Month: November 2025

Chapter 3

Chapter three show how to use apps to show how data changes over time. It also showed a various amounts of widgets that make map making that much easier. I really liked looking at this part. Maps that have a slider always seem so cool to me. I also think it is a great way to share scientific/technical findings with everyday citizens who may not know how to read maps. These maps combined with story maps are the perfect combo.

One application for this could be showing the growth of urban developement by a river and how the river changes over time.

Chapter 4

In this chapter, we looked at mobile GIS. I thought this part was really cool. I want to do field research someday, and the idea of being about to plot study sites on the go rather than having to sit down at a desktop was really cool. I think some of the VGI features were really cool too!

An application for this chapter could be used to determine animal sightings for hunters or conservationists. Another one I thought was funny was to use it to see where the police sit on the road the most to avoid a ticket. But that’s a joke.

Chapter 1

Chapter 1 is used to introduce ArcGIS online and ArcGIS Enterprise and the basic operations of the program. Web GIS uses web technologies to allow people to interact globally and access information instantly. Some of the advantages of Web GIS are global reach, large numbers of users, low cost per user, better cross-platform capabilities, easy usage, and easy maintenance. There are five main content types available with Web GIS including data, layers, web maps and scenes, tools, and maps. There are three main components that make up a Web GIS map and they include the basemaps, the operational layers, and the tools.

Chapter 2

Chapter 2 is about smart mapping and storytelling. Stories are the most popular type of web apps. This chapter talks about the different types of hosted layers, including hosted feature layers, hosted WFS layers, hosted tile layers, hosted vector tile layers, hosted WMTS layers, hosted scene layers, hosted image layers, and hosted map image layers. There are several different ways to publish hosted layers including creating a feature layer from your own data, creating a feature layer from an existing template, and creating an empty feature layer and defining your own fields. This chapter also talks about smart mapping which enables people to analyze, create, and share maps quickly. Smart mapping can also perform exploratory data analysis which helps people understand potentially hidden patterns. Pop ups are used to show geographic data and insight. A good WebGIS app is fast, easy, and fun for the user. An ArcGIS story tells the who, what, when, where, and why. It uses a combination of maps, narrative, and multimedia to create a story. 

One potential application would be to create a map of the most popular ski mountains in NH. The map would display location as well as information like mountain height, average number of visitors per year, and mileage of ski trails. The information would also include images of the ski mountain or logo to help familiarize the audience.

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.