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Key Strategies for Finding Content

& Understanding What You’ve Found

Joseph Kerski

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Users of this activity will know and be able to:

1. Effectively find spatial data.

2. Effectively use spatial data in educational contexts.

3. Effectively use the ArcGIS platform.

Lesson Outcomes

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Session Vocabulary

•Spatial Thinking

•Spatial Analysis

•Open Data

•Location Privacy

•Feature Service

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Joseph’s working definition of spatial thinking:

“Identifying, analyzing, and understanding the location, scale, patterns, and trends of the geographic and temporal relationships among data, phenomena, and issues.”

What is Spatial Thinking?

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Esri Definition of Spatial Analysis: “The process of examining the locations, attributes, and relationships of features in spatial data through overlay and other analytical techniques in order to address a question or gain useful knowledge. Spatial analysis extracts or creates new information from spatial data.

Or: It is how we understand our world —mapping where things are, how they relate, what it all means, and what actions to take.

What is Spatial Analysis?

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Is this spatial analysis?

Yes! Even if you are not using the “analysis” tools in your GIS,

you can still be doing analysis! Analysis has a broad range. For

example, using web mapping applications such as the Change

Matters viewer shown here.

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Data = Key ingredient for

spatial analysis

You need data and tools to do spatial analysis!

Finding and Using Spatial Data

Old Paradigm

--Download data Unzip Format ProjectTabular Manipulation Use.

New Paradigm

--Access data in cloud Use.

We are not quite to the point of fully using the new paradigm …

yet.

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Thus, the best practice today is still the hybrid model:

1. Start with ArcGIS Online to search for data.

2. Search local, state, national, international data depositories

and portals.

Examples:

Local: Boulder County CO, Los Angeles County CA

State: TNRIS (Texas), CASIL (California), RIGIS (RI), NRIS (MT),

National: USGS, NASA, Census, NOAA, EPA, USDOT, USFWS,

International: LINZ (New Zealand), IBGE (Brazil), OS (UK) WRI,

WWF, UNEP, World Bank, Natural Earth Data

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Searching for maps,

map layers, and map

locations in ArcGIS

Online

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Hands-on Activity 1

You are teaching about plate tectonics. You need a world map with

plate boundaries.

Start with www.arcgis.com – ArcGIS Online. Do not log in.

1. Search for map: plate boundaries

2. Search for map: tags: plate boundaries

3. Search for map: plates 4 types

4. Search for map: plates 4 types owner:jjkerski

5. Search for map: plates 4 types owner:jjkerski > Sort by: Views

Search strategies: AGO > Help > search “Search”

Adding Layers: Strategies: AGO > Help > Create Maps > Add Layers

Search strategies:

http://doc.arcgis.com/en/arcgis-online/reference/search.htm

Adding Layers: Strategies:

https://doc.arcgis.com/en/arcgis-online/create-maps/add-layers.htm

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Hands-on Activity 2

Open http://arcg.is/29HVMWM. You need to add some data to it.

Modify Map > Add/Search for layers > and note choices.

Find “current earthquakes” in ArcGIS Online.

Add US Department of the Interior – Current Global

Natural Hazards.

Use “Item Details” on this layer to examine the metadata.

Log in to ArcGIS Online (save map), and again use Add.

Note the choices now available:

Search on: earthquakes. Add Recent Earthquakes

As layer to map.

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Hands-on Activity 3

For Recent earthquakes, examine table for “All PAGER alerts”.

Note the number of records.

Go to earthquakes.usgs.gov > Real time Feeds > Speadsheet

format. > Past 30 days M4.5+ (Note the URL, copy it)

URL:

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/feed/v1.0/summary/4.5

_month.csv

Add > Add Layer from Web > CSV file > paste URL above.

Note the number of features in the table and the fields you

have to choose from for sorting, filtering, styling, and for pop-

ups.

Discuss the differences among these methods.

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Data Types and Sources

1) Vector: Shapefiles, geodatabases, feature services,

other vector formats.

2) Raster: ArcGrids, GeoTiffs and other images, Tiled

image services.

3) Tabular: Excel tables, CSVs, TXT files, other

formats.

4) Ground images: Wikipedia and other creative

commons sources.

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What kinds of data can you add to

ArcGIS Online?

Data Type Open in ArcGIS

Online

Open in ArcGIS

Desktop

Map Notes X

Tables (CSV) X X

Zipped

Shapefiles

X X Unzip first

Zipped other

data

X after unzipping

and serving

X after unzipping

Images (JPG,

PNG, TIF)

X X

Feature services X X

Layer package,

map package

X

For complete list:

http://doc.arcgis.com/en/arcgis-online/share-maps/supported-items.htm

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Hands-on Activity 4

You are teaching about flooding and want to construct a lesson

about flash floods in mountain communities.

Method A: Demo (Orgs cannot have multiple copies of 1 FS)

Go to: http://gis.bouldercounty.opendata.arcgis.com/

Search on: floodplain Click on floodplain. Note attributes.

Download dataset > Download Floodplain.zip to your

computer. Note where you downloaded it to!

Note: Zip file – good! Shape file – good!

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Hands-on Activity 4 continued…

Go to ArcGIS Online > My Content > Create Boulder Flood

folder > Add Item > Item from my computer > Add your zip file,

provide metadata.

This is creating a service. Better than CSV!

Open in Map Viewer. Choose Floodway > Types: Unique

Symbols > Make Floodway blue, Other “no color”.

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Hands-on Activity 4 continued…

Add Field called Area. Type: Double.

Click on Area field > Calculate > area = Shapearea.

Filter: Floodway is Floodway. Know your data!

Sort Area field Descending.

Where is the largest floodplain in Boulder by area?

These numbers are in square FEET. Know your data. Test via

the measurement tool.

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Hands-on Activity 5

Method B:

Go to: http://gis.bouldercounty.opendata.arcgis.com/

Search on: floodplain. Click on floodplain. Click on Open in

ArcGIS. Wow! These same layers you were downloading …

are also available as feature services! You can use them

directly in ArcGIS Online without downloading them!

What are the advantages to Method A and Method B?

What open data sites have data that you’re interested in?

Go to: http://opendata.arcgis.com and search for your topic or

region of interest

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Uploading Your Data into ArcGIS Online

Why upload? For data that you have either created

(Joseph’s ocean currents example) or obtained and it is not

already on ArcGIS Online {OR} you wish to have more

control over the data (Joseph’s tornado example.)

You can publish data to ArcGIS Online from ArcGIS

Server, from within ArcGIS Desktop or Pro, or directly from

“My Content” in ArcGIS Online.

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10 Spatial Analysis Exercises in the Public Domain Data Book

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Other Curricular Resources for Using Data and Solving

Problems

1. Learn ArcGIS Lessons

2. SpatiaLABS

3. Making Spatial Decisions Using GIS and Remote

Sensing: A Workbook. Keranen, Kolvoord

4. Instructional Guide for The ArcGIS Book. Malone &

Keranen.

5. GeoInquiries.

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It’s more than just about finding the data!

• Quality

• Crowdsourcing.

• Data Portals.

• Copyright.

• Location Privacy.

• >> Critical thinking.

• The GIS Guide to Public Domain Data,

by Joseph Kerski and Jill Clark, Esri

Press

• http://spatialreserves.wordpress.com

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Communities

Blogs:

https://blogs.esri.com/esri/

ArcGIS Online, Story Maps, and more.

Education Community blog:

http://edcommunity.esri.com/blog

GeoNet: Esri GIS Community

http://geonet.esri.com

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Further Exploration

Take the Going Places with Spatial Analysis MOOC –

Esri. www.esri.com/mooc

Examine “How to teach with the ArcGIS Platform”

documents, including video on spatial analysis tools:

http://www.esri.com/landing-

pages/industries/education/higher-education/teach-with-

arcgis-platform

Review video tutorials: A Deeper Dive with ArcGIS

Online:

See playlist : http://www.youtube.com/geographyuberalles

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Key Strategies for Finding Content

& Understanding What You’ve Found

Joseph Kerski