First Opportunity:
“Mapping with Google” Online Course
Begins TODAY June 10th, ends June 24th
Choose to learn about Google Maps and/or Google Earth.
Taught by Google employees.
Earn a Certificate of Completion at the end.

Second Opportunity:
“Maps and the Geospatial Revolution” MOOC
Begins July 17th, lasts 5 weeks, workload: 6-9 hours/week
No special software needed.
Earn a Statement of Accomplishment at completion.
I signed up for this and you should too.

original photo cred

Weeks ago, I was approached by a student looking to map out food sources to connect to institutions. I outlined our conversation in the blog post, Getting Started With Digital Map Storytelling. This conversation let me to investigate some new tools, and I am happy to report that we have our first prototype for Digital Map Storytelling up and running using ESRI’s Storymap template/framework.

So how did we get here?

Well, doing some initial research we were looking for a way to visualize both images and spatial information, in a way that was intuitive and clean. We decided to get a prototype up and running by following some of the advice here in this post by Bern Szukalski titled Using the Storytelling Map Tour Template, originally suggested by Michael Gould on Twitter.

Getting the template up and running on the server

So, first step was getting up and running on a webserver. I left that up to my server team to get the Storymap Template up and running. Michael J Grant, server adminstrator at Skidmore, was able to do this very quickly, and I am very grateful.

With the template up and running, I next needed to figure out how I would organize these projects. We decided to create folders for each project, copying the original template. So, instead of having the prototype at storymap.skidmore.edu, we created a folder called wallart to put a copy of the template in. Now, the prototype could be populated at storymap.skidmore.edu/wallart.

Head to the link to see our prototype.

Our Storymap Prototype

Getting the images

I quickly needed some data to populate our prototype, so I asked a current GIS Center student worker to capture some images around campus, capture coordinates, and to come up with titles and descriptions of each.

Holly Cartwright decided on some of the graffiti around campus as a test case. In a day she captured and had the titles and descriptions ready to go.

Following the instructions above, I had to resize each image to the exact specs, as well as each of the image thumbnails. I did so using Microsoft Paint. I then put the images on the same webserver, in the same folder, WallArt, so that I could have a web link to each one, and each thumbnail.

Building the .csv

Next I had to build the .csv in Excel. Here I followed the directions to create the spreadsheet, listing the image titles, descriptions, coordinates, and links to each image. After saving this as the .csv, I logged into ArcGIS Online and dragged in the .csv, and the points appeared on my map. One coordinate was off so I had to remap it. I then made the ArcGIS Online project “public.”

Editing the index.html code

Finally, I went into the html and I set the wallart html code to point to my ArcGIS Online map, by copying in the Webmap ID.

It didn’t work the first time.

I had to do a little trouble shooting the first time. Initially I had changed the name of the locations layer title to something other than “locations.” This broke the project, so I ended up to just leaving it as “locations.”

Also, I found that it was working on campus, but people off campus couldn’t view it. I had to further work with my server administrators to let the project be viewable to the world by opening up a hardware firewall to let this server be accessed.

Reflections

It worked. It looks good. It was worth the minor struggle to get it up and running.

We have had many ideas about how it could be used to support campus and community classroom and research projects, so I am optimistic that this was a worthwhile endeavor. I’m curious how you might use a prototype like this?

Also, does anyone know if it might support video or other customizations?

who wouldn’t want to be that guy

Learn what Prezi is and how to use it!

Wednesday, April 24, 2013
7pm
GIS Center (second floor of library)
Reserve your spot by RSVPing using MyCDC Account

Prezi is an easy-to-use, online presentation tool that transforms how we can communicate ideas. Often referred to as “an alternative to Powerpoint,” Prezi allows for zooming in and out of a presentation to see the smaller details and how they interact to create the bigger picture. In this workshop, we will introduce what you can do with Prezi and how to use it to create inspiring presentations. If you’ve never heard of Prezi, come and see what you’re missing. Already familiar with Prezi? Then learn how to get even more out of it. Feel free to bring any material you may want to use to create a Prezi, such as class notes, your resume, or even an old powerpoint. Or just show up to check out what cool things Prezi has to offer.

RSVP on the career development center site: (sign into MyCDC Account and click on events)
Career Development Center
If you want to bring your own laptop to work on, you don’t have to reserve your spot. (If you have a mouse, bring that too)

Check out Prezi.

Here is an example of a Prezi I created for the GIS Center.

There are always interesting opportunities for those interested in GIS and Instructional Technology at Skidmore College. Here are a few of them.

1) Full time summer GIS/Instructional Technology Position.
https://careers.skidmore.edu/applicants/jsp/shared/position/JobDetails_css.jsp?postingId=166585

2) 5 Hour a week GIS Lab Assistant Position (now until end of semester) https://skidmore.studentemployment.ngwebsolutions.com/JobXJobDetail.aspx?JobId=4512&s=1

3) New York 6 Instructional Technology Apprentice Program (available to students working in Instructional Technology or GIS, talk to me for more info)
http://newyork6.org/itap is the official program, but see what the apprentices worked on here.

4) Work for the GIS Center next year.

If you are interested in any of the positions above, I encourage you to contact Alex Chaucer, achaucer AT skidmore.edu, and set up at time to discuss the different opportunities.

WHAT IS ITS NAME?

WHERE IS IT LOCATED?

1856 Map of Greenfield, NY

Imagine what we could individually learn about local cities by using maps to understand their histories. Connecting history and place through GIS technology has the possibility to activate awareness and independent research initiatives in local communities.

On Thursday, February 21st, a Historians Meeting took place in Skidmore’s new GIS Center, featuring Ron Feulner, the town of Greenfield Historian, Rick Bishop, a volunteer at the Historian’s Office in Greenfield, and Dr. Robert Jones, a Professor of Economics at Skidmore. At the meeting, a presentation was given on their mapping project of the town of Greenfield. The project included multiple layers of historical maps of Greenfield with air photos and the location of small cemeteries and burial grounds from hundreds of years ago. Many Historians of the cities and towns of Saratoga County also attended the presentation.

This semester’s students of Skidmore’s interdisciplinary class “Introduction to Geographic Information Systems,” taught by Robert Jones, are taking on mapping projects similar to the Greenfield project. Skidmore’s largest scanner located in the GIS center has been utilized in the process to upload high resolution images of historical print maps, and will continue to be utilized in the process. Each student in the GIS class is mapping one of the other local towns in Saratoga County using the same technique of layering historical maps onto current maps – a process called “georeferencing.” The finished maps of each town will then be given to the town’s corresponding Historian for the town’s use. Another meeting is scheduled for April 10th in which the Historians will convene to see progress of the students’ projects.

Through georeferencing historical maps, we can see exactly where buildings, roads, and other features existed in comparison to current feature locations. Applying GIS in a historical context enables the development of a visual understanding of places, events, and spacial change over time. It is also encouraging to see students and the community taking the initiative to learn more about the historical setting of local areas. This type of grassroots research is one of the most powerful tools that enable communities to understand their landscapes and make independent decisions that benefit the wellbeing of their neighborhoods. In a time of increasing disinterest and disengagement, collective research and involvement may be one of the remedies to the disunity of local communities.

If you are interested in learning how to use Geographic Information Systems for any reason, stop by the GIS Center in Room 227 on the second floor of the library and see how to get started!

Recently I had come across the ESRI Storymaps. I have liked the visual impact built into these maps, and I had a feeling that the student would also. So I started showing some Storymap examples. Since this is a food related project, I went right toward the Thanksgiving Dinner Map. The student was impressed. We also talked about doing a Sustainability Tour on campus (as I have discussed in a previous post) We thought that the Treasures of Redlands could prove to be a possible prototype if we could get it up and running.

As we started to move in the Storymap direction, I decided to reach out for some advice. Using Twitter, I tweeted to who I thought might be able to help.

Shortly after, as I was still investigating storymap templates with the student, Michael Gould sent me a couple messages on Twitter.

Michael shared with me some great links for getting started with Storymaps. For instance, he shared this great set of downloadable templates, a best practices white paper, and an example of a storymap of books about Spain. On my own I found this post by Bern Szukalski about getting started with the Map Tour templates. Feeling well on my way to get a prototype Storymap up and running, the student then had to leave. Next I started to look for some webspace to put a template. I considered my personal website, but opted to call a network administrator to find the right server to get a prototype up and running. I shared some links with them, and they will be getting back to me.Bill Morris chimed in with another version of a map story platform, which I will have to explore as well.

Well, that’s a start on my Storymap adventure. Exploring this option is right in my line of digital storytelling with maps, which is an area that I am interested in exploring for the Skidmore College GIS Center for Interdisciplinary Research, for local historians using historic maps, for supporting creative mapping projects (like this one on Sacred Spaces) and other digital humanities projects and for telling stories about sustainability.

Have you seen any options that might help the student trying to map local food producers with institutional distributors or consumers, or have you seen any digital map storytelling examples that would be worth knowing about and exploring?

Instead of arbitrarily prodding through the app’s features, we’ll put Fulcrum to test by putting it into the context of a pressing issue in environmental studies: the management of green spaces. Green spaces are socially and ecologically important but are threatened by increasing land development plans – even at Skidmore (cough cough new housing). Anyone hoping to preserve these spaces may ask the following questions: where are these green spaces? how are they used? what are the students’ perceptions of these spaces?

But before we delve into exactly how to address these questions using Fulcrum, we’ll need a brief overview of the app itself. As stated earlier, Fulcrum is a data collection tool that allows you to create field collection forms and conduct field work both on your computer and Android, iPhone, or iPad device (we used the iPad). The form builder allows you to add picklists, checkboxes, texts fields, and several other data types. These forms are automatically synced to your mobile device so that you can work in the field and send back data in real-time. There’s also an offline option if you want to sync your data later. Finally, the app allows you to export your data into standard formats such as KML, CSV, or shapefile.

If we want to use Fulcrum to explore the green spaces at Skidmore, first we’ll have to create a new project by selecting the “ + New App” tab on the upper right hand corner of the page. You’ll have the option importing data, using a pre-designed template, or building exactly what you want using the blank template. Clicking on the blank template will take you to this page

This where you create your field form. For simplicity we created 3 text fields (Location, Size, and Distance to Nearest Building), 1 multiple choice field (Use of Space), and 1 photo field. After that, you’re set to do field work!

You can choose points of your map right from your desktop or laptop. Here’s a few points already on the map.

To add a new point, select the “+” on the upper right hand side of the Recent Records table and fill the form. Those points will automatically be synced to your mobile device.

Adding data points in the field proved to be just as simple. Just select the “+” on the upper right hand corner and fill the form.

To view all the other data points created on the desktop or laptop, open the sync settings window (located on the lower right hand corner) and select “Download Records.”

And that’s essentially the entire process. When you’re finished with the data, you can export the data as KML, CSV, or shapefile formats to visualize using GIS or even excel.

Obviously, this review does not include a complete list of green spaces. The choices of data types are open to manipulation so that you may effectively address the question presented at the beginning of the post.

Perhaps the main critique of Fulcrum is the base map. Unfortunately, it’s a bit out of date, and my field data point for Northwoods appears to be located in a parking lot. However, Fulcrum does allow you to add your own imagery to your account to avoid such confusion.

Ultimately, Fulcrum is a practical app for anyone interested in field based data collection. Setting up a single person account is free while small, medium, and large group accounts come at a higher price.
Nevertheless, the app is straight forward and fairly simple to use. If you want to know more about the app and want to get started on your own field based project, come stop by the GIS center or check out the Fulcrum blog for more information.

What uses can you see for an app like fulcrum?

NOTE: We will have someone from Fulcrum on campus to discuss it’s uses on April 11th! More details to follow.

As always, if you have any apps you’d like us to review, let us know in the comment section!