Latest Contributions by Suzanne-Boden

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

This is a great year for anyone who loves numbers, especially the numbers 2 or 20. February 20, 2020 is a date to circle on the calendar if you're an analyst, researcher, or GIS professional who wants to do more with analytics this year. Python is the scripting language of choice for many ArcGIS users. As in the GIS world, Python is hugely popular in the data science world, with an active and ever-growing community of users.  On February 20, join our free live training seminar to discover which Python libraries are essential for spatial data science and analytical workflows. Esri presenters Shannon Kalisky and Atma Mani (experts on the topic) will break down the capabilities and give pointers on how to determine which library is most suitable for your project needs. Demos will show how to access Python libraries in ArcGIS Pro and ArcGIS Notebooks and put the power of scripting to work. This is a fairly advanced topic, but if you're just getting started with Python, you're welcome to attend. You may enjoy discovering what's possible with scripting in general and Python in particular. Three, one-hour sessions will be broadcast live, and each session includes Q&A with the presenters. You can view more details and get a calendar reminder at the link below. What: Python Libraries for Spatial Data Science When: Thursday, February 20, 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

Why is it that a new year combined with a new decade somehow quadruples the sense that new possibilities for “living your best life” have opened up? If living your best life involves growing professionally or seizing opportunities to feed your curiosity, you may be interested in our new, no-cost MOOC (massive open online course), which starts February 26 and runs for six weeks. Spatial Data Science: The New Frontier in Analytics introduces a term that may be new to some. Most people are familiar with “data science,” not as many with “spatial data science.” If you’re wondering if this is just a new term for spatial analysis, the answer is, “Spatial data science includes spatial analysis, AND it’s much more than that." Spatial data science refers to the application of spatial data, analysis techniques, and methods that account for spatial properties, like shape, distance, area, and direction. Spatial data science also incorporates Tobler’s Law, something GIS professionals know like the back of their hand, and (simplified) states: “Things that are close to one another are more related than things that are farther apart.” When you’re analyzing massive amounts of data, taking a spatial approach often reveals patterns that aren’t obvious with nonspatial approaches. Visualizing these patterns on a map often raises questions that spark further analysis, which leads to more insight. Spatial data science also incorporates things like machine learning models, scripting, and statistics. Most importantly, like data science, spatial data science helps analysts solve problems and make predictions that may lead to breakthroughs on some of our toughest challenges related to the environment, human health, and more. If you've never participated in an Esri MOOC before, know that they're a hybrid learning model—they contain elements of e-Learning and instructor-led training. Like e-Learning, MOOCs are self-paced. But like an instructor-led class, they have a defined duration (in this case, six weeks). A new section opens each week, but there are no formal class times—the logistics of holding a set class time would be difficult considering the number of times zones involved in a MOOC. Participants are literally all over the map. You attend the course when it’s convenient for you. If you want to pull an all-nighter and complete every section on the last day the course is open, you can (though we don’t recommend it). Based on six years of offering MOOCs, participants tend to be more successful when they complete each section during its opening week (or at least start the section). In the discussion forums, participants can interact and learn together in real time if they choose, just like in an instructor-led class. Sharing questions, ideas, and solutions is a key part of the MOOC experience. Course videos are recordings but you’ll see Esri experts discussing topics, having real conversations, and sharing valuable information—also just like an instructor-led class. Participants get free access to ArcGIS software products for use in the course, including ArcGIS Pro. This is cool because not only do you get to try out some of the latest and greatest tech, you get to apply the software in the context of guided exercises—no need to figure out how to get started or which tool does what. Instead, you’ll be introduced to realistic scenarios and stepped through the workflows to solve a problem. If you’re someone who prefers learning without a lot of hand-holding, there will be opportunities to challenge yourself by extending an analysis or performing a similar analysis on your own. Note: We provide the software licenses, but participants need to download the software and run it on a machine that meets ArcGIS Pro system requirements. If the new year finds you wanting to expand your professional horizons and explore new technology possibilities, join us and see for yourself what spatial data science is all about. View course details and register at http://bit.ly/2QUlq3f. Oh, and MOOCs have one more similarity to an instructor-led class: completing all course content earns you a certificate of completion from Esri. ... View more