2012 West Virginia GIS Conference Evaluation


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1. Registrant type State non-profit Non-profit education Education

2. Please specify the main reasons for attending this conference

Arc 10 hands-on workshop Client support Working

3. What was the most beneficial aspect of the conference?

1- Local and Federal governments’ presentations were examples of bad ones. 2- Students were the best in giving their presentations

Arc Training Being introduced to many new GIS topics, like the CAVE Both the networking and finding out about the datasets different agencies have that might be useful in my

work Classes Coming from an academic setting, it was good to see many of the applied uses for the concepts that I teach

about, which will help me provide good examples in class Connections, see who else is working in GIS in or near WV Demonstrations of GIS projects in the state ESRI’s presentation on Tuesday Evening socials Finding out what others are doing Hearing what other state agencies are doing and the data that they are collecting. This was beneficial in

both the talks and the Thursday round of talks I like the classes and listening to my peers discussing what they do. I like the networking and it’s good to see what others in the state are doing I though having the training options made the conference more than just a show and tell It’s good to know what other agencies are doing Learning more about work of others in the state, especially in subject areas that I don’t deal with every day

(assessors, etc.) Learning of available GIS data Making contacts, and learning what is going on in the GIS world and finding out that everyone seems to

have the same problem (money and staff) Making contracts Meeting people Most beneficial aspect was the GPS workshop. I learned a lot and was able to use high quality equipment

and software. Also, meeting people from the GIS community and WVU TC & Geo dept. It was a good way to break the ice

Networking Networking Networking Networking Networking Networking Networking Networking Networking and meeting GIS users from across the State Networking and seeing what GIS things other people are doing in the Wednesday presentations Networking and technical knowledge


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Networking opportunities, the sessions on Thursday from the State/Fed/Local governments, etc. Other GIS users and what they are doing with it.

Networking with both peers and vendors Networking, classes, seminars Networking, latest info Not able to define the most beneficial. All aspects had some value. It is impossible to say exactly which

areas were most beneficial until I get the opportunity to explore some of my new information Opportunity to meet new geospatial professionals Opportunity to meet other GIS professionals in West Virginia Power points and networking Presentations and networking Presentations and workshops Sessions on Wednesday Social hours, mixers, meals, etc. Social networking opportunities Some of the presentations held on Wednesday Speaking with others in the field and finding out what they are looking for in employees Still operating with ArcGIS version 9.3, I found Friday’s workshop to be most useful. We will be

upgrading in the coming months and I now feel more prepared for the changes and have an idea of what to expect from the upgrades

Technical presentations The ability to network with other GIS professionals through the State The ArcMap 10.1 seminar was very informative. I also enjoyed the workshop I attended on Friday The excellent papers and poster sessions The intro to ArcView 10.1 and the panel of state leaders The most beneficial was the classes on Friday The networking as well as the opportunity to see what everyone is doing GIS-wise The networking aspect and receiving contact information for all those attending The opportunity to present during the education panel The presentations on Wednesday and internet mapping on Friday The whole conference The workshops were most beneficial. I attended the LiDAR workshop The workshops were the most beneficial aspect of the conference To have the opportunity to interact and network with my fellow GIS colleagues and be able to discuss wide

range of GIS topics with everyone Web Mapping, Seeing other entities’ projects Wednesday presentations Workshop Workshop and online/mobile presentations Workshop, what the different agencies/organizations are doing Workshops Workshops Workshops and Thursday session WV conferences really retain the educational component to the sessions and workshops, it leaves you

feeling that the conference was worthwhile- more so than some other conferences.

4. What was the least beneficial aspect of the conference?

During the paper sessions, the run time for the sessions was not closely controlled, making it difficult/impossible for switching to another track.

Find a way to make Thursday a 1/2 day and add a workshop. For me, there were no “least beneficial” aspects. They were all good


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I believe the 5 minute presentations set up in session format on Thursday would be better if folks could have more time to present. Perhaps each session could be set up to run concurrently. It would be beneficial to also place a bit of a break between the presentations and sessions. Even if it was just 2 minutes. I was constantly late to sessions, presentations, etc.

I can’t really say. It was all pretty good I feel the day of plenary sessions was the least beneficial. In order to fit it all in, everything was very short.

Splitting those up into tracks like the presentations so that people interested in particular programs could go to those and learn more would be better

I only went to the workshop I'm not sure all the 5-minute updates from the various federal/state/etc. groups on Thursday were that

helpful. In all honesty the least enjoyable aspect of the conference was my stay at the Hotel Morgan. Lack of breaks. Too much chair-time Lack of real food Many of the speakers/presenters seemed to be associated with local government, which did not concern me.

I would like to see a mixture of different industries at the next conference, specifically from the private sector

None that I can think of, everything about the conference was good Not being able to take more than one workshop. Catering service coffee was weak. Professional Really didn’t find anything that was not beneficial Schedule was difficult with work Several talks on Wednesday were very light on actual GIS or how GIS was being applied. These talks

tended to lean toward policy Some of the presentations Some of Thursday’s talk Technical knowledge. More advanced classes would be nice. The “Cave”. I saw no applicable benefit The ESRI 2 ½ hour sales pitch on Tuesday and some of the “paper presentations” were just sales pitches-

should have been vetted for better content. Executive/Legislative sessions The first day ArcGIS 10 seminar The governor’s representative’s speech The least beneficial was the 5 min presentations from each government agency The length The paper presentations were good, but they were too short. They needed to be more time The third track on Wednesday really fizzled out and there was nothing related to Oil and Gas, a major

industry in WV. It all seemed geared towards environmental and regulatory entities Thought the projection screen in the Thursday's session was too dark... Thursday Too many business meetings Tuesday ESRI seminar. Vendor booths Vendor row Vendors were separate from the rest of the activity WVU OIT. The web mapping class was a good class but it was besieged by IT problems

5. Did the program provide you with new skills or information?

Although I don't use LiDAR, I thought the workshop of using/editing LiDAR in ArcGIS was very interesting.

Gave me great ideas to proceed with my Internet mapping through ArcGIS Flex, Silverlight, etc.. Got good info on what the different state departments were up to. This helps me out with our project with

the WDA. Great to see what and where GIS is being applied in the Mtn. State.


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I couldn't attend the Workshops on Friday; I wish there were more workshops earlier in the week. I want to see more user-based presentations/ project updates/ less sales. The workshop I attended was very helpful.

7. Did you benefit from your interactions with the sponsors/exhibitors? (Favorite sponsor/exhibitors)

All of them! Anderson & Associates, ESRI, Autodesk, Landmark Anderson & Associates, Landmark geospatial, Downstream Technologies Anderson & Associates-Good Loot. As an exhibitor, the exhibitor area was a little fragmented this year. It was a better setup at Marshall with

the food and exhibitors integrated in one location. However, that would not work at the WVU site. This all being said, it was not too bad. We have a booth but are really not there for booth traffic. More for the networking.... so I am not complaining

Atlas Geographic and Anderson & Associates Downstream Strategies (Jason Klingerman) Earth Vector Systems (York Grow) Engineering Design Systems ESRI ESRI ESRI ESRI, Pictometry, Anderson & Anderson, Geologic Survey, ESRI I had been introduced to the Precisions Instruments exhibitors at the 2010 conference and chatted with

them quite a bit I was too busy to spend much time with the sponsors/exhibitors In my mind none really stood out Landmark geospatial Pictometry Pictometry Pictometry Pictometry, WVGES Precision Laser & Instruments Surdex Corporation USGS USGS, WVGES, Tech Center, Surdex, Surveyors, MountainCAD Woolpert

8. Which posters/presentations, seminars, or workshops did you find most useful?

Arc 10 Arc 10 Tips and Tricks ArcGis 10 Tips & Tricks. Kevin did a great job. ArcGIS 10- very good- learned a lot. Arcgis 10.0 ArcGIS Friday hands-on workshop. State/Federal/Local/ K-12 sessions on Thurs. ArcMobile was unaware that this came with regular subscription Coal strata mapping poster, solar farm areas Dave Sypolt ESRI ESRI ArcGIS 10.1 Preview, Using ArcGIS.com, ESRI Cloud Strategy and all the DOT presentations were

very useful to me. ESRI sessions along with Aaron Maxwell's presentations ESRI's ArcGIS.com section of their presentation Everything was very interesting


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Federal government GPS GPS Best Practices Workshop GPS workshop and ArcGIS.com presentation I attended the web mapping workshop, which was great, I would highly recommend it to others. Talks:

Downstream strategies' 2 talks, sUAS, Mining Landform Alteration on the 1st day, and the federal and state agency sessions on the 2nd day were the most useful for me

I didn't look at any posters. Lidar workshop was ok but could have been better prepared. Mixers were great I enjoyed the poster on geologic mapping. it had a great workflow of how to generate a "Zero Line" and

match that to the DEM contours I enjoyed the state/federal/local session and learning about the different data available I enjoying watching the student presentations and hearing what the Colleges and Universities are doing in

the GIS field I thought the interactive maps (three only) were interesting I thought the session of student presentations (Baker, Brewer, DeWitt, Roedl, MacLennan) was very good I would have liked to go to the web workshop, the NHD workshop will be very beneficial once I learn more

about the HEM and NHD stuff outside of the workshop Internet Mapping It's difficult to determine which were the most useful Jackie Strager's poster, Ruth Thornton's poster, All Wednesday sessions in Track 1 (didn't get to see all I

wanted to see, but that is the nature of conferences LiDAR workshop, ArcGIS 10 Seminar Many presentations, web mapping workshop was useful, but they all looked very interesting Matchen et al Geology Map! Maxwell land cover presentation Need more interdisciplinary and more vendors NRAC, WVU Crime Paper presentations Pictometry and Geo-Rhea, LLC Presentations: Using ArcGIS.com, Web & Mobile GIS Trends, Nokia and Navteq Maps Roll call/panel discussions Seminars on current research involving GIS/ Remote Sensing Student presentation sessions Executive / Government plenary Students’ presentations The Cave 3-D Geo-visualization The Facilities Management seminar The GPS workshop was useful. Some of the presentation sessions were good just to see what different

organizations within the state are developing using GIS The Internet mapping workshop content was my favorite, but would have been even more beneficial if we

hadn't had the snags with the network, computers, etc. Frank and staff handled it as well as they could and kept us moving though

The Internet Mapping workshop was a great introduction to web maps and applications with ArcGIS Server. Would like to see more of this

The poster that won first or second prize for locating mountaintop removal features using DEM vs. LiDAR. The state government session on Thursday The student presentations were very interesting. I enjoyed pretty much all the Track 1 presentations The topo of Blue Stone The training was the most useful and the discussions with presenters and other attendees about the poster

presentations was very engaging and interesting They all had some useful information Track 1 1:50, 3:30, 3:50, 2:30, 2:10, 9:15 Water Development Board, State Tax Map, GIS Tread... It was all useful. Wish I could have attended more

seminars


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Web Mapping WebGIS, State Agencies talk, DOT talks WV DEP LIDAR Products Presentation by Crawford

9. Which GIS topics should we consider for the training event or conference?

A workshop on creating and managing Geodatabases, or a workshop on analyzing Magnetic and Gravity data in GIS

Add multiple sessions of more popular seminars (ArcGIS, internet mapping) AutoCAD <--> ArcMap introductions Best practices and/or how to create live update system congruent to publish data. Broader scope, look at the enterprise rather than just one aspect Computer programming, working with multi-user geodatabases and servers, python scripting Continue web mapping, Lidar, and Cloud-computing in general Data driven pages! Hand-on, advanced GIS workshops, LiDAR training I would have loved to be able to attend the NHD workshop, but couldn't because of scheduling - perhaps

offer some workshops in the morning and some in the afternoon the next time Intermediate Database User workshop or seminar Internet Mapping LiDAR, ArcGIS hands-on workshops Lost cost solutions for webGIS and mobile Maybe a workshop on analytical techniques and/or exploratory spatial data analysis. A workshop on Open

Source GIS packages could be useful for cash-strapped organizations Maybe some CAD related seminars Medical science/epidemiology Mobile aps Web-GIS More advanced web mapping with additional testing to make exercises work more smoothly. Additional

LiDAR training. Wish I could have done both More detail on web GIS, and the different parts of it More hands-on training would be nice More information on GIS and its uses in the coal, gas, and oil industry of the region. Energy and natural

resources play such an important role in West Virginia's economy, yet it was mentioned much less than expected during the conference

More municipal GIS. Examples of how Municipalites in WV are using GIS for utilities, storm drainage, other mapping. How shale/gas companies are using GIS.

More natural gas applications, including water quality and source issues, AMD, watershed analysis, transportation (pipelines). Also, try to include some floodplain analysis, crime analysis and demographics in WV

More on Internet Mapping, Tips and Tricks for ArcGIS 10.1, Maybe Addressing and Mapping should be considered

More on the use of ArcGIS More on web mapping. With GIS Technology moving increasingly towards the web, these type of classes

will help keep WV's GIS Professionals up-to-date with current technology More web mapping More web mapping Online mapping Open Source internet mapping software for those that can't afford ArcServer Open Source!!! Internet and Mobile Applications Parcel fabric, python Python and Model Builder Python and/or Model builder Python programming, setting up a GIS from start to finish Python programming; best cartographic skill/design for web maps


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Remote sensing Remote sensing/ more Lidar Round table sharing of info, finding ways for different agencies to share info Stay with the basics. Make it worthwhile for private sector folks to attend Technical background overview Tools, tips, tricks Transportation, outreach to communities and education, inexpensive ways for small businesses to get

software- small business and GIS/consulting Utilities were under represented during the conference We could discuss the proper ways to handle the data from one agency to another. maybe some more hands

on training Web based GIS applications Web Mapping, Spatial Analyst Extension Web stuff, more on online GIS WebGIS basics (with Esri's out of the box tools) and maybe something on Mobile... which is big in other

parts of the country You should consider the use of ESRI and Autocad and how they can work together

12. Where would you like to have the 2014 West Virginia GIS Conference? (Other responses)

Bridgeport Conference Center- it’s a good central location. Canaan Valley! Concord University, Athens, WV Flatwoods Northern panhandle would be nice for a change Wheeling Wheeling Wheeling #1 Wheeling- Oglebay Resort Wheeling, Northern panhandle

13. Any other comments? We’d love to hear any input you have.

After I asked a question to the State Leaders, A comment was made about attending the social pizza party later, my question wasn't intended to sound like I was drumming up business for myself. I only wanted to find out if there is an entity in WV that tracks GIS professionals and links them to possible contracts or a place where short term contracts are submitted and professionals can browse them and offer their services. If this does not exist it should be a priority to help facilitate communication between state agencies and GIS professionals.

Everyone did a great job Kurt...big thank you to everyone! Excellent conference. Would like to have seen more diverse subject areas (biomedical, wildlife, recreation). First time- enjoyed it. Very nice accommodations. Great Conference thanks for all the hard work getting things organized Great conference, thank you! Great experience, thanks! Hands-on classes should not be on Friday. Would be better during the week. Heavily geared to public sector. I would like to see more involvement/presentation for the private sector. I

would like to have concurrent days of workshops to allow for more training options instead of having to pick only one class. Great job looking forward to 2014.

I enjoyed myself at this conference and got to meet a lot of other GIS professionals. I found the 5 minute slots that many of the speakers had were not sufficient. It seemed as though many

speakers just breezed through a "to do" list rather than focusing on their use of GIS. I also think it would be a good idea to have a "troubleshooting" session next time. In this session we would have an outline of common issues and problems with GIS software itself, regardless of industry. This would help solve


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problems that many of us face on a day-to-day basis and could be applied to all, rather than a select industry. This outline could be made in advance and entail many problems collected from a survey of GIS users. The session can also include an open discussion to troubleshoot other issues that come to mind.

I talk at a lot of state/regional GIS conferences and can say that this one is one of my favorites. Primarily because it’s a great networking environment and you basically get to hear what everyone is up to. It's very informative and relaxed. One thing I see at other conferences is additional focus on utilities (water & sewer), as well as more Esri presentations on "what's coming in 10.1", "what's up with mobile and web", "what the heck is ArcGIS for your Organization", etc. These are good for techy folks who want to know that is coming down the pike. Maybe think about a session during the prime days.

I think the workshops should be put in the beginning of the week. Kevin did a wonderful job with the workshop.

I would really like to see presentations spread out across more rooms so that each presentation could be longer and so that moving from one room to another would be easier because the timing of presentations would be more uniform and there would be overall fewer disturbances to the schedule by people coming and going to different topics.

If next meeting is in Elkins, Davis and Elkins College has some nice facilities--the Byrd Conference Center and Graceland is right on site. The Ice House is a nice, little pub on campus. El Gran Sabor (http://www.elgransabor.com/) is a great Venezuelan restaurant and bar downtown. Hopefully the new "Brewstel" (microbrewery and hostel: http://brewstel.com/) will be brewing on site in town by next year. Also for judging, I think it might be good to provide the judges' (anonymous) comments to those who did posters or maps for the contest. Designers could learn what was good/bad. Just a thought.

In this day and age, 4 days of conference and training is too long. I think we should go no longer than 2 days. The agency roll calls could be just published/printed, and the 2nd day could have more presentations, or panel discussions held on topics all are interested in, or concurrent round tables on topics of interest.

It was a good conference for its size. I would suggest that we as the WVAGP get much more involved with energy issue related to coal and natural gas. There are multitudes of commercial and government (regulatory) issues that WV is facing today. Industry participation and government-industry collaboration is key. URS would love to get more involved in these issues and geospatial applications in energy.

Let’s work on getting more publicity throughout WVU next time it is in Morgantown. This takes about 2 months lead time with Rebecca Herod.

Love the class on ArcGIS 10 tips. Very helpful. Loved the CAVE. Maybe have user presentations/papers both Tuesday AND Wednesday and reduce the ESRI sales pitch by

an hour. Also have more papers/user sessions than are not concurrent (i.e. on more days) or more workshop time. Very awesome food and social events/mixers- keep that up!

Overall my one-day participation was a very pleasurable experience. My presentation resulted in several new promising contacts. Thank you for waiving my one-day registration fee, which made it possible for me to present. I look forward to attending even more of the conference next time around.

Overall, I was quite impressed by the conference. Definitely think a few minutes need placed between sessions so folks have time to get to other sessions without being late. Food choices were excellent. Seems like the opening, welcoming, and overview of the conference was a little weak or non-existent. Would have appreciated a little more guidance on how things were going to run, what each day will be like, and where things are located. Loved the building, too.

Send us confirmation of what we registered for. Separate poster session and map gallery into two categories. Printed guidelines for workers who administer

concurrent sessions. Some of the plenary presentations were longer than 5 minutes and should have been part of concurrent 15-minute sessions. Include full contact information in Roll Call Survey. Liked the Jazz Ensemble on Wednesday evening.

Thank you to everyone who had anything to do with this conference. You all did a great job. Thanks, had fun, met great folks, learned some too! The CAVE was neat but misleading in the schedule....it was a 1 hour session, not three 20 minute sessions.

Need to start appealing to basic GIS users who want to learn how to apply skills learned or at least get a taste = MORE WORKSHOPS!!!!

The facilities were great, I am sorry that I could not attend any of the social gatherings this year due to family commitments.


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The food was generally good, except for the "dinner" on Wednesday night, which was basically just appetizers. I wouldn't advertise that as dinner. The lunches and snacks were very good, though. Though it would be nice to have some non-sugary bakery/cracker options as well.

The food was great! The time schedule is too tight. More time should be budgeted for presentations and especially to allow for

discussion. The most valuable part of the conference is hearing the audience reactions and feedback together with presenter’s responses.

This conference was well organized and contained a lot of beneficial content. The organizers should be proud of themselves. Thank you very much.

Very good job by the organizers. Can't wait for the next one. Very well managed. We are just normal everyday people. Most of us IT types. Why the 'fancy' type food? I and a few others I

heard do not have sophisticated tastes. Lots of things I could not identify. If I cannot identify it I cannot eat it due to allergies but I am diabetic also so I have to eat regularly. I really would prefer more normal food.

We were a vendor. We had very little traffic. I think it was due to the layout and limited time the participants had.

Well-arranged and well hosted. With regards to number 12, it's my opinion that the conference should be rotated among the major cities

every two years. Nothing against Morgantown, but I enjoy getting out and visiting different areas of West Virginia. Otherwise, this was a great conference and I want to thank WVU, State GIS Coordinator and the WVAGP Conference Committee for doing an excellent job.

Should be an auto reply for registration so attendees can recall which events and workshops they signed up for.

*Total number of responses = 78; Summary charts were produced with 77 responses and only the comments of the 78th evaluation were added to the report.

2012 West Virginia GIS Conference Evaluation · 2012 West Virginia GIS Conference Evaluation 7...

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