CREATING WEB SITES FOR SPATIAL DATA DISSEMINATION

Rationale
Using the World Wide Web (WWW) as a means of publishing spatial data has become popular in a short time. This is due to the fact that WWW information is virtually platform-independent, unrivalled in its capacity to reach many users at minimal costs and easy to update. Last but not least, the WWW is perceived as fashionable, a modern way of disseminating information. To publish maps and other representations of spatial data on the WWW, one needs only very few resources. But to make sensible use of this medium, one has to take into account:

In most curricula, little guidance is available to geoinformation professionals on these new aspects of their profession. The division of Geoinformatics, Cartography & Visualisation has developed expertise in Web Cartography, and it intends to use this elective to disseminate that knowledge to the ITC community. Theoretical knowledge will be transferred and applied to solve practical problems, so that at the end of the elective the participant will have published their own Web page, which will remain accessible and updateable for the duration of their ITC programme. The construction of the Website will be geared towards the participants' own data and visualisation needs.

Objectives
Upon completion of this course, students should be able to:

1: Regular 3 week module at ITC premises
Creating Web sites for spatial data dissemination is given as an Elective, part of the regular ITC Professional Masters and MSc programmes. This elective can also be followed as a stand-alone course. The module is designed for a duration of fifteen working days (3 weeks). For the coming year, the elective is planned to run from 27 March -13 April 2006 , for planned dates in the next years, check the ITC education site or contact kobben@itc.nl.

2: Tailor made course at any location
The tailor-made course is based on the regular elective, but can be extended or truncated, according to the client's needs and knowledge level. The starting date & duration can be set to your organisation's wishes ('off the shelf' programs are present for a duration from three weeks to a minimum of two days). The course can be at ITC premises or at a location arranged by your organisation. For all enquires on having a tailor-made course for your organisation, contact: Barend Köbben [e-mail: kobben@itc.nl] PO Box 6, 7500 AA Enschede, The Netherlands. Tel +31- (0)53 4874 253; Fax +31- (0)53 4874 335

Support for course participants is provided at this Web-site. It is the main information centre for the elective, among others it holds the Time Table. During the elective it will be filled with course materials, interactive exercises and assessments, which will become available as soon as its is relevant On the site, there are possibilities for feedback and questions to the staff and your fellow students (Contact page).