My name is Izzy Fry, I am a Freshman Pre-med, Zoology, and Environmental Science major. I am pretty familiar with ArcGIS from taking GEOG291 last module, before spring break. I am very excited to get to use the online system more in depth because I know that using the web system will make using GIS in my daily life much easier. I began by taking a look at the My Settings, ESRI, Training, Community and Forums, ArcGISBlog and Help sections. I already have some experience with these sections from the other section of Desktop GIS last module when one of the tutorials required us to create something on the website. I then read through the Get Started article. What I generally read was all evident from my knowledge of GIS from the last module but it was a good review of all the uses for GIS and knowing now we can access it online now makes the whole situation a lot more accessible for me. The introduction course was quite informative and a good way to start with this course because I definitely needed a refresher from last module. The beginning discussed all the different uses for ArcGIS online and the organizations that use it which was helpful because it highlighted a major difference between the this software and the desktop version. Then it discusses the different layer types that can be used in the software which were similar but not the same as the last module so it was helpful to see the differences. The next section led me through creating a web map which was helpful for the first time especially compared to the tutorials last time which I had difficulty getting started with. Another course I found interesting is the Field Data Collection and Management Using ArcGIS course which I think would be helpful to me and anyone else that plans to do field work in the future. One use I found for ArcGIS online is to map biodiversity loss of a region which can help conservation biologists to understand and visualize the changes in an ecosystem. https://data-gis.unep-wcmc.org/server/rest/services/nchs_ter_biodiv_dep/ImageServer
I also found that ArcGIS online can be used to estimate forest density over an area which is also helpful to those in conservation and anyone interested in land use and coverage.
