2014 AAG Annual MeetingApril 8-11, 2014 | Tampa, FL

LearnGIS: A Novel, Top-down

Approach to Learning about GIS

Aileen Buckley, Esri

aileen buckley | research cartographer

esri | 380 new york street | redlands, ca 92373-8100

O: 909.793.2853 x2997 | C: 909.289.1798

abuckley@esri.com

An interactive and engaging social environment to

help people learn how to develop geographic

knowledge and solve spatial problems

Goal

Focused on questions and problems

Where?

Why there?

A new introduction to what GIS is…

• Enables you to build knowledge and solve problems

• Includes rich data sets and powerful analytical tools

• Lets you creates maps and other useful information

products

• Allows you to interact with data in a meaningful way

• And…perhaps most importantly…

GIS helps you communicate your

information and knowledge

“GIS condenses down all the data and our information and our

knowledge and our science into a kind of language that we can

easily understand—maps.” – Jack Dangermond

http://www.esri.com/about-esri/vision/jack_dangermond

Office

Professional to Consumer GIS

Enterprise

Web

• Maps

• Data

• Analysis

Individual

Powered

by . . .

Maps & Apps

DevicesDesktops

• Ready-to-use information

• Analysis in the cloud

• Online maps and layers

ArcGIS is Web GIS

Approach

• Uses inquiry-based learning to enhance/enrich

traditional approaches

• Focused on realistic spatial questions and

geographic problems

• Leverages rich GIS datasets and analytical

tools

• Uses online technology to enable you to use

and share information and resources

• The social setting allows you to participate in the

community

Inquiry-based learning

• “Involvement leads to understanding”

• Useful application involves:

- a context for questions

- a framework for questions

- different levels of questions

• Inquiry-based learning produces

knowledge that can be widely applied

• Use of technology is focused on its

application to enhance learning rather

than learning about the technology itself

Case-based learning

Challenge-based learning

Community-based learning

Design-based learning

Game-based learning

Inquiry-based learning

Land-based learning

Passion-based learning

Place-based learning

Problem-based learning

Project-based learning

Proficiency-based learning

Service-based learning

Studio-based learning

Team-based learning

Work-based learning

. . . and the new fave . . .

Zombie-based learning (look it up!)

What all of these have in common:

Focus on an open ended question or task (these require a full, meaningful answer using the person's own knowledge)

Provide authentic application of content and skills

Build 4 C's competencies (critical thinking, collaboration, communication, and creativity)

Emphasize student independence and inquiry

Inquiry-based

Students come up with their own questions, which leads to a search for resources and the discovery of answers, and which ultimately leads to generating new questions, testing ideas, and drawing their own conclusions

With real inquiry comes a new answer to a driving question, a new product, or a new solution to a problem

Project-based

Often multi-disciplinary

May be lengthy (weeks or months)

Follow general, variously-named steps

Includes the creations of a product or performance

Often involves real-world, fully

Problem-based

Often single-subject

Tend to be shorter

Follows specific, traditionally prescribed steps

The "product" may simply be a proposed solution, expressed in writing or in an oral presentation

More often uses case studies and fictitious scenarios

Question-based

Often answer a single question

Tend to be even shorter still

Follows a specific, traditionally prescribed step (or few steps)

There is no product aside from knowledge gained

More often uses case studies and fictitious scenarios

Inquiry-based

learning

Project-based

learning

Problem-based

learning

Question-based

learning

Complexity

•Inquiry-based learning

•The goal is innovation

•You can use the skills gained to get a new answer to a Driving Question, develop a new product, find a new solution to a problem

•The focus is investigation

•Project-based learning

•The goal is to create a product

•You can use the skills gained to create similar products or create products in a similar way in the future

•The focus is productivity

•Problem-based leaning

•The goal is to solve a problem

•You can use the skills gained to solve similar problems in the future

•The focus is problem solving

•Question-based learning

•The goal is to answer a question

•You can use the skills gained to answer similar questions in the future

•The focus is knowledge building

Inquiry-based

learning

Project-based

learning

Problem-based

learning

Question-based

learning

Inquiry implies a “want or need to know" premise,

so…

Who is the audience?

• Self-motivated learners, such as:

- Academic students who want or need to learn about GIS

- Professionals who want or need to learn more about GIS

- Managers who want to learn more about how GIS can be

used in their organization

• Teachers who want to get or share resources to teach GIS

• Map and GIS librarians who teach, formally or informally,

about GIS

GIS Professionals Consumers

“-ologists”

Developers Educators Students

Managers

GIS Librarians

Journalists

1

2 4

1

3

1

Lesson example

1

The Power of Maps

2

The Power of Maps - Windows

2

The Power of Maps - Stories

2

The Power of Maps - Analysis

2

Get Started Now

3

Spatial Problem Solving

4

Not a linear process—you

iterate, diagnose, review,

and backtrack as you make

progress

spatial PROBLEM SOLVING

Explore the

issue to find

out about

important topics

Frame the question

or questions that you

want to investigate

Model the analysis approach

Figure out the approach that will be used to generate the results

Identify assumptions that have a bearing on how you will perform the

analysis or what results will be generated

Gather and understand the data

Gather, manipulate, visualize, and explore meaningful and useful

geographic data

Perform the steps in the analysis

Process the data analytically to draw out essential characteristics

Display and assess the results

Manipulate and display the results graphically to reveal something interesting or

useful

Examine the results to identify and understand unusual or interesting patterns

Determine if special considerations about the data, analysis methods, or mapping

methods would alter the results

Understand the meaning of what you see on the maps, tables, graphs, etc…

Make sense of these results

Evaluate whether the results provide a satisfactory explanation or

answer to the spatial question or questions you asked

Share your findings with

others through thoughtfully-

presented geoenriched

online maps and apps

Application areas

Aid & Development

Business

Defense & Intelligence

Education

Government

Health & Human Services

Mapping & Charting

Natural Resources

Public Safety

Transportation

Utilities & Communications

Spatial questions – based on Andy Mitchell’s books

Spatial Analysis - Lesson

4

Concept topics – based on content in books

Concept topics – based on content in books

Online analysis

Rich data sets

• Living Atlas

• Landscape Layers

• Elevation Layers

• USGS historic topo quads

Analysis tools:

• Summarize Elevation

• Profile

• Trace Downstream

• Viewshed

• Watershed

Use Story Map templates

Builder apps

Include core topics from GIS&T BoK

LearnGIS Body of Knowledge

Geographicquestion

Data Analysis Results Interpretation Communication Implementation

Manipulate and

display the

results in a way

the reveals the

solution, i.e., the

thing that is

interesting or

useful about the

environment

• Maps, graphs,

reports,

information

graphics

• Symbolization

• Qualitative

thematic maps

• Quantitative

thematic maps

• Image maps

Deconstruct the

environment into

constituent parts,

then gather

meaningful and

accurate data about

the labeled features,

attributes, and

phenomena that we

have identified

• GIS basics

• The earth and earth

coordinates

• Map scale

• Map projections

• Grid coordinate

systems

• Land information

• Geographic data and

primary data sources

• Data quality and map

accuracy

• Data modeling and

data manipulation

Process those

data analytically

to draw out

essential

characteristics

and produce a

solution

• Analysis and

geoprocessing

• Geometric

measures

• Overlay

• Analytical

Methods

• Surface Analysis

• Spatial statistics

• Geostatistics

• Data mining

• Network analysis

• Optimization

• Location

allocation

Ask

something

interesting or

useful about

the

environment

• Learning

objectives

• What

• Where

• How much

• Why

Integrate the

solution into

frameworks,

workflows,

environments,

or processes

• GIS and maps in

society and

organizations

• GIS workflows

• Coordinating

organizations

• Organizations

structures

• Organizational

procedures

• GI system

operations

• GI system

infrastructure

• Reading,

analysis,

interpretation

• Read a map

• Read multiple

maps

• Look for patterns

• Look for

correspondence

• Explain the

patterns or

correspondence

Learn

something

interesting or

useful about

the

environment

Communicate

what you have

learned to

others

• Maps, graphs,

reports,

information

graphics

• Compilation

and page

construction

(includes map

elements and

page layout)

• Symbolization

• Production

and

publication

Consider Khan Academy Knowledge Map approach

Knowledge Map for LearnGIS

Spatial Problem Solving

Geographicquestion

What is “geographic”

Types of geographic questions

Application areas

Scale

Data

Types of geographic data

Exploring data

Manipulating data

Analysis

Types of geographic analyses

Choosing an analysis method

Results

Reading a map

Understanding how a map was

made

Understanding artifacts of maps

Understanding artifacts of analysis

Interpretation

Understanding why things are where they are

Understanding the relations among

features

Communication

Making a map

Understanding how the map

reader reads the map

Implementation

In the very near future…

• Release: Prior to UC in July

• More…

- Lessons

- Examples

- Concept topics

• Enhancements for more community involvement

• Guided GIS Analysis

aileen buckley | research cartographer

esri | 380 new york street | redlands, ca 92373-8100

O: 909.793.2853 x2997 | C: 909.289.1798 |

abuckley@esri.com