October 28 GIS Users Group Thank You!!!

CFGIS would like to thank everyone who attended this past Fridays fall CFGIS users group meeting. It was a fun day filled with a variety of presentations, we are happy to say that we had over 70 attendees representing more than ten counties!!! A big thank you to everyone who took the time to attend the meeting and take advantage of all that CFGIS has to offer.

For those of you who couldn't make it to the meeting we have recorded the CFGIS ignite block and embedded them below for you to watch.

The first is from Claudia Paskauskas, who presented on "Leaders are made, not born"


This next presentation is from Kate Hardie, who discussed how emergency management scenario training shares similarities with several role playing games and how GIS can help bridge the gap in making scenarios realistic.



The third and final ignite was performed by Dave Jordan, who take the extra brave step of presenting a mystery ignite. This ignite was titled "Map Olympics" and Dave had never seen the PowerPoint, relying only on instinct to present this fun ignite.



In addition the three easy ways to access census data presentation has been placed in the document library on the CFGIS website.

Our next CFGIS meeting will be sometime near the end of February or early March. Stay tuned and again thank you too all attendees!!!

October 28 Next CFGIS Users Group Meeting!!!

CFGIS will be holding our next users group meeting on October 28th, 2011 from 10-12:30 at the FDOT District 5 offices located at 133 S. Semoran Blvd, Orlando Fl, as always attendance is free!!!

We have put together another great agenda, click here to open. This quarters user group will feature presentations on the evolution of GIS in public safety, three easy ways to access census data, and a presentation on GIS in next generation 9-1-1. We will also have the always fun and popular ignite block.

The CFGIS users group brings together GIS professionals from more than 10 counties throughout central Florida. Providing for great networking and outreach among attendees in both the public and private sectors.

Make sure the data is on your calendar and we'll see you there!!!

Do You Ignite?

5 minutes, 20 slides, automatic slide transition, no redo, no stopping... no pressure!!!

Over the past year a new fast paced style of presentation has made an appearance at users groups and conferences throughout Florida, the Ignite Presentation. Many of you have had the experience of seeing these incredibly fast paced and fun presentations at CFGIS users group (Next Meeting October 28th, mark your calendars!!!) and many of you recently had the opportunity to witness them at the CFGIS Workshop and the South Florida GIS Expo as part of the FLURISA tract at each conference.

Ignite presentations are FIVE minute presentations, exactly five minutes or the presenter gets cut off. The number of slides vary slightly depending on the presenter as do topics and they are automatically transitioning, which means the presenter has NO control once the presentation begins.

These presentations challenge the presenter in more ways than you might realize. It creates an environment where the presenter must identify the best key takeaways that he wants the audience to have and find a way to clearly communicate those points in only five minutes all while staying perfectly in-sync with the timing and their notes. It also means that for the audience rather than only getting to see one or two presentations in a half hour block you can fit several, each covering different topics and interests.

One of the best parts of this style is that it is meant to be fun and fast. Each presenter is able to bring their own style to the presentation. Some present serious information from the very beginning leaving you a series of tips and key points, while others will take a winding journey and reveal the message at the end of the presentation tying everything together.

For those of you who haven't had the chance to see one of the unique, fast, and fun presentation or want to learn more about it, good news!!! We will have three at the CFGIS Users Group next Friday, October 28. Click here for agenda, driving directions, and additional information.

And if you think you are upto the challenge of presenting an Ignite, let us know!!! We are always looking for victims... um I mean presenters who are willing to try this unique presentation style.

If you want to see an example of past CFGIS Ignite presentations, click here.

Fall 2011 CFGIS Newsletter is here!!!

CFGIS is happy to announce that the fall edition of the newsletter has just been released. This quarter features several interesting articles, a list of the newest data available in the CFGIS clearinghouse, and much much more. Click here or go to www.cfgis.org to read the full newsletter.

Fall is in the air

We have finally reached the time of year where the heat is almost bearable and we start to get spoiled with those cool crisp mornings (or as cool as we get in Florida). It is also time to start baking all of those delicious autumn pies, cakes, and cookies. Autumn brings with it many great opportunities for us to celebrate geography.

Halloween is only a few weeks away and so is the next CFGIS Users Group meeting. Make sure to mark your calendars to join us on October 28th from 10:00- 12:30, click here to learn more.

With the coming of the fall season we wanted to include a couple of images, videos, and links showcasing geography in a fun and festive way. Hope you enjoy!!!

Jak-o-Lantern of the world


For a fun recipe of Globe cookies, try this!!!

TEDx - Presentation on Importance of Data Visualization

This presentation given at the TEDx- Rainer this past December discusses several different technologies Microsoft Research is utilizing to better provide data visualization to the world.



While the term "GIS" is never directly used during the presentation, it is apparent in every aspect of what they are doing. However sometimes this little fact can be overlooked, with non GIS-professionals not realizing that the data and tools which they are using are being powered behind the scenes by GIS nor the complexities involved in creating some of the products which are available everyday because of the work of data custodians, database administrators, analysts, and many other geospatial professionals. Make sure to highlight these behind the scenes facts to your coworkers, peers, and decision makers to help them better understand the power of what we do.

Its Conference Time Again

It seems that this time of year all of our regional workshops and conferences kick into gear giving GIS professionals the opportunity to show all of the great projects and techniques they have worked on over the past year and bring everyone together to create those highly valuable networking opportunities.

This past week the 5th Annual CFGIS workshop was held in Daytona Beach, FL. It was well attended and gave GIS users the opportunity to learn new skills, learn from their peers, and enhance their network of GIS professionals. This was the first of many workshops and conferences that will be coming to Florida this year. Presentations from the CFGIS Workshop will be available soon on the workshop's website. Click here to view.

The next regional conference, the South Florida GIS Expo will be held on October 6th & 7th at the Palm Beach Convention Center. Registration is free and attendance is highly encouraged, click here for more information.

For the north Florida GIS users, the Seven Hills Regional Users Group (SHRUG) workshop will be held November 9th and 10th in Tallahassee, FL. Click here to learn more.

Other conferences such as GIS in Transit held in St. Petersburg, FL last week as well as the 25th annual FACM conference to be held in Bonita Springs, FL next month are great examples of how actively Florida associations are making available educational opportunities for the state GIS community.

FLURISA the Florida chapter of URISA is actively working to bring many great things to the GIS community. Included in this effort, FLURISA members have been contributing at each of the conferences with presentations and holding special meetings to make the GIS community even stronger. If you are not yet a member, click here. Registration is free for the next year and you don't want to miss all of the great things that will be coming for members only!!!

Hopefully, each of us throughout the Florida GIS community will be able to take advantage of one or more of these great opportunities. Stay tuned for all of the great things still to come!!!