| MidAmerica GIS ConsortiumWe believe geospatial technology creates value far reaching from ourselves. We are a network of dedicated leaders in the fields of mapmaking, location services, & data management. |
SHORT COURSES MAGIC has a rich offering of short courses before the conference. These short courses will consist of hands-on labs and traditional class-room style instruction. The schedule for short courses is Monday Afternoon , April 13, 2026 and each course is 4 hours. Use the course number in your registration form! Fees for short courses are:
If you are currently registered for the Full Conference ONLY and would like to add a short course please email Tony Spicci at : tspicci@gisci.org |
OFFERINGS : MONDY AFTERNOON, APRIL 13, 2026 101: The Geodetic Foundation for the Future Instructors: Joe Bima (Seiler Geospatial) & Bryce Hirschman (Senior GIS PM, JEO Consulting Group, Inc.) Since 2007 the National Geodetic Survey NGS) has been working on a modernized National Spatial Reference System (NSRS) to overcome shortcomings of the current NSRS NAD83 and NAVD88. A NSRS ensures consistent coordinates across all geospatial applications in the country. From the NGS modernized NSRS perspective the coordinate on every map, chart, survey or other geospatial data set will change when the modernized NSRS is released. A solid geodetic foundation is critical for everything geospatial even more so as industry objectives are converging across technologies and workflow objectives. This session will provide an update/overview on the National Spatial Reference System (NSRS) 2022 Modernization efforts underway by the National Geodetic Survey including what you must be aware of at the State/Local level especially from a GIS/Mapping perspective. In addition, this session will address moving legacy data and processes forward to be in alignment with the modernized NSRS and incorporating the use of GNSS and control to validate your geospatial data forward. 102: Demystifying the ArcGIS Utility Network Instructors: Brian Lendt, Michael Fenley, David Nelson (Infrastructure Advisory Team, Black & Veatch) Migrating to the ArcGIS Utility Network presents a transformative opportunity to modernize geospatial infrastructure as water and wastewater utilities face growing demands for data accuracy, accessibility, and advanced analytics. This presentation features a real-world user story from a municipal utility navigating the complexities of Utility Network adoption. Attendees will gain practical insights into data governance, strategic planning, data readiness, system architecture, prototyping, and organizational change management—critical pillars of digital transformation in the utility sector. Blending technical guidance with candid storytelling, the session demystifies the migration process and shares lessons learned from both completed and ongoing phases. Topics include data cleanup strategies, schema modeling, Esri system requirements, stakeholder engagement, and long-term road mapping. Special emphasis will be placed on change management strategies to align teams, build internal support, and ensure successful adoption across departments. Whether you're initiating the Utility Network journey or managing a complex implementation, this presentation delivers actionable takeaways to help your organization move forward with clarity and confidence. 103: Migrating to ArcGIS Pro Instructor: Ken Wilkerson (President / Instructor, GISEDGE, Inc.) Ready, Set, Convert: Transitioning to ArcGIS Pro Get hands-on experience preparing for your move to ArcGIS Pro. In this dynamic workshop, you’ll learn how to seamlessly import map documents, update symbology and layer properties, build queries, run geoprocessing tools, and create layouts—all while discovering how your familiar ArcMap workflows translate into the modern ArcGIS Pro environment. 104: GIS Basics (Pro Tips and Tricks) Instructor: Wendy Leonard (Geospatial Developer Lead , Gewalt Hamilton Associates, Inc.) ArcGIS Pro is the cornerstone of modern GIS—bringing together advanced visualization, analysis, and data management capabilities in a single, powerful desktop environment. This workshop will guide participants through the essential workflows and best practices for working efficiently in ArcGIS Pro. Attendees will learn how to create and manage projects, perform spatial analysis, edit and symbolize data, and share results through maps, layouts, and web layers. Emphasis will be placed on practical, real-world examples that illustrate how ArcGIS Pro streamlines data-driven decision making across disciplines. Whether you are transitioning from ArcMap or seeking to enhance your existing Pro skills, this session will equip you with the confidence and techniques to leverage ArcGIS Pro’s modern tools for mapping, geoprocessing, and collaboration within the ArcGIS ecosystem. 105: FME Essentials Instructor: Mark McCart (Geospatial Developer Lead, SAIC, Inc.) Have you heard of FME but not sure how it could be used within your organization? Sign up for this half-day workshop to learn more about this no-code/low-code platform. This extract/load/transform (ETL) product can be used for not only spatial data, but for all data types. This workshop will provide a high-level overview of the product, go thru some examples of how FME has been used to improved enterprise data integration and sped up repetitive tasks. Finally, there will be hands-on training using the product for the last half of the course. 106: Applying "R" Instructor: Jay Maxwell (Data Analyst, Iowa State University Extension) R is a popular open-source programming language used for statistical computing and graphics and is available for Windows, Mac, and Linux-based systems. It provides a wide range of statistical and graphical techniques, making it a powerful tool for data analysis. This introductory workshop will cover the fundamentals of R programming, such as data types, variables, and loops. We will introduce the Tidyverse syntax for reading and manipulating common data files, creating basic plots, and visualizing spatial data. Finally, we will cover how to interact with your local ArcGIS data and ArcGIS Online using R libraries from ESRI. By the end of this lecture, attendees will have a basic understanding of the R programming language and be ready to explore more advanced topics on their own. No prior programming experience is required. Topics to be covered:
Participants are encouraged to install R, RStudio, and ArcGIS Pro on their own laptops prior to the workshop. NOTE: Although R is available on multiple platforms, the ESRI libraries used in this workshop are only available on Windows. |