There are a few online options to learn GIS for free. Take advantage of resources that provide you access to free courses from some of the world’s best universities and institutions.
Free GIS
GIS Learning
Penn State’s Maps and the Geospatial Revolution Now a Self-paced Course
Penn State has made its popular Maps and the Geospatial Revolution MOOC available as a self-paced online course.
GIS Learning
Free Do-It-Yourself Geo Apps Course
Esri is offering a new MOOC course geared towards teaching participants how to build geo apps using the software company’s ArcGIS Online platform.
GIS Learning
Free QGIS Video Tutorial
Discover Spatial is offering a free five lesson QGIS video tutorial. Aimed towards those interested in learning more about this open source GIS software, the tutorials cover the following areas: Why QGIS?, Identifying the main elements of the QGIS interface, Loading Shapefiles, Creating a map, Advanced styling techniques, Classifying vector data, Preparing a map for export & […]
GIS Learning
Free Earth Science and GIS Classroom Materials
Esri has launched a new initiative that offers free ArcGIS Online based classroom learning materials. The first collection, called the Earth Science GeoInquiry Collection, provides fifteen web-mapping lessons for middle school students. “Earth Science GeoInquiries provide a substantial change in the way we, as educators, use mapping and geographic analysis with […]
GIS Learning, GIS Software
Free Preview of Mastering QGIS
Mastering QGIS is designed to bring users who want to go beyond the basics of QGIS to an advanced level of QGIS expertise. The book provides step-by-step examples covering the areas of database integration, geoprocessing tools, Python scripts, advanced cartography, and custom plugins. Mastering QGIS is written by Kurt Menke, […]
GIS Learning
Registration Open for Free GIS Course: Skills for the Digital Earth
Registration is now open for a free GIS course entitled, “Skills for the Digital Earth“. This MOOC (massive open online course) is a four-week course offered from March 1 to March 28, 2015 which introduces how location technologies are used in society. The course is free, open, and requires no prior experience in GIS […]
GIS Learning, GIS Software
Self-Paced Introduction to QGIS Course
A new course on learning the open source GIS package, QGIS, is being offered to free via Canvas, an open-source learning management system. The QGIS course, which is in beta, was developed by Richard Smith, an Assistant Professor at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, and Kurt Menke, a GIS Specialist at Bird’s Eye View. Students can start enrolling […]
GIS Learning
Free Introduction to GIS Course
Simon Frasier University is offering a free self-paced MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) entitled “Exploring Geographic Information Systems“: Exploring geographic information systems (GIS) is a self-paced course where participants will learn about GIS and how the technology is being used in the real world to support problem-solving and decision-making. Participants will […]
GIS Data
Quantarctica – Free GIS Data for QGIS
A QGIS specific free GIS dataset is available for downloading from the Quantarctica site (QGIS + Antarctica). The GIS data contains geography, glaciology and geophysics data originally developed for in-house use at the the Norwegian Polar Institute. Quantarctica was first released for public consumption in July of 2013 and there are plans to […]