I began the GIS specialization in July 2023 at which time ArcGIS Desktop was the software that learners were provided in course 1 (Fundamentals of GIS). The specialization was revamped in October 2023 and I was given the option of continuing with the "old" specialization or moving to the revamped specialization, where the first two courses in the specialization were still applicable and counted toward completion of the specialization. I of course went with the newer specialization since the older material is becoming obsolete. The problem with the retooling of the specialization is that ArcGIS Pro is the software used in the new course material but no license has been made available to the learners who started with ArcGIS Desktop. Going back to the material for Fundamentals of GIS, I am only able to access the old material which doesn't offer the option of acquiring Pro. If you are a brand new learner then you get the new material and can download Pro. Many other learners are having this same problem, we've posted about it in the discussion forums several times, and the instructor - Eric Howard - does not engage in the the discussion because learners are supposed to help each other solve their problems. I get that but this is a content problem where resolution will need to come from course staff. I've engaged with many Coursera staff hoping this problem can be ultimately be addressed by UC DAvis but we just go in circles, where I am told to keep posting in the discussion forums to MIA course staff. Coursera staff also point me to the old material in Fundamentals that I already used for getting Desktop. The Coursera staff are speedy and professional in their communications but aren't able to offer any actual solutions or progress toward getting a Pro license. So, after all this, I have had to use a colleague's account to access Pro and move forward with the course content. Additionally, the presentation quality of the instructor videos has really gone downhill from the first two courses in the specialization. Nick Santos did a fantastic job clearly presenting the material in a professional and engaging manner. In contrast, Mr. Howard uses linguistic fillers throughout his speech: kinda like/kind of like, actually. It's annoyingly distracting. The videos appear to have been recorded at his residence and you can hear a young child crying in the background at various times. Some of the prompts in the discussion forum are in the wrong places. For example, learners are asked in week 1 what they learned from the course and if it fullfilled their expectations. One of the data fies that is provided is corrupted and will not download. Overall, I'm very disappointed with my experience in Geospatial Analysis with ArcGIS. UC Davis needs to remedy these problems.

Instructor needs to work on his audio setup as well as avoiding filler words such as "kinda", "like", or "uh" in every video as it impedes on understanding the material when it sounds like even he isn't sure about what he is saying.

The first course in the specialization had a lot more depth and information. This one restated a lot of concepts throughout the course. I would like there to be a project where we take our own raw excel data from start to finish in GIS. Good videos

I recently completed an ArcGIS course, and overall, it was a great experience. The course covered a wide range of topics, from the basics of GIS to more advanced techniques. The lessons were well-structured and easy to follow, with a good balance of theory and hands-on exercises. I especially appreciated the practical examples, which helped me understand how to apply the concepts in real-world scenarios. The instructors were knowledgeable and engaging, always available to answer questions or clarify any doubts. One of the standout features of the course was the interactive component—working with ArcGIS tools directly on the platform allowed me to learn by doing, which I found incredibly helpful. I did find the pace a bit fast at times, especially in the more advanced sections, but the course materials were thorough enough to review later. If you're new to GIS or ArcGIS, this course provides a solid foundation, and even experienced users can pick up some useful tips and tricks. Overall, I would highly recommend this course to anyone looking to improve their GIS skills. It’s informative, practical, and a great way to get hands-on experience with ArcGIS!

I consider the content of the course quite good. The examples used to illustrate the information were practical. The Coursera platform worked excellently, there was no inconveniences during the course.

Great overview of Spatial Analysis tools and publishing/sharing possibilities

Fantastic detailed trip through numerous ArcGIS Pro tools and applications.

Fun but practical assignments showing how to use vital tools in ArcGIS Pro

Great course! I like the explanations and demostrations using ArcGIS Pro

This course explains some Geospatial analysis in simple and clear terms.

Merci, j'ai appris tellement de choses!

Enjoyed learning in this specialization

This course is good

gooooooood

great work

👍

Overall these courses were interesting. I do feel like I learned a bit and am more comfortable using ArcGIS. I will say though that I was not super impressed with the structure of this specialization. I felt that many times the instructor would skim over topics and not really clarify or provide context. I would then have to answer quiz questions related to those. I also was not impressed with structure of the assignments and all the grammatical errors. Finally, I had a hard time following one of the instructors. They seemed uncomfortable and didn't really explain things well.

TL:DR Don't choose this as a stand-alone course expecting to learn any fundamentals of geospatial analysis. This is my response from the first time the learning goals question was asked of me (it's in there twice, at the beginning and the end): "I have taken the first two courses of the GIS specialization, and I am excited to learn, in-depth, about spatial analyses, ecological data considerations, and creating scientifically useful data sets and maps." We barely scratched the surface of spatial analysis, and there was no final graded project. We basically talked about a single use case, a site suitability analysis for coffee shops; barely discussed interpolation and only as it relates to air quality data; and module 4 seems like it's an advertisement for ArcGIS Online, which had nothing to do with spatial analysis other than that the layers used in the uploads to Online were given to us with spatial analysis having already been done to them. Also, how about you let us follow along by actually doing the spatial analyses by providing us with supplemental downloads for lectures that have not already been completed. The instructor narrates the lectures as if the viewers are preforming the analyses alongside his narration, like the viewers are actually performing the same tasks he's displaying on the screencast, but in the files we're provided, that work is already done. It's like having the solution to some math homework, except we don't get to try to solve the equation ourselves. We just have to look at the solved problem. That's garbage. This course was a major let down. I will likely be calling UC-Davis CPE. I really hope the quality of the last course in the specialization is increased.