Leveraging COVID-19 GIS Resources in Higher Education

[CanserinaKurnia]

COVID-19 outbreaks are bringing the use of GIS technology to the forefront.  Many field surveys, maps, data, , dashboards, and story maps have been deployed by multiple agencies to better understand the coronavirus impacts and to inform the public.   As educators, students, and institutions migrate to online learning, these COVID-19 GIS resources are excellent for teaching and learning, and for student projects to help the local community.   

Official Esri Website for COVID-19

This official Esri website for COVID-19 is dedicated to helping you monitor, prepare for, and respond to COVID-19. It allows you to request GIS help, access GIS resources, view global maps and dashboards, get insights, and learn best practices on responding to COVID-19.

5 Steps to COVID-19 response. Take this proactive approach to understanding the potential COVID-19 impact on your organization or community.

Step 1: Map the cases– Map confirmed and active cases, deaths, and recoveries to identify where COVID 19 infections exist and have occurred.

Step 2: Map the spread– Time-enabled maps can reveal how infections spread over time and where you may want to target interventions.

Step 3: Map vulnerable populations—COVID 19 disproportionally impacts certain demographics such as the elderly and those with underlying health conditions. Mapping social vulnerability, age, and other factors help you monitor at-risk groups and regions you serve.

Step 4: Map your capacity to respond—Map facilities, employees or citizens, medical resources, equipment, goods, and services to understand and respond to current and potential impacts of COVID 19.

Step 5: Communicate with maps—Use interactive Web maps, dashboard apps, and StoryMaps to help rapidly communicate your situation.

More on How your GIS department can respond to COVID-19.

GIS Resources for Educators on COVID-19

These GIS resources on COVID-19 can give some ideas for student projects or as teaching materials.

Exploration

• COVID-19: The First Global Pandemic of the Information Age – Story map with trends updated daily - NEW!

• Coronavirus (COVID-19) Apps - View over 200 maps, apps and dashboard on COVID-19 from around the world.
• Get Insights - To view reliable, up-to-date content related to COVID-19 from trusted sources.

Finding Data

Authoritative Maps and Data - Explore authoritative geospatial data sourced from the global GIS community and our trusted partners, including  COVID-19 Provider Practice Locations from NPI.

Building ArcGIS Hub Sites, Infographics and Solution Templates

• COVID-19 GIS Hub - Get maps, datasets, applications, templates and more for coronavirus disease 2019.
• Coronavirus Response Hub - Learn how to build and launch your own hub site.
• Create Coronavirus Infographics - Exploring COVID-19 Impact on Vulnerable Populations Using Infographics.
• Building maps and apps using Coronavirus Response in ArcGIS Solution – Start with the templates, then configure with your maps and apps for your community.

Best Practices

• Essential Configurations for Highly Scalable ArcGIS Online Web Applications (Viral Applications) – Follow best practices on deploying a high traffic web application.
• Mapping Coronavirus Responsibly – Learn how maps can help shape the narrative and, as concern grows, how to map the data responsibly.

• Two Dashboards One Intelligent URL - Create a dashboard that working well in desktop and mobile device

Learning Resources

• COVID-19 Learning Resources– Explore the various Learn Lessons related to COVID-19.
• Teaching and learning about the Coronavirus (COVID-19) with web maps, dashboards, and infographics – Some recommendations to use the maps, apps and tools for teaching.
• Monitoring COVID-19: A Dashboard Lesson - Create your own dashboard of COVID-19 cases, deaths, and recoveries for each country.
• Coronavirus Response Hub Template - How to create your own COVID-19 Hub using the template
• Hospital Impact Model for ArcGIS Pro - An implementation of the University of Pennsylvania’s COVID-19 Hospital Impact Model for Epidemics (CHIME) for use in ArcGIS Pro 2.3 or higher. 

Community

• The GIS community response to the COVID-19 crisis - A storymap.   NEW!!
• Coronavirus GeoNet Community  - Ask questions, start a discussion, and join in on the conversation of sharing best practices to respond to COVID-19.
• Submit your COVID-19 applications to be part of Global or US COVID-19 community gallery !

• A workflow on creating a time-series web app of the COVID-19 outbreak - Shared by Benjamin Mittler (USF)

Developer

• Reference applications on Github – these highlight additional API capabilities and interactive experiences you could add to your apps (we love feedback or pull requests!) 
• Configurable apps – if you need to quickly create an app or just don’t want to think about debugging, Esri also offers a variety of configurable app builders and templates 
• ArcGIS for Developers resources pages 

Educator Community Support

1. COVID-19 Educator Support GeoNet Page – Visit this GeoNet page with curated content and resources for educators migrating to online learning. Connect with other colleagues, ask questions, and start a discussion.
2. Higher Education Virtual Office Hours - If you have direct question related to tools, data, curricular materials, and teaching approaches in higher education, visit our virtual office hours.
3. Questions on license agreement? Many higher education institutions have an Education Institution Agreement with Esri that provide access to many products. Contact your account manager with questions.
4. Share Your Work - We want to hear from you. Send us your maps, apps, hub sites and story maps on COVID-19. We will share with the Education GeoNet community. 
5. VitalSource Helps program – Students can take advantage of free access to Esri Press e-books now through May 25, 2020.
6. Free student licenses via Learn ArcGIS - As part of our continued efforts to support students and educators amidst COVID-19 university closures, we will offer free Student licensing until August 31^st, 2020.
7. How to Access Esri Technology while working from home - A video by Esri Canada

If you need any further assistance, contact the Higher Education Outreach Team at highered@esri.com or the K12 Outreach Team at K12schools@esri.com.

Post examples of your students’ work on the Education GeoNet Space so others can learn and be inspired!

Together, through teaching, learning and research,  we can help to turn this challenging situation into an opportunity, to adapt, excel and make impactful contributions to the community and the world. 

Stay safe and well.

[AdenaSchutzberg1]

One more best practice resource: Improve Your COVID-19 Cases Map. (H/T latest issue of my GIS education newsletter)