Chapter 3:
- Web apps allow you to create interactive maps, with objects such as sliders to show how data changes over time, and searches to select specific pieces of data.
- You can use the web app builder to create or modify existing webapps, and use widgets to quickly add features and functionalities to your map that weren’t previously available.
- Chart widgets allow you to display data visualizations beyond just the spatial methods provided by the map.
- Filter and query widgets allow you to parse through the data more efficiently, in order to find the information relevant to your project.
One idea for a web application that could be made using this information would be a map with a timeline showing how the highway system in Ohio has grown over time. Charts could be used to show growth numbers year by year, and a filter widget could be used to select only data from, for example, northeast or central or southern Ohio
Chapter 4:
- Chapter 4 discusses mobile GIS, which has several advantages over traditional desktop based GIS.
- Some of these advantages include the ability to work in areas where it would be infeasible for traditional GIS to operate, the inherent benefits of using a device outfitted with GPS capabilities to collect spatial data, while some of the disadvantages include reduced processing ability, as well as cellular coverage and battery range limitations.
- Mobile GIS also has several unique application types, including VGI, which includes user submitted information like police activity or road accidents, and AR, which overlays additional data onto the world through the mobile device.
- Creating feature layers for Mobile GIS is unique because of the added ability for users to append, update and delete data from their device.
- Additional data infrastructure such as surveys can be integrated into your applications as well, allowing for user input collection.
- Many options exist for data collection, with varying levels of ease of use vs capabilities of the app.
One idea for a mobile GIS application would be an application that would allow users to submit animal sightings at their location, which could be useful for determining rough estimations of populations present in a certain area, if enough people used the application.