ES - TLT 394, Summer 2010 - Course record
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Session 1 - Tuesday, 18 May
Before class
If possible, peruse CourseSite and the wiki
During class (ppt )
Housekeeping
Introductions
Name
Program
What you want to be doing in 5 years
One thing you hope to get out of this course
One item of clothing you're wearing -- where was it made?
Weaving the Globe demo
kml file generated from class data.
Tour of infrastructure: software, wiki, CourseSite
Writing-to-learn (WTL), getting started
Log into CourseSite, enter class forum, start your thread (make a post on your thread).
Review of assignments / expectations
Check back
Questions?
Conceptual work: Topics to be addressed
Experiential centerpiece: Where Should We Build the New SuperMart?
Image set
Overview of all four proposed locations.
(If you prefer: Google Earth overlay of all four locations)
Resumed discussion of course topics
Standards
A keystone text: Learning to Think Spatially.
The mothership of the technology: ESRI.
Journals to know (non-exhaustive!)
People to know (non-exhaustive!)
Marsha Alibrandi (now at Fairfield, not NCSU).
Check-back
Closure
After class
Reading (available via Moodle)
Bodzin & Cirucci, 2009. If you want to look at the unit they're discussing, see http://www.ei.lehigh.edu/eli/luc/.
Broda & Baxter, 2003
Assignments
Do some WTL! (Writing-to-learn)
Brainstorm topics for projects (Google Earth markup, GIS dataset, final project).
Other
Download and play with Google Earth.
Session 2 - Thursday, 20 May
Before class
Do the reading (above), do WTL. If you don't know what else to write about, write about your brainstorming for assignment/project topics.
If you haven't already, please update your Profile in CourseSite to include a photo.
During class (ppt )
Let's go outside! Scaffolded geocache activity
Back inside: Debriefing, reviewing, discussing; what are the instructional implications? Things to address
Investigating our geo-locating tools. We have a 'dry' tool (the hardware) and a 'wet' tool (our brains), plus organizing frameworks (cardinal directions; equator & PM)
How does a GPS work?
How did our GPS equate with the popular usage of the term? ("I don't need a map--I have a GPS in my car")
What else can a GPS do?
How did we orient ourselves outside? What cues did we use?
Did we think in terms of N/S/E/W or Eq/PM? Did anyone make an 'airplane'?
Investigating the display & markup tool (Google Earth): What does that file look like? How did I make it? How can you make one yourself?
kml file of geocache locations
Extending the activity: Geospatial awareness/skills -> inquiry -> community investigation.
Broughal 'sewers' unit -- view the full documentation , if you wish
Local history activity on Henry Noll. We've documented it via a Wikipedia entry ; see also the Lehigh "Beyond Steel " archive project
Remaining time: Playing with Google Earth
And an FYI: What we did was not geocaching, it was a scaffolded geocache. See geocaching.com for the real thing.
After class
Reading: Bodzin, Hammond, Carr, & Calario, 2009 (note addition from original coursemap); Hammond & Bodzin, 2009; Bodzin, 2008
Assignments: Do some WTL, and also download and try out AEJEE and MyWorld--URLs are in syllabus and in the class bookmarks list
Session 3- Tuesday, 25 May
Before class
Complete reading; download and try out AEJEE and My World (links above); do some WTL
Read and respond to a classmate's assignment ideas in their WTL thread.
During class (ppt )
Housekeeping
Everyone is launched in Moodle -- don't forget to keep up with WTL
How is everyone for software?
Google Earth
AEJEE
My World (using trial download)
Conceptual work: Getting started in Google Earth, AEJEE, and My World
Task framework: LINIQES: Load, interface, navigate, inspect, query, edit, save
Google Earth
Load
Mix of client-side and server-side data.
Satellite imagery: What are we looking at? Mix of current and dated material (see imagery date in lower left); it's only as good as "they" let you have (e.g., contrast One Observatory Circle vs. 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW)
Layers -- my recommendation is to turn OFF as much as possible. But I do like leaving 3-D buildings on...sometimes turns up fun surprises (for example, Amsterdam!).
File > Open to load a .kml or a .kmz. For our demo, we'll use this file that I created for TLT 406. It's interesting b/c it has points, lines, associated images, etc.
Interface
Sidebar vs. display area vs. toolbar
Sidebar on and off
Navigation tools on, off, or auto
Sidebar fields: Search, My Places, Layers
Navigate
Search box, or
Double-click on an item in a list (Search or My Places)
Double-click on any point on the globe to go there.
Navigation tools: Tilt/pan, move NSEW, zoom in/out
Inspect
Single-click to open up info box.
Right-click and select "Properties" or "Info" -- gives more access to point/line/polygon data (e.g., lat/lon, URL of any imported images). More importantly, you can EDIT items in this mode (see below)
Query
Actually, not much we can do here.
One thing we can do is measure -- the ruler is handy
Other features I can't figure out what they're useful for...but maybe you can: time of day slider, year slider (I imagine this will be fun for tracking construction projects, or perhaps looking at observable environmental impact?)
Edit
Add something new: either
Search for it and then drag it into My Places and work on it, or
Click on Add Placemark, Add Polygon, or Add Path.
Editing something once it's been created: Open up Properties (or Info) and modify.
Save
For our purposes: Right-click the item, folder, or file name and "Save Place As"
You can also
Save out snapshopts
Record a tour
Move into Google Maps
AEJEE - Note that this runs on Java, so it requires a Java Runtime Environment...and some patience.
Load
All client-side data. We'll start by loading a blend of demo, downloaded, and self-generated data.
Loading demo data: File > open > us_hd.axl. (In case you need to browse to this: The file path is ESRI\AEJEE\Data.) What you're looking at: spreadsheets rendered visually. But we'll get to this in "Inspect"
Loading online data:
Here are files with the streets for Lehigh County streets (.shp; .shx ; .dbf ) and Northampton County streets (.shp , .shx , .dbf ). Download them all to the same folder / location, make sure you know how to find them.
Hit the "Add data..." button (between 'Print' and 'Remove layer') and browse to where you stored the data; you should see the .shp files there. Select them and they will become new layers.
Here is our scaffolded geocache data as tab-delimited text . Save this file to your machine, then do View > Add Event Theme. Browse to where the .txt file is, select it. BE SURE to specify 'lon' as the X Field, and 'lat' as the Y field.
Interface
Similar to Google Earth: tools across the top, left-hand layers, main area = display
Note importance of layers
Turn on/off
Re-order (e.g., pull cities layer down in the stack)
Navigate: Move about the map in at least three ways
Drag the map around
Zoom in/out
Zoom to full extent or active layer
BEWARE getting zoomed in or out too far -- correct using "Zoom to" tools (select layer and then zoom to it)
Inspect
Identify tool ('i') -- can be hard to use unless you're properly zoomed in.
Finder (Binoculars)
Try looking in the 'cities' layer for 'Denver'
Repeat this for 'San' -- select all the results and look at them on the map. What was expected? What was a surprise?
Query
Query-builder: Try POP_CLASS = 10. Repeat with POP_CLASS = 9, POP_CLASS >= 9
Table of results and displays on map.
Edit
Modify visuals
Right-click cities and select 'Properties'
Code cities by POP_CLASS, all one size, use color to differentiate ranks (e.g., red for highest rank -- largest cities -- and green for lowest rank)
Right-click states and select 'Properties'
Bring up 'Labels' tab and select STATE_NAME
Modify data -- all done in spreadsheet editor
Add new fields to existing layers: add a column, don't make the new column name more than 10 characters! Save as tab-delimited text
Creating new layers: MUST edit outside of AEJEE, bring it in.
Can add point data fairly easily -- just give it a lat and a lon
Adding lines or polygons is much trickier. Take a look at the demo files of 10grid_hd.axl and 10gridpn_hd.axl to get a sense of this.
Save
Saves out as ArcXML (axl) files; viewable in Arc products.
HOWEVER: Note that each project file is pretty tiny (just a couple kilobytes) -- they're referencing the REAL data sources, down in the data folders. So if you're trying to move data around, move both the project file and the data sources.
My World
Load
Here, everything is built in: The "Construct" tab is where you assemble your data. You can add your own custom data, but for the moment, just
Set the Library to "United States"
Pull the following to the "Layer List" column: U.S. States, Counties, Rivers, Major Highways -- whatever you like.
To get our geocache data: Do File > Import Layer From File. Browse to wherever you stored the file, and note that this program is a little smarter -- given lat and lon, it recognizes them automatically.
Interface: You have the usual menus, but the tabs are the key
"Construct" is where you assemble the dataset
"Visualize" gets you more screen space and lets you see what's in each data layer. This is also a good place to re-order / re-stack layers, adjust colors, icons, turn layers on/off, etc. (You can do these in "Construct" as well, but you'll have a more cramped screen.)
"Analyze" is where you run your queries.
"Edit" lets you change your data set or add new layers from your own data.
Navigation:
The same tools and concepts apply: drag, zoom, zoom-to-active
Important new tool: Step forward / step back among views
Inspect: You still have an Inspect tool, but you can do a lot more browsing using the records fields to the right.
Query
This is actually pretty different: The Analyze tab is where you do this, and it's all split out by function. Note that this tool lets you do a lot of math (calculations, graphs) as well as maps. For example: Figure out a series of steps to see if the %age of older persons really is higher in Florida, Arizona, etc.
Another bit of added value: You can save your queries / analyses as new layers. For students, this is VERY handy.
Edit
Obviously, the Edit tab is the place to be. Double-click on a layer and you can see the spreadsheet, add new records (entries) or new fields (characteristics to existing records).
You can make an entirely new layer (points, lines, polygons, etc.) by clicking the "Create A New, Empty Layer" button (the sheet-of-paper looking thing)
Save
The important thing here is to do "Save Project As..." to preserve (a) the integrity of the original data, and (b) whatever changes / analyses you've made.
Closure
After class
Reading
Doering & Veletsianos, 2007
Edelson, 2004 (intro to My World design concepts -- just skim)
Assignments
Work on Google Earth assignment
If you need help, correspond with one another, look at Google's help docs, and look at online communities. Email me after you've tried these other tactics.
To see what I've tagged in our bookmark list about GoogleEarth:delicious.com/tchammond/tlt394+GoogleEarth
Do some WTL
Session 4 - Thursday, 27 May
Before class
Do the reading, do a WTL post
Fiddle around with Google Earth and AEJEE and/or My World. Your longterm goal is to get to work on your project, but your intermediate goal is to get comfy (enough) with the tools, to develop your schema of what the tools can (and can't) do and lower your cognitive load when it comes to the procedures you'll need when working on your project (e.g., loading data, arranging visualizations, do queries/analyses, saving and re-opening projects, etc.)
During class (ppt )
Anyone doing anything interesting with their GPS unit? Any interesting fiddling with Google Earth, AEJEE, or My World? It's quiet in the 'Help Me!' forum and that means that either you're getting along swimmingly or you're not digging into things.
Meetings to discuss assignments, project: We will do these next Tuesday; sign up for a time slot , please.
I want more data! Finding data online . Raw data example: census.gov's MAF/TIGER database; processed data example: UIC's Bringing Historical Data Alive .
Instruction with GIS: Essential concept of scaffolding
Instruction with GIS: Examples
Example #1 (I'll demo): Pre-Civil War census data selections in AEJEE. If you want to play along, files = states.shp / .shx / .dbf / .prj / .sbn / .sbx / shp.xml ; census_1790-1860.shp / .shx / .dbf
Example #2 (you'll work on this solo or in pairs): The Great Migration via My World. You'll need the project file (uic.edu/educ/bctpi/historyGIS/greatmigration/GreatMigrationV42.m3vz ); note that there has been some weirdness in the past about how to get this. You may have to download it, open My World, then from inside My World do a File > Open.
Question to answer in your WTL thread: Agree with, disagree with, and/or qualify the following definition: "Great Migration n. the large-scale movement of African Americans from the South to Northern cities in the early 20th Century" (Danzer, Klor de Alva, Krieger, Wilson, & Woloch, 2008, The Americans: Reconstruction to the 21st Century, p. R58)
Essential affordance: Screenshots! --Please include one in your WTL posting. For tips on how to do them, see the 'Help Me!' Forum.
Assignment discussion
After class
Reading
Shin, 2006
Edelson, Smith, & Brown, 2008
Assignments
Complete proof-of-concept Google Earth markup assignment
Starting thinking about GIS dataset assignment
WTL
Session 5 - Tuesday, 1 June
Meeting schedule
1:00-1:20 Jeff
1:20-1:40 Richard
1:40-2:00 Japera
2:00-2:20 Ann
2:20-2:40 Julie
2:40-3:00 Bob
3:00-3:20 Yuanyuan
3:20-3:40 Paul
3:40-4:00 Joanna
Session 6 - Thursday, 3 June
Before class
Submit any changes to your Google Docs assignment
Do reading
Do WTL
Think about / work on GIS assignment and final project. I hope these are one-and-the-same, but they don't have to be.
During class (ppt )
Housekeeping: Next week = guest speaker on Tues, going outside on Thurs
(Geo-)spatial thinking
What is spatial thinking?
Looking at historical examples of spatial thinking in action