the exercises using a school or work computer that has ArcGIS Pro installed, you can as long as you're able to use a Named User license and sign in using the Esri-provided MOOC ArcGIS Online organizational account. Talk with your IT administrator to confirm you can do this. Note: MOOC exercises are written for ArcGIS Pro 3.x. If your organization uses ArcGIS Pro 2.x, complete the hands-on exercises using a home PC or a workplace machine that doesn't have ArcGIS Pro 2.x installed on it. If you're brand-new to ArcGIS Pro, it's helpful to get familiar with the interface and terminology before the course starts. Use this free web course to do that. Two screens are better than one. In course exercises, you follow the step-by-step instructions and work with ArcGIS software at the same time. You can certainly navigate between two windows on a single screen, but many MOOC participants find it easier to view the instructions on a separate monitor (or tablet/smartphone) and complete the ArcGIS project on their primary monitor. If you don't have the luxury of two screens, printing the instructions may be a good alternative. Be on the lookout for the green check mark.  To earn a certificate of completion, you need to complete all content in the course (except for optional activities like stretch exercises). In the course table of contents, a green check mark will display after you complete each item.  If you don't see a green check mark next to an item, take action and complete it before the course closing date. Your hard work should be rewarded with a certificate, and we can't extend course access after the closing date. Have fun. Esri MOOCs are designed to introduce and extend your knowledge of the topic, and everyone learns better when they're engaged and having fun. Consider this: Any time you're in the course, thousands of other people are too. Someone may be watching the exact same video at the exact same time as you from a desk (or couch or coffee shop) on the other side of the international date line. A little mind-blowing. Visit the discussion forum, share your thoughts, help fellow learners out by answering questions when you can, and enjoy the feeling of community that's a hallmark of Esri MOOCs. ... View more

Course experts Lauren Bennett, Shannon Kalisky, and Flora Vale give a one-minute explanation of spatial data science and preview Esri's free Spatial Data Science: The New Frontier in Analytics massive open online course. ... View more