Open Source Web GIS Basics

This tutorial illustrates the basics of open source web Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for professionals in the field of cultural heritage. It is hosted by the platform iDAI.tutorials of the German Archaeological Institute (DAI). In addition to this, the platform offers the first Arabic translations of international standards and guidelines on digitization such as OAIS, Dublin Core. Courses and resources are being continuously developed and added by the various initiatives of the project “Stunde Null/Hour Zero” with the support of the Archaeological Heritage Network. The platform was initially developed in the framework of the Funds-in-Trust agreement “Capacity Building, Technical and Media Support” between UNESCO and the German Archaeological Institute.

Web mapping, as a combination of the web and GIS, is a new and promising field. It has unlocked the power of GIS, and put online maps and geospatial data. It has immense applicability in cultural heritage fields. Equipped with the previous knowledge of GIS, this course will enable participants to learn the basics of Web GIS employed in distributing and collecting data.

Some of the learning outcomes of the tutorial are:

• Comprehensive and up-to-date overview of Web GIS
• Basic technologies used in web programming and how they interact to form a web application
• Basic knowledge and enough understanding of these technologies to be able to create a web-mapping application