Category: Course Student Work

Chapter 1:

-After installing the software and downloading the tutorial files, I imported the first file and began completing the lessons.

-I learned how to go to a bookmark as well as turn on and off layers by selecting them in the contents page. 

-Switching basemaps allows you to overlay the data onto a variety of map backgrounds which can be useful for focusing on specific features.

-By Changing the layer order in the content pane, you can change which layers appear on top of which others

-You can create, save and export specific layouts for your maps in a variety of formats and settings.

-You can see all the attributes for a data type by using the attributes table, and sort the table by ascending or descending values.

-You can select data using the attributes table and generate summaries using different statistical tools.

-I learned how to change and add symbols signifying the location of various data points, as well as how to label data points.

-I also learned how to view and navigate the 3D map projection, and how to switch between map types using the catalog pane.

Chapter 2:

-I learned how to set the color and fill for various features, as well as how to set them based on specific attributes, such as zoning attribute

-By labeling specific features, you can add additional information, in conjunction with using fill colors and borders

-You can also remove these labels for certain features only, or remove those of them that are redundant. 

-By performing a search query, you can narrow down the range of a certain data set based on attribute, and using boolean operators add or reduce the selection using other attributes to select only the desired data.

-I learned how to make choropleth maps to summarize numerical data and display the results as easier to understand heatmaps, as well as how to extrude them using the 3D view.

-Using graduated data points can help show the proportional differences in quantities or sizes between different features of the same type on a map.

-Choropleth maps can also be normalized by using percentages, which can more accurately display certain types of data, and by using dot density maps, multiple attributes can be displayed on one map at the same time, using different color dots for each attribute.

-Finally, visibility ranges can be useful for hiding certain features at different zoom amounts, and altering the detail level based on how much of the map is in view.

Chapter 3:

• I learned how to create custom layouts that can be exported to be used in other softwares, or shown to non GIS users.
• Many arrangements, sizes and styles exist for the layouts, and multiple maps, along with legends and other text can be combined in a single layout.
• Various types of charts can be created as well, to illustrate trends in the data in ways that a map could not.
• Maps can also be shared online to be viewed on a different device or by others.
• I learned about making interactive maps using the storymaps feature, and how you can create dashboards, which allows you to interact with the data in a predetermined way, and build toolkits for specific use cases. (Such as the city debris collection one from the tutorial.)

Chapter 1

This was a good introduction for how to use GIS program. As this was my first time using a software like this, I found it very confusing at first. By time I got to the end of the chapter I was starting to understand how to work the program. The different layers and understanding how they all work was a key point I got from this chapter. The part I found the hardest was probably understanding the hard drive and how to transfer stuff in to start the tutorials.

Chapter 2

This chapter was cool due to how I learned how to kind of categorize things on the map based on what it is and make them different colors. I can make it so I can easily see the spatial differences in a map. This helped me to fully understand the importance of GIS and how it is truly used in the real world. I had a few difficulties with this and learned how to problem solve through the software. My computer kept saying error and so finding the problem and fixing it was a challenge.

Chapter 3

This chapter helped me to figure out how to share the information to an external source and make it understandable without having the GIS knowledge or software at your disposal. This chapter also went the quickest and was the easiest for me. I also struggled with this chapter a little bit as I used my personal laptop instead of the computer lab desktops which switching over, I had to relearn or figure some things out as they appear slightly different on my laptop.

Overall, these three chapters were a very good introduction to the GIS software, and I found it all very intriguing. The book does a very good job of explaining the process and breaking it down step by step.

Week four was all about introducing the program by physically going through several tutorials on how to operate and understand it. I read the preface, chapter 1, chapter 2, and chapter 3 and did the corresponding tutorials with each section. 

Chapter 1:

Chapter one was the beginning of making/using maps on ArcGIS. This is the first time I have done anything like this so there was definitely a learning curve involved but overall this chapter was easy to follow along and understand. A few things this chapter focused on were base maps and layers, navigating the program/controls, attribute data, and symbolizing maps. I really like the format of this book because as someone who is completely new to this, it doesn’t feel overwhelming and everything is laid out in very simple steps.

Chapter 2:

The goal of chapter two is to learn how to design and symbolize thematic maps. It worked through choosing layers and using spatial context in your map. This chapter was a little more difficult for me as it had more content and started to become more complex but overall it was still easy to follow and laid out well. Things that were learned in this chapter included symbolizing qualitative attributes, labeling features and configuring pop ups, filtering with definition queries, creating choropleth maps for quantitative attributes, displaying data using graduated and proportional point symbols, normalizing population maps with custom scales, creating dot density maps, and setting visibility ranges. In section 2.8 I was having trouble with the visibility range and finding “Out Beyond” as an option where only min and max scale were there. This chapter was helpful in seeing how easy it is to read the maps once you understand what you are looking at/what they are representing.

Chapter 3: 

Chapter three focuses on sharing maps beyond ArcGIS users and with people who don’t have advanced GIS or mapping knowledge. This chapter was heavy on using elements in the ArcGIS online browser and showed how to use many of the available features. Things that were learned in this chapter include how to build layouts and charts, sharing maps online, creating a story in ArcGIS StoryMaps, and creating a dashboard in ArcGIS Dashboards. Overall, I thought this chapter was really helpful in showing how what we are learning can be used in real life.

Chapter 1: This chapter was very helpful in learning how to navigate ArcGIS. Something that I thought was super cool was the different base maps that you can use around the individual map. This is super helpful when examining the larger map because it gives you more context on where the map is located in relation to the things. Another thing that I thought was super cool was the ability to layer things and move the layers on top of each other. This makes it easy to only focus on one layer, or layer things in order to display multiple things at once. The chapter also discusses how to display the map with a legend and save it to your computer. This can be used for presenting the information on the map, and can be useful because you can select exactly what you want displayed within the map. I was very surprised by how much information could be included in the map. For example, the chapter shows each specific clinic and provides information on the clinic as well as a link to the clinic’s website. This allows the map viewer to get as much information as possible. Viewing raster data on the map was very useful because it grouped some of the higher poverty areas together and gave me an overall view of the map. Something that I struggled with in this chapter was under the “Work with the fields view of an attribute table” section. I couldn’t figure out how to rename the Alais column in the chart. Another thing that I struggled with was selecting specific clinics and having them show up in the chart. I was not able to find the selection button that allowed me to select each clinic. Learning how to use the symbology was very helpful and definitely something that I will use in the future, especially if symbols start to come together, and I need them to stand out more.

Chapter 2: Overall, I think this chapter was very useful in learning the displays of maps. It aided me in learning how to label specific parts of a map. Something that I thought was interesting was being able to learn how to shut off specific information that I didn’t need when displaying pop-ups. Something that the chapter brought up that I hadn’t previously considered was that shapes and colors make the map easier to read for color blind people. Since this isn’t a problem that I personally have, I never thought about it. I struggled with a few different sections in this chapter. Specifically section 2-4. This section I wasn’t able to originally complete because the neighborhood section in the contents bar didn’t have valid data. Another section I struggled with was 2-8. In this section, I wasn’t able to set the visibility out beyond. Something else that confused me in this chapter was the differences between the different classification methods. While I understood that changing them made a difference, I didn’t understand why the difference was significant to analyzing the data. Something that I thought was super cool and useful was the swipe feature when comparing the male-headed households receiving food stamps and the female-headed households receiving food stamps. The swipe method provided a better way to compare the two maps than just switching back and forth between them.

Chapter 3: This chapter provided me with a lot of useful information. It took me quite a while since I was switching between GIS online and the app, but it provided me with some useful skills. I was able to learn how to format a chart based on certain maps as well as how to label and share that chart with other people. Additionally, I learned how to create a bar chart based on the map to display my data in many different ways. I ran into a few issues with the formatting, but they weren’t huge issues, so I was able to skip past them easily. It was super cool that I was able to access my maps through both online and the app, and that they both provided me with both editing and formatting options. Another useful skill was learning how to create my own story through GIS, which included the different charts and maps that I had previously downloaded. While I can acknowledge the different uses for online vs the app, I prefer the app more. This might be due to the fact that I’m a little bit more used to it, but also due to the number of edits I can make to the map through the app. Towards the end of the chapter, creating my dashboard got a little confusing. While I was able to add all the different elements to my map, they didn’t layer on top of the map like the chapter implied. Instead, they created their own tabs in the dashboard.

Chapter 1

Before even starting chapter 1, I was confused using the hard drive and transferring files but I figured it out after many mistakes. Going in I felt lost but the instructions are pretty clear and I felt better about a lot of basics. It did take me a while to try and navigate where things are and I assume it will just get easier with repetition throughout the semester. This first chapter took me longer to get through  but I think that is to be expected for any first time. I really liked the end of the chapter getting to see the 3-D map to show differences in population density.

Chapter 2

In chapter two I got to design and symbolize thematic maps. I enjoy every time I get to go to the symbology panel and change the symbols and colors. I find it fun but also it’s cool to see the changes on the map to make patterns more visible. This chapter had a lot to it, but it felt mostly straightforward. I again took a while to navigate where things are and clicked around a bunch to find specific buttons. I thought the 2-6 tutorial was really interesting when I got to swipe over the map and could compare two sets of data. I can see how helpful this software is in the real world. The only problem in this chapter was the 2.4 tutorial data was corrupt so I had to skip over it.

Chapter 3

Chapter 3 was all about sharing the maps we make for people who may not have access to ArcGIS Pro or don’t have the skills. I really enjoyed building the 3.1 layout because I like to make posters and such. I had no problems here and liked the finished product. Sharing the maps to ArcGIS online was also pretty easy and straightforward. Creating a story map was also fun, it just took a while. It just took time copying and pasting the correct paragraphs over to the story map. My little problem was that I couldn’t find an option to change the writing style to subheading so I just picked heading 2 or 3  and it seemed to do the job. Tutorial 3.4, creating the dashboard, started off really well for me but then I ran into some issues. For some reason I was having the hardest time to get the map next to the table. When I was supposed to drag the map to the left of the table, it just wasn’t going anywhere. I tried for a while to figure it out but decided it was best to move on. Later on, I also couldn’t find the expand button in the top corner of the map and so I wasn’t able to finish a few steps at the very end of the chapter. My dashboard doesn’t look the way It is supposed to but I tried.

Preface: This was pretty self introductory and self explanatory. I felt that it gave good real world examples of how GIS is used and prepared me for what to expect in the book.

Chapter 1: This was basically how to look at maps and how to turn off and on layers, as well as how to organize them for better analysis. The examples in this chapter were maps of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania with distributions of different urgent cares and medical clinics.  AT the end of the first example, it shows how to export a map to a png.

By the way the images I’m inserting are mostly the your turn activities to show that I was in fact following along!

The next example shows how to select and search different attributes. It can be done by selecting them in the attributes table or on the map.

The next examples go more in depth about organizing and viewing attribute tables. It shows how to remove different features, and more about selecting with the table. It also shows different keyboard shortcuts for selecting multiple features and how to select an area.

Then, how to summarize statistics such as mean, median, and mode. The quantile part was a little bit confusing to me. I liked how you could set it up to do multiple types of summaries at once though! Finally an introduction to the fun part, which is setting up and modifying different symbols on the maps. This part was pretty intuitive. Finally, a little about making 3d layers, but I couldn’t figure out how to scroll to see the 3d-ness effectively.

Chapter 2: All about labeling and more about symbols. There were a few nifty things about determining what pops up when you click on the map and how to make labels more readable.

More about searching by attributes. Then it talks about chloropleth maps, which is not a word in the other book. There’s a lot about balancing the data so it makes sense visually.

Finally, some about manipulating dot maps, which was pretty simple and straightforward.

Chapter 3: Yeah I had technical issues here. I couldn’t get the maps to upload nor could I get the green map in the layout tutorial to show up. The online parts were easy and I’m sure having actual maps would be nice!

Did the chapters and the assignments; less notes because all of this feels pretty intuitive to me, and I try to write notes to help a future me, yknow?

CHAPTER 1:

• A basemap is located in the map section on the top bar and it can be removed in the contents page
•  Layers are ordered top to bottom on the contents menu
• You can check all map files, database files, and others in the catalog menu under view
• You can implement data points with addresses and websites on a GIS map
• Scrolling is standard for most things with a scroll but you can use full extent to zoom out fully and previous extent to go back
• Rastors, just like in photoshop, arent pixel based
• Bookmarks save a spot zoomed into a specific amount
• You can change symbols under symbology when you right click an attribute
• 3d exists and is cool

chap 1 screenshot:

CHAP 2:

• Zoning and Land use is best used in close range
• You can assign multiple symbologies to one thing in the contents tab
  • This is how you do graduated colors and symbols
• you can disable duplicate labels using the conflict resolution tab in labelling
• You can turn maps into 3D, extruding them by value
• In symbology options you can import symbologies from different layers
• Dot densities can be editted for how much a dot represents and all that stuff

chap 2 screenshots

CHAP 3:

Chapter 3 dealt with making maps for people who don’t know GIS.

• You make new layouts in the insert catagory
• when you add a new map in full extent you have to click drag it out to a desired size and then adjust it some more
• You can make graphs under the “data” category found when you click on a content layer
• Web maps are a lot easier to setup than expected, its just a button press
• You can use storymaps to make websites pretty similarly to how you’d make a website in google sites, if thats still a thing. I think carrd is similar but I’ve never used that
• On webGIS you can make dashboards by going to your account profile and clicking the 9 square icon and finding “dashboards” like in google accounts
• Dashboards also feel familiar. Not sure where from.

chap 3 screenshots:

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Preface:
The preface was helpful as it helped me to understand how useful this book was with the fact that you can download tutorials straight from the book. I thought that was very interesting that it included some of the history of GIS as well

Chapter 1:

This was my first time interacting with GIS and I really enjoyed getting to know ARCGIS Pro and getting acquainted with mapping. I was really interested in learning about GIS and the book did a really good job at explaining how to get started with mapping.



Chapter 2:

This chapter really helped me start feeling a little more independent with GIS and the processes within the application. Being able to use everything I just learned on a much larger scale was very helpful to me and allowed me to understand many of the intricacies of GIS much better.

Chapter 3:

Chapter 3 was helpful and I liked being able to make the key for the map in question and the graph. Learning how to share maps online was very helpful as well. Overall, I thought that these 3 chapters were very interesting and gave me a much better understanding and appreciation of map making