An introduction to technologies that are vital for contemporary planners. Whether planners work at the local, state, or federal level, for-profit or non-profit, urban or rural, or with targeted neighborhoods or regional entities, the necessity for planners to, at a minimum, understand technologies is paramount. These technologies are used to plan, develop, manage, and analyze geographic areas and their respective populations. Given the past, present, and assuredly future ubiquity of Geographic Information Systems (GIS), this course's major focus will be on developing analytical and visual GIS skills. Parallel to acquiring initial GIS skills using the most current and widespread software platforms for GIS, students will employ real-life 'hands-on' experience alongside instruction for analysis and visualization both in the static/desktop environments as well as in more dynamic/web environments.