GIS Seminar #2
Introduction: The last Seminar that you completed introduced you to GIS (Geographic Information Systems). You each viewed several videos of different careers that use GIS. This week you will each be exploring an online GIS program called ArcGIS Online. It is used by professionals everyday to complete various tasks in many different careers.
Each of you has the opportunity to present at this year’s International GIS Day celebration at Spirit Square in Uptown Charlotte on November 14th. The focus of today’s Seminar is to expose you to ArcGIS Online as well as for you to explore the many different types of maps that you can create in the program. You will be creating and saving a “Practice Map” to familiarize yourself with the program. Finding something you are interested in is the first step in helping you to get excited about presenting! This will be an interdisciplinary project, so you will be hearing more information from a Math and Social Studies point of view soon! Those of you who choose to present will be able to use this towards your Community Service hours.
**Please answer all questions on a piece of notebook paper (please do not print this and type answers-we are trying to conserve ink and paper).
Directions:
1. Click the link titled, ArcGIS Online in this week’s Seminar on the class wiki if you haven’t done so already.
2. Click the tab at the top labeled, “Basemap” and explore what each different basemap looks like before proceeding to the next step.
3. Once you have explored each type of Basemap, go back to the Basemap tab and click on “Topographic”. This type of map shows elevation by using lines that are spaced apart at different intervals. Close lines mean steep elevation, whereas lines that are far apart mean flatter land.
4. Next, use the zoom tool to zoom in to NC. Once you are on NC, zoom in to Charlotte and then zoom in further to find Sedgefield Middle School.
5. Click on “Add” at the top and then on “Search for Layers”. Type in “Charlotte NC” and then press the “Go” button. Next, click on Road Map (WM) and then click “add to map”. What does it do to your Basemap when you add this layer (if you cannot tell immediately, click ”Details” at the top and then on the middle icon that says “Show Contents of Map”. Uncheck the layer you just added “Road Map (WM)” and see what happens to your map.
6. Next go back to “Add” and then click “Search for Layers”. Now search for “North Carolina Flood Zones”. Look for the bluish and the pink colors that appear on your map.
How might your bus driver be able to use GIS in the even of flooding?
7. Go back to “Add” and then click “Search for Layers”. Now search for “Census”. Click “USA Median Age” and “Add Layer to Map”. Zoom out just a little bit so that you can see all of Mecklenburg County as well as a few other surrounding counties. Click on “Details” at the top and then again on the small icon to the right to display the legend. What is the Median Age for Mecklenburg County (you can click on the actual county to get more information)?
8. Go back to “Add” and then click “Search for Layers”. Now click on “USA Diversity Index” (still under the “Census” search that you just did) and click on the legend for details. What is the Diversity Index for Charlotte? Click on Mecklenburg County and you will see that the diversity index here indicates that there is a ______% chancethat two persons, chosen at random from this area, belong to different race or ethnic groups.
9. Go back to “Add” and then click “Search for Layers”. Explore by searching for things you might want to map (examples include, but are not limited to “environmental”, “census”, “crime”, “traffic”, “storms”, etc).
10. You can turn layers on and off, so if there is a layer you have added and no longer want shown, but you don’t want to delete it either, turn it off by going to “Details” and then click on the middle icon (Contents) and uncheck the layer you want to turn off.
11. Once you are satisfied with your final “Practice Map”, open a new Word Document
to save your map to. In order to do this, you will need to press “Alt and Prt Sc” (which
means print screen). Now press “Ctrl” and “V” at the same time and a picture of your map should show up in Word.
12. Write a few sentences describing what your map shows (refer to the map legend for help).