Category: Course Student Work

Chapter 1

Chapter 1 introduced some of the commonly used tools for representing data in GIS. Symbology is used to represent specific layers or areas on a map and helps make different features easier to identify. In this chapter, I learned how to change the type of symbol used to represent different features on a map. I also learned how to label features such as cities, parks, healthcare centers, and other locations. These tools helped me better understand how data can be organized and displayed in a way that makes a map easier to read and understand. Map features can be sorted by their attributes, making it easier to find specific types of data. When locations are deselected, GIS removes the symbol for that location from the map. This allows map viewers to save time by using the attribute table to quickly find and select specific data.

Chapter 2

In this chapter, I learned different ways to manage large amounts of data efficiently and organize it more effectively on a map. I learned how to use definition queries and apply SQL logic to create specific filters that target certain points of data. This showed me that GIS can be used to analyze not only entire populations but also specific age groups or other characteristics within a population. One example I practiced was creating a filter to identify people over the age of 60 who receive food stamps. I then limited the layers on the map so that this specific data appeared as the top layer. This helped me better understand how GIS can focus on specific groups within larger datasets and display information clearly and organizedly.

Chapter 3

Chapter three provides a fundamental skill for GIS work. This chapter focuses on specific layouts for distributing and publishing maps. I learned how to add map data to a web map form and create legends with specific data points. This allowed me to take a copy of an interactive map and copy it to ArcGIS StoryMaps. StoryMaps is software that reminded me of making a website because of the elements that could be added and the different templates I could work with.

Tutorial

Chapter 1

 

In the first chapter of the tutorial a massive amount of information was presented. Many aspects of how you can interact with various panels in the GIS and various display elements were explored. All of our work centered around Alleghany county PA and the urgent care availability and type of urgent care as it relates to other factors (ex:pop density, total pop per area, etc.) while also including other features like roads and rivers.

This map rendering focuses on the two different types of healthcare facilities in the county. The green dots(subsidized FQHC clinics)  and their subsequent buffers are concentrated in the areas where poverty is most likely to occur. The Urgent Care Clinics(unsubsidized are located primarily in the suburbs where poverty is less common.

At the very end of the 1st tutorial we got to turn the map into a 3d model based on population density. You can see the same concentration in the center of the county but now with more variable range since it can be displayed in height.

 

Chapter 2

 

Chapter 2 had a huge emphasis on the symbology feature when you would right click one of the terms in the contents page. It focused on ways that you could display and scale data.

This image used the display by dot density symbology to show the population of individuals receiving food stamps over the age of 60(red) and individuals under the age of 18(blue)

Another cool thing this chapter looked at was at what scales do we have various names for places to come up. I got confused a couple of times on this one because things were taking a while to show up because they were appearing at similar layers and on a pretty huge scale.

Chapter 3

This chapter had a focus on the cross compatibility between the ArcGIS pro application and the online version where documents made in the pro version are made more accessible and user friendly. The system for editing your maps in the online version is much simpler but as a result lacks the ability to do complex tasks. The first part of chapter 3 also demonstrated how to include legends onto existing maps and how to show two maps at once for comparison.

This first image is of a map made in the GIS that was then transferred to StoryMaps to be viewed. A brief introduction and summary of the map was included as well as the necessary citations and their usages.

This last image is a dataset and map that was transferred from ArcGIS pro to the online GIS. Using the Dashboard utility we could make a simple table and corresponding charts.

Chapter 1:

Before the start of this chapter, I thought using GIS was going to be pretty straightforward. The setup process was pretty easy. When I finally opened and ran the program, it looked pretty intimidating. So many buttons, sections, and menus to click through. One common thing I kept running into was the book’s broad directions when it came to finding menus. That made finding them a bit difficult. It took a good minute to get used to everything. Overall, I thought the workflow was fun, even though it was challenging to use, especially at first. The first chapter covered a few things, from the introduction to the GIS program to working with 3d3Daps. This chapter also covered some of the topics mentioned in the Mitchell book. Some of the included terms were classes, features, maps, etc. Part 1 was just a general overview of the program, understanding some of the basic concepts of it. The next section showed us how to navigate the program, which did help trying to move around the app program a bit easier. The next section had us working with attribute data, which lets the user search for features on a map and find necessary information. Section 6 had us symbolizing maps, turning raw data into visual information that everyone can see. This section was the most interesting because it involved setting up the overall map. I was trying to get all these bits and pieces to come together and turn them into a final product. One thing I was toying with for a good minute was the 3-d maps. After doing the labs for Chapter I, I felt generally really excited about learning to use these new programs. I look forward to the rest of the chapter and what it could offer down the line.

Chapter 2:

Chapter 2, just like Chapter 1, still felt like moving into a new world. Throughout the process, I was still trying to get used to the menus. Knowing where to find things, which sections they are in, etc. Chapter 2 goes into more detail about designing a map. A good chunk of the information on how to make a good map (depending on the data you’re presenting) was talked about previously. That gave me a decent understanding of what to expect in this chapter. Chapter 1 had us symbolizing qualitative attributes, learning how to symbolize features based on their code. The next section, my favorite section so far, was labeling features and how to configure pop-ups. Finding out what pop-ups are in GIS caught me a bit off guard. Regardless, it was one of the easiest sections of the chapter. Section 3 was the most interesting one, showing us how to filter information by defining queries. The next one discussed how to make choropleth (I’d never heard this word before) maps for quantitative attributes, but this section was the most enjoyable. Section 5 made us create maps with dot-to-scale references and gradients. Making dot density maps was the most interesting, and I spent maybe 30 minutes toying around with some of the features. Just to see what the end result would look like. My attitude toward GIS changed by the end of chapter 2. Searching through menus has gotten easier (the book was hit or miss), making the process of going through these labs much quicker. When working through this chapter, I started clicking through the menus more, trying to figure out each one’s function. Most of that time was spent working on section 3. Regardless, I had a fun time working with this chapter, and everything that I had to do in it.

Chapter 3:

Chapter 2, just like Chapter 1, still felt like moving into a new world. Throughout the process, I was still trying to get used to the menus. Knowing where to find things, which sections they are in, etc. Chapter 2 goes into more detail about designing a map. A good chunk of the information on how to make a good map (depending on the data you’re presenting) was talked about previously. That gave me a decent understanding of what to expect in this chapter. Chapter 1 had us symbolizing qualitative attributes, learning how to symbolize features based on their code. The next section, my favorite section so far, was labeling features and how to configure pop-ups. Finding out what pop-ups are in GIS caught me a bit off guard. Regardless, it was one of the easiest sections of the chapter. Section 3 was the most interesting one, showing us how to filter information by defining queries. The next one discussed how to make choropleth (I’d never heard this word before) maps for quantitative attributes, but this section was the most enjoyable. Section 5 made us create maps with dot-to-scale references and gradients. Making dot density maps was the most interesting, and I spent maybe 30 minutes toying around with some of the features. Just to see what the end result would look like. My attitude toward GIS changed by the end of chapter 2. Searching through menus has gotten easier (the book was hit or miss), making the process of going through these labs much quicker. When working through this chapter, I started clicking through the menus more, trying to figure out each one’s function. Most of that time was spent working on section 3. Regardless, I had a fun time working with this chapter, and everything that I had to do in it.

Chapter One

Chapter One was fairly easy to parse and understand, and aligned fairly accurately to my predictions on the chapter’s difficulty. It took me around 2 hours to complete, and centered mainly Pennsylvania and one of its major cities, Pittsburgh. Having driven through Pennsylvania and by extension Pittsburgh, I found this activity fairly interesting in understanding the economic status of Pittsburgh and simultaneously learning the beginning parts of GIS technology. At the very beginning, while completing the initial tutorials, I found remembering the prompts and commands fairly difficult. By the end of the chapter, I was far more comfortable and familiar with the software, which assisted me in later chapters.

Chapter Two

While still fairly easy to understand and manage, Chapter Two was progressively more difficult than Chapter One. Once again, this chapter included interesting economic background to a city I have personally visited (the past two summers, I have gotten to travel to NYC! Very fun!), so this chapter was quite interesting to me. The most difficult part of this chapter was the Your Turn sections; I found myself revisiting the previous section’s instructions very frequently, especially the 2D-3D map portion. Additionally, reading the unlabelled data sets was a challenge, especially with data sets with similar names like U18FHHFOOD or U18MHHFOOD.

Chapter Three

Chapter Three was easily the most difficult chapter, switching between the ARCGIS Pro app and the ARCGIS website. I found the assignments on the ARCGIS website itself were fairly straightforward, but some parts of the tutorial in the ARCGIS Pro app were quite difficult, especially the first tutorial. Creating a story map was mostly just copy-pasting from the PDF provided, so was very easy to do.

 

Chapter 1:

I thought that chapter one started off really hard because I didn’t really know where any of the buttons were. The book also didn’t make it any easier since there weren’t exact directions on where to actually find what I was looking for. However, after I actually found what I was looking for, the directions were pretty straightforward and easy to understand. One question I had for this chapter was it wanted me to make a bookmark of the new map that I made/altered and I wasnt able too, did anyone actually figure out how to do it?

Chapter 2:

Chapter 2 made a lot more sense; however, I wasn’t ready for it to have eight separate parts.  I was thankful that a few of them were really short, only about like 8 steps overall. I found this chapter to be a lot more straightforward; the readings showed some step-by-step pictures that helped lead me in the right direction.  One question I had about this chapter was when it wanted me to lable, I wanted to know if anyone else was confused at first because it wanted you to lable the map but it didnt really show/tell me how? I was kinda expected to just know how to do it.

Chapter 3:

Chapter 3 was throwing me for a loop the entire time, well, not the whole time. 3.1 made a lot of sense and was pretty straightforward; however, 3.2 and 3.4 were probably the most confusing things I had to do. I think what confused me the most was when it wanted me to go to 3.3 and copy/paste a summary for something, then it told me I couldn’t share it because something with that title had already been shared before (not sure if this happened to just me or everyone, but I was confused). As for 3.4, I was just confused the entire time; the steps weren’t very understandable since they didn’t give an image to look at. It might have also been hard because it was asking me to do something that I’ve never done (in the other tutorials), it was just something completely new. It also kept starting the tutorials with “log in to ArcGIS,” which was confusing, but maybe they assumed I wasn’t already logged in.

Chapter 1

Chapter 1 mostly explored the basics on how to use the program. I was taught how to navigate it on a basic level and what the different buttons did, essentially.

A couple different things this chapter had me do included:

– Observing vector vs. raster layers, and how raster layers have visible pixels, and the vector rivers are smooth

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– Exploring highlighting specific features to make them stand out, or to look into data connected to the feature

• Creating and looking at labels

– Looking at 3D data, and how it really helps to show density visually, more than color alone.

 

Chapter 2

Chapter 2 explored different ways of presenting and examining data in a map. We explored things like use of different colors, different shapes for features, showing different labels and features at different levels of zooming, all to make the map more visually presentable and easy to look at.

This is a simple example of some data showing up when you zoom in, but not when the map is zoomed out, so that it looks less cluttered.

And here, even more zoomed in, we can see the text, but no longer the dots.

We also looked at ways to compare different sets of data without switching maps, with the compare slider. I liked that.

Chapter 3

Chapter 3 explored ways to present our data. We dove into ArcGIS Online and made a document of maps, charts that could be used for research, a story, a briefing, and a dashboard. We also learned how to share maps from the program to the online system.

The document:

More work with Layers at different levels of zoom, but with fun pop-ups that are so fun:

Some tables/charts made in ArcGIS Online:

And some of the posts created (with templates):

 

Overall, these 3 first chapters served as a great introduction on how to use the program and I feel as though I am comfortable enough to work on a real project in the near future, once I get more used to all of the features of the GIS.

Chapter 1 mainly took me through how to use the program and what everything does. I learned how to configure the maps and work with the data. I also learned how to manipulate that data into tables. The easiest part was making the 3d map, and it was really cool to look at/explore. 

I wasn’t able to complete the query for 1.2, part 4, for searching for a feature. 

There was no option to list by drawing order. 

There was also no option I could find for toolboxes in the geoprocessing pane. 

And I could not find an option for text symbol group. 

Chap 2

I could not find the symbol for Commercial.

There is no Label class group in the labeling tab. 

I’m unclear on how to use pop-ups, specifically how to display the needed data. 

When I did a definition query, I could not find the option to have all my values show up on the map. 

I did not have the Soup Kitchen value. In my food facilities option, below it only says <all other values>, but it does not show the values. 

I learned how to use a query to limit features. Using the symbology pane throughout Chapter 2 kept confusing me. For example, in 2.5, I was supposed to choose Circle 3 within the template symbol, but I didn’t see an option to do that.

I learned about Choropleth maps and struggled a bit to make one. I originally could not find an Advanced Symbology option button when making the Choropleth map. I ended up finding it later, so I went back and did things according to this step. The odd thing was that in the classes section in Symbology, I did not have more than one upper value. 

For 2.8, I could not find the Visibility Range group. 

Chapter 3

3.1 Was very tedious when making both the maps of the US and learning how to use the legends. 

3.3 I did not understand how to add the Metropolitan Employment layer to my story. 

Chapter 3 walked me through making map layouts and charts, how to share maps to ArcGIS Online, how to use the map viewer, how to make a story in ArcGIS StoryMaps, and also how to use/make a dashboard. This was all new information for me as I followed the steps. Some of the steps were hard to follow/understand, but I had the least amount of trouble with Chapter 3.

Chapter 1:

This chapter introduced ArcGIS; it was easy to understand and follow along. The first tutorial in this chapter focused on understanding the software and where everything is. I learned about basemaps, how to turn different layers on and off, and how to reorder features on the map. I’ve learned how to use a pop-up window. When navigating maps, you can use bookmarks to help get there more easily. I wasn’t able to create my own bookmark on my map, but I understand how to. The attribute table has rows and columns of different data. Attributes provide data needed to solve a problem or investigate patterns and allow the user to search for useful information and mapped features. When analyzing, there are tools that can have the GIS create an attribute table based on the type of information you want. In tutorial 3, I created an attribute table of the minimum, maximum, mean, and standard deviation of the population density. Tutorial 4 was about adding a feature class to the map from a geodatabase, symbolizing it, and then removing it from the map. 

Chapter 2:

This chapter was all about map design. The chapter had 8 tutorials in total, the first tutorial taught me how to symbolize features by their code. This reminded me of one of the chapters by Mitchell about how it talked about giving certain features a specific symbol. The second tutorial focused on how to label features and how to configure pop ups. This tutorial taught me how to remove duplicate labels from my map, this helped declutter the map and be easier to read. The third tutorial helped sort through the data by creating a definition query, which is a filter with features of a layer. A definition query allows you to display only the features you’re interested in. The fourth tutorial was about creating a choropleth map, a choropleth map that uses color in polygons to represent numeric attribute values. I had a little difficulty creating the 3-d choropleth map. Tutorial six was about how to create your own scale for the data, I found this kind of fun being able to manipulate the groups of the data. Tutorial seven taught me how to create a dot density map, and tutorial eight was about setting visibility ranges. I found this helpful for displaying names of schools or counties within a certain distance to not overwhelm the map. 

Chapter 3:

In this chapter the textbook covered ways to display the maps that you create in the GIS software. It also covered how to share the maps online via the arcgis online website. When trying to share my own map to the web, the software wouldn’t load, and never finished uploading. This chapter taught me how to properly align the maps through the guide tool, by making rulers along the page. Some other tools that I learned how to use from this chapter include creating a legend, with/ without a title, and how to create charts. The legend allows the map’s audience to interpret the map’s symbology and understand what the map is portraying. The third tutorial was about how to properly present your graphs in a presentation style though arcgis online. I found this tutorial a bit easier compared to the rest because it was mainly copying and pasting from the word doc. However I do understand when making my own presentation of the data it won’t be that easy because I will have to come up with everything for the text boxes.  

Preface Chp. 1

The first tutorial sections were primarily introductions to the program and how to navigate the maps. The first and second tutorials consisted of the navigation instructions and how to use the unique features and tools that ArcGIS utilizes. The third tutorial was about working with attribute panels, which was the most complicated for me. The attribute panels are used to add and edit attribute data for groups. This was the most challenging for me because the names did not match that of the tutorials, so I had to use best judgment in order to follow along with the tutorial’s instructions. The final tutorial, tutorial 4 was demonstrating the symbolling on the maps. This tutorial was my favorite of the first tutorials because editing the map’s symbols can change the flow and overall readability of the map. Within the symbolling tab, you can alter the symbol, size, border, and color of the data point. This section of the tutorial was very easy and allowed for me to observe the effects that different symbols mean and how to determine which ones to use.

Key notes:

• Right click a data group and within the dropdown menu click symbology to edit the data points’ appearance
• Add bookmarks using the bookmark button on the map tab
• In the analysis tab, click tools and open the toolbox to obtain access to a variety of tools for the program
• To observe a 3D model double, click the item with 3D listed in the catalog pane

Screenshots Chp.1

Preface Chp. 2

This chapter gave 8 tutorials to demonstrate different necessary techniques that the ArcGIS program features. The first and second chapters expanded on the tools in chapter one such as symbology and data attributes. In the first three tutorials of chapter 2, I adjusted the symbology, and the colors associated with the map of the location. The third chapter particularly taught a tool that I used for the rest of this chapter, which is Definition Query. The fourth tutorial was brisk and displayed how to adjust the symbology and read the histogram and then change the map into a 3D Choropleth map. The fifth tutorial invol;ved adjusting the symbology to make symbols on the map more prominent, which was similar to the seventh tutorial in making dot density maps. The sixth tutorial was the most challenging to me and involved creating a choropleth map with a custom scale. This was like a combined tutorial of the previous ones and was only the most difficult because of the many steps that were involved. The final tutorial was simply adjusting the vis

ibility ranges in different bookmarks, which I found to be the easiest of the eight tutorials.

Key Notes:

• Layer Properties window, click Definition Query > New Definition Query to create a def. Query.
• View tab, in the View group, click Convert > To Local Scene to create a 3D Choropleth map

Screenshots Chp.2

Preface Chp. 3

I found the 3’rd chapter to be the most intriguing and informational of all these previous chapters from this week’s assignment. In this chapter, you built map layouts and charts, used the online ArcGIS website to upload your completed maps, and more.The first tutorial of this chapter, you learn how to use the guide tool to align the 2 separate maps, how to create a legend, and create charts. The legend allows you to read the map’s symbology and understand what the map is depicting. The second tutorial explains how to share your maps online to the ArcGIS website and how to access these maps and configure pop-ups. A pop-up is a symbol that appears that pertains to certain fields that you can select by clicking the field list. The third tutorial did not use the ArcGIS program entirely and was all on the online website version. This tutorial I found to be the most challenging of all the tutorials from this chapter because of the vast number of steps. I learned from this chapter how you can create and edit an online story that you share through the website. This tutorial was mostly copying and pasting but keeping track of which text and heading goes where as well as creating the heading links proved to be challenging. The last tutorial was about creating a dashboard in ArcGIS which was easier than I anticipated and required adding an element table, a bar chart, and adjusting the setting and appearance. This chapter was by far the most instructive so far and put my skills to the test but allowed for me to become more familiar with ArcGIS.

Key Notes

• Right-click horizontal and vertical rules to add guides
• Add legend by clicking insert, Map surrounds group, add legend
• In share tab, inside share as group, click web map, fill in tags and summary, enable public sharing, click share

Screenshots Chp.3

Week 4:

In chapter 1 of the GIS manual, we learned how to do some of the simpler things, like how to use the GISPro app, or what buttons do what things. We got to create different maps with different views of clinics in Alleghany County, and see where poverty zones or population density were high or low around them. Learning how to work with GIS is very important because without it we would be doing nothing correctly later on. All of the different colors and symbols made it very helpful to tell what we were doing as well. Looking at these maps could have been extremely difficult if we didn’t have the context side of the picture. One thing that I thought was interesting was the ability to see where the clinics were and their exact location they were on the map. Going into the pop-up for each clinic, I wasn’t expecting to see the exact address or the links to their website. It just shows how precise GIS can get when using it to its full extent. One difficult thing was figuring out how to do the bookmarks. Personally, I never did because it wouldn’t allow it, but it was just something that stuck out to me that even though you think this is simple, it really can be difficult sometimes. The final thing that I thought was really cool was the 3D picture. I wasn’t expecting something like this to even be possible with GIS. It was also helpful because the higher points really stick out compared to the others. You would think it would be more overwhelming due to the different components that are occurring, but it really isn’t.

Pictures from Ch. 1:

In chapter 2, we learned how to do stuff with zoning, which is pretty cool. When doing zoning, you are able to pick certain shades and colors for whatever you are looking at in each area. This is very interesting to me since it’s not something you think about on a daily basis. There are so many different things you could shade, as well as there being so many different places that the things you are looking for are located. Later, we labelled each section, creating certain numbers for each zone to signify that they are different from one another. This is important so we can explain a certain plot we are talking about without getting confused or losing it while looking at other plots. We were also able to add multiple different symbols in certain areas. This is nice so we can know what we are talking about for a certain thing. Like crosses are soup kitchens, circles are food pantries, and squares are soup kitchens. You are also able to pick certain areas on a map, and they will label the areas in a certain color based on what we are looking at. This is very nice because it makes it less complex and less work. Overall, from these maps we can see how looking at histogram maps is very useful in the long run for looking at certain data that we put it. I think the 3D portion is very helpful for seeing this more clearly, even though you can just tell from the different shades of color.

 

Pictures from Ch.2 

In Chapter 3, we made different maps and placed them on the same layout. This can be helpful when trying to show data from two different places, or if you are showing the same data but in two different ways. We also learned how to make legends and place them with the map that explains them. This helps present research if needed. We also went on to use other apps to let us create maps and somewhat analyze them ourselves. By placing our maps into ArcGIS online we are able to share with others what our maps look like and what research we are doing.

 

Pictures from Ch. 3: