Projections? Coordinate Systems? PCS? GCS? Datums?... Ahhhh!!!

[BrianBaldwin]

I've always struggled to understand the relationships between datums, projections, coordinate systems, etc... nevermind trying to explain and teach these concepts to others! For me, the biggest issue was always reading through definitions and descriptions of these concepts and trying to build the mental image to understand how they related.

I was struggling to find a good diagram that explained the relationship, so I pieced the diagram below together (if someone has a better one... please post below!):

I also created a video walking through each of the components of the diagram. The video builds the diagram from the ground up and attempts to explain each (hence why the diagram looks so un-polished...):

If you have any thoughts, feedback, or better illustrations, please post them below! I'd love to hear how others are teaching these concepts (beyond just pulling apart an orange!).

Credits to Heather Smith for a few of her articles on these concepts:

• GCS vs. PCS: https://www.esri.com/arcgis-blog/products/arcgis-pro/mapping/gcs_vs_pcs/
• Coordinate systems: What's the Difference?: https://www.esri.com/arcgis-blog/products/arcgis-pro/mapping/coordinate-systems-difference/

[AyanPalit]

I am preparing for a workshop and needed to explain PCS/GCS in simple terms. As a GIS professional, I get it but struggled to come up with simple ways to state this.  Resorted to Google search and thankfully this blog came up as one of the top results. Watched the video by @BrianBaldwin and now I know how to explain the concepts. Great resource added to my video favorites!   

[BrianBaldwin]

Haha - Great to hear it was helpful @AyanPalit!