ArcGIS Online June 2024 Updates - What Should Educators Be Excited About?!?!
As always – there are already a ton of blogs and documentation published around the recent ArcGIS Online and ArcGIS app updates that took place this June (on the evening of June 26h). The goal with this blog is not to repeat all of the news/updates that have been published, but to call out a few of the updates that I found the most exciting and pertinent for the education audience. To ensure I don’t crush everyone with the full list of updates, I’ll keep things to just 2 of the updates that excited me the most.
To dive into all of the 'What's New' - please see the following blogs/doc:
- The full ‘What’s New’ documentation can be found here: https://doc.arcgis.com/en/arcgis-online/reference/whats-new.htm
- You can also refer to the ‘updates blog’ penned by Bernie here: https://www.esri.com/arcgis-blog/products/arcgis-online/announcements/whats-new-arcgis-online-june-2...
- There is also a specific ‘What’s New in MapViewer’ blog: https://www.esri.com/arcgis-blog/products/arcgis-online/mapping/whats-new-in-map-viewer-june-2024/
Let’s get right to it!
Web Tools!
One of the updates that I am still trying to wrap my head around… because it seems too good to be true, is the ability to create custom web tools that can be used in the ArcGIS Online Map Viewer.
The capability that was just added at this release, allows users with access to ArcGIS Notebooks and the ability to ‘Publish Web Tools’ (If you are looking at the ArcGIS Online role settings, you can find the new privilege under the Administrative privileges, Content, and Publish Web Tools) to create notebooks with parameters that can be shared/published as ‘web tools’.
You can find the full web tools documentation here: https://doc.arcgis.com/en/arcgis-online/create-maps/publish-a-notebook-as-a-web-tool.htm
While the analysis tools in the Map Viewer are great, they are a little limiting when it comes to more advanced analysis. The web tools update enables users to leverage the majority of the ArcPy library (which is included in ArcGIS Notebooks) with data and layers in a web map, making it really powerful. Students, researchers, or power users can design custom tools that can then be added into a web map and shared, to allow for ‘non-power’ users to leverage these custom tools. A great example of this is the Designate Bike Routes sample notebook that can be found here: https://developers.arcgis.com/python/samples/designate-bike-routes-for-commuting-professionals/ With the new web tools functionality, you could publish this entire workflow as a tool, instead of forcing users to work through the notebook.
Take a look at the full list of ArcPy libraries that are included in ArcGIS Notebooks, they include Image Analysis, Mapping, Spatial Analysis, and others. Full documentation here: https://doc.arcgis.com/en/arcgis-online/reference/use-arcpy-in-your-notebook.htm
There are not a lot of samples that I could locate for users to get started, but I was able to locate a detailed sample/walk-through that provides a tool that returns vehicle charging stations along a route. It utilizes one of the newer functionalities of the analysis tools as well, the ability for a user to interactively add locations as inputs for the analysis.
You can find the sample notebook here: https://arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=fc5252df5b804eed8ca9f939e6d1f7fe
Map Viewer: No need to leave!
A few of the enhancements with the Map Viewer might not seem groundbreaking, but I think they will help with a lot of different teaching workflows. I for one was thrilled that you can now edit data (if editing is enabled) directly in Map Viewer tables. In the past – you could edit data in the feature layer’s details pane, but if you are working in a map and just wanted to make a few updates… that was a pain.
Also – and maybe more exciting, you can now add fields directly to a feature layer from Map Viewer. Rather than going to the item details page and adding fields, etc. – you can simply add the field right from the ‘fields’ pane. Now let’s turn the volume to 11 (triple exciting… ) because after that field is added, you can then run field calculation tools.
Some of these enhancements will really help faculty teach and instruct a little bit more easily from one location. If you are trying to introduce field types and field calculations, you can now do all of this right from Map Viewer. In my opinion, it moves Map Viewer another step closer to being a ‘true’ data management and manipulation tool.
Close
The June 2024 update of ArcGIS Online (and all of the related apps) contains a ton of new functionality, performance enhancements, and more. I only touched on 2 specific items that excited me the most for the education community. Please refer to the blogs/documentation that I posted at the top of the blog so that you can check out all of the other updates that took place. Also – let me know in the comments if I missed something. Was there an update that we haven’t ‘shouted from the rooftops’ that others should know about?