Assignment Four: ArcGIS

My ArcGIS experience:

Professor Shin was not kidding when he said learning ArcGIS is a process that must be handeled carefully. Learning how to use the software created a high level of stress as it is quite complicated. In the long run, the benefits of learning such a difficult application will prove to be quite useful.

My first few tries the tutorial included many mistakes. My maps did not come out looking at all as those in the tutorial. of course, this led to rising levels of frustration. There were several times when I had to put everything on hold and convince myself it will be a smoother process at another point. This mindset led to several breaks in between completing the project.

Due to my inability to succesfully finish the project in one sitting, I attempted to use the remote desktop software at home. This had its pros and cons. It was nice to be able to use ArcGIS at home, but it did appear to be slower than it is when on campus. Though I did accomplish a few exercises at home, I had to come back to UCLA to fully finish this weeks assignment. Luckily, it all seemed to make much more sense this time around.

ArcGIS became a useful software for me once I understood the procedure. This led to a deeper understanding of the potential of ArcGIS. Yes, it is difficult to learn, and many steps must be taken for a simple task. However, in the long run, the softwares ability to create layer upon layers of information in an easily presentable way makes it all worth the initial struggles. This ability will allow individuals to create a presentation, as seen in the tutorial, to accomplish significant obstacles in life. Any argument is advanced with visuals, and ArcGIS is the perfect way to professionally present such arguments.