Gone are the days of getting an annual training stipend to travel somewhere to learn some new technology. And if you are in an organization that still does this, then they are stuck in an ineffective tech transfer paradigm. The new term is ‘Agile Learning’. Tech changes so quickly that you must be willing to learn more frequently, in smaller time frames, lower costs, and more specific content. If this sounds familiar, it is. We stream music, products, and services to us all the time. So if you are personally concerned about staying relevant or you are in charge of training plans for your staff, you should be taking advantage of a list of sources to keep pace with others in the tech sector. Beside taking normal university courses, you should think about sharing this list of online GIS training plan sources and get your staff to ‘Spotify their learning’:
- Social Media Groups
- Industry Association meetings
- TEDx
- Code support application
- Microcredentials
Social Media Groups on GIS
The more people you know, the more windows you have to new opportunities. LinkedIn and Facebook groups are easy ways to network to new people and learn what they are doing in your field of interest. Linkedin is the largest business oriented networking website geared specifically towards professionals. Make sure your LinkedIn profile is full of multimedia examples of your work. Since your profile is open to anyone, it is a thousand times more valuable than your resume that few people ever see. Linkedin and Facebook contain GIS groups that allow you to easily see the latest updates and news. Follow these 3 Linkedin tips to gain connections and take part in discussions. It’s a brilliant platform for exchanging knowledge back and forth with people who have the same passion as you.
Join an Industry Association Meeting
It is important for professionals to join industry association meetings. Professional industrial association meetings are geared to doing business together and setting the strategic direction of a certain industry. It provides a space for you to be part of the conversation and helps you to contribute to where your GIS industry or career are possibly headed. It is also another great opportunity for you to build a strong in-person network with other professional industry experts or old colleagues in the GIS field. There is plenty of useful information and advantages that you can take from joining the industry meetings such as MAPPS, SAME, and URISA
Watch inspiring lectures from TEDx videos
TEDx has become one of the major platforms for conferences and speeches. TED-style lectures and performances are presented at TEDx events, which are free and open to the public. TEDx events are organized and run entirely by the local communities in which they take place. TED talks are meant to share ideas that are compelling, inspiring, and for everyone. There are new topics all the time in tech areas like AI, machine Learning, Cryptocurrency, and GIS. Here are a few geospatial oriented talks:
The power of geography to make a sustainable future
Geographic Information Systems
Spatial data: make the most of your opportunities
Ask questions on Stack Exchange, Stack Overflow, GitHub, ArcGIS Online
Coding support applications such as Stack Exchange, Stack Overflow, Github, and ArcGIS Online are efficient Peer-2-Peer tech platforms. This means that you can share code, support, or data. This covers many tech topics enroute to creating applications. Each of their site’s main goals is to let users ask and answer questions. It’s a platform with tons of network communities that are formed and run by experts and enthusiasts who are passionate about specific topics. Any users are enabled to post and answer any questions that they’re interested in. Then it is available to get interaction real-time and design questions and answers properly in a very short period of time. On the other hand, GitHub allows multiple users to simultaneously modify web pages using GitHub’s web-based interface and revision control system. Similarly, ArcGIS Online lets you build webapp and share among peers that are given access. These tools facilitate real-time collaboration. They are a must for an organization that works in Agile development..
Get a microcredential at Bootcamp GIS, AWS, or LinkedIn
Microcredentials are the trending educational accomplishment that fits what many industries need. Demonstration of technical abilities in a quicker and less expensive way. Bootcamp GIS has offers a GIS certificate where students go through applied project-based courses. You can do this by taking 6 courses in 6 months. Certainly web architecture skills are fantastic to have. Go to AWS Certifications to take online classes in a few areas like: networking, database, analytics, and machine learning. You can get connected with a global network of developers and entrepreneurs who also use AWS for their cloud hosting. LinkedIn learning also provides video lecture courses taught by real life professors and industry experts in fields such as AI, machine learning, and data science with personal course recommendations tailored to you. Keep adding technical certificates to your portfolio from these and other sources to show your attention to the latest tech.
We tell all of our students that if you are not learning something new every month, then you will fall behind those that do. Learning in the tech era has to be a regular habit. You are probably aware of every one of these educational sources, but the question is if you put this into your agenda as a couple hours of learning every week. Doing this is good for you and your organization because whoever does tech transfer the best, outcompetes the rest.
