On Monday, 2/25 I asked the CEFTS list the following question:
Hello all,
Most of us are using ArcGIS for GIS software. The current version of the desktop mapping software is ArcMap 10.6.
There is a new generation of GIS software, ArcGIS Pro. This is a 64-bit version that has many advanced features and a completely different interface. From what I understand, ArcMap will be phased out in a few years in favor of ArcGIS Pro. ArcGIS Pro is also closely tied to ArcGIS online.
Penn State University will soon be making ArcGIS online and Pro available to the whole University community.
Has your forest technology program have made the switch to the Pro version? And if you have, what has been your experience? Do you think students would benefit from switching or should we stick with the old version for a while? I will compile your answers to put on the CEFTS web page. Thank you for your help.
Peter
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From Gene McCaul at Green River College (2/25/19)
Hi Peter,
Thanks for letting us know. We have not made the switch in our technology program yet and it seems most of the people who employ our graduates have not made the switch themselves, so it has not made sense to us to switch until the employers are ready for this.
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From Russell Strong at Montgomery Community College (2/25/19)
Same as Gene said, here at MCC we are aware that it will be phase out but we are in no hurry to change at the present time because of what graduates will be using when working for employers.
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From Scott Reigel at Dabney S. Lancaster Community College (2/25/19)
Same for us. I have taught out of the ArcGIS suite and that is what we use, but I make sure that the course includes things such as Avenza, Google Earth, etc. Most of our students are going to use GIS everyday, but unless in a corporation, large consulting firms or the government, Arc is rare over other GIS software. So, I have structured in the Forest Mapping for the FMT degree; surveying, topos, aerial and remote sensing measurements, GIS (points, lines, polygons_Attributes tables and databases, queries, etc., GPS functions, etc.) Our private industry still is big users of Terrain Navigator, other software such as CMT GIS which I use in my consulting business. I teach as well as use Arc, but no secret: if you do not use it daily, the simplest procedures are easily forgotten.
I get so frustrated with how slow Arc is with that Online basemap generation. Over other software models in which you import the .tif or .sid in to the project. The spinning globe in the lower status bar is my nemesis! Yes I get the benefits, but for slow internet speeds and working off of laptops in the field..it is inefficient.
Long story, we have not switched either.
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From Neil Thompson at the University of Maine at Fort Kent (2/25/19)
I teach the GIS Applications I course at UMFK, among other things. I test drove ArcPro last year and was not impressed. I will reevaluate in a couple years, I think the software has potential that hasn’t been realized yet, especially with the 64-bit capability. As others have said, I haven’t seen anyone in industry moving that way yet but will be watching for change.
Re: loading basemaps, if you’re using imagery, check out the NAIP direct download site as an alternative. https://nrcs.app.box.com/v/naip States are typically flown every three years, so yours might be in 2017 or 2016. We just got our 2018 at 60cm resolution, both true color and color infrared.
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From Marie Perrin-Miller at Allegany College of Maryland (2/27/19)
At Allegany College we are still using ArcMap for desktop- I can see us switching to pro in the near future based on recent conversations with our advisory committee and employers.