May 15, 2018: Cartography. MOOC Ask Me Anything (AMA)

[CandaceLoya]

Live Today! AMA Event on GeoNet

Tuesday, May 15, 9:30 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. (PDT)

Join our Cartography. MOOC guests here on the GeoNet Community for a LIVE AMA (Ask Me Anything) event. The AMA will take place in this discussion thread on Tuesday, May 15, 2018, from 9:30 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. (PDT). 

*Click HERE to convert exact time for different countries.

This is an opportunity to ask our guests questions about the Cartography. MOOC course, about cartography in general, great maps, best practices or anything else that comes to mind. 

AMA Guests 

Ken Field

John Nelson‌

Wesley Jones‌

Nathan Shephard‌

Edie Punt‌

Craig Williams‌ 

How does the AMA work?
During the AMA, you can post your questions by clicking  the "Add Reply" button below and our guests will reply to your questions in comments. You are welcome to post questions ahead of the AMA and they will answer them during the AMA.

 Please note: You must be logged in to post questions and see responses. See instructions 
on How to Log into GeoNet for the AMA. 

AMA Tips and GeoNet Community Guidelines
When asking questions and comments during the AMA, remember to follow the GeoNet Community Guiding Principles‌: Be Helpful, Be Human, Be Smart.
This discussion page will not auto-refresh, so please remember to refresh this page to see new questions, comments and replies.       
                    
                    
                               
 Please note: The AMA will be live when you see a picture of our guests below.          

We are live!

9:30 a.m. - And we're live! Go ahead and ask your questions!

9:45 a.m. - If you are just joining us, feel free to ask any question.

10:00 a.m. - We're halfway through, Great questions! Keep them coming!

10:15 a.m. - If you are just joining us, feel free to ask any question.

10:25 a.m. - Five minutes to go! Got any fun questions for our Guests?

10:30 a.m. - And that's a wrap! The live AMA has ended with our wonderful Cartography. MOOC Guests. 

Thank you for your questions and participation. 

The thread has shifted to a time-stamp view. To view the threads in their entirety, you can select the Actions above the right corner of the discussion thread and select View PDF. 

[NathanShephard]

Hi Shannon,
I'd say the best thing to do to "up your game" is to just start making lots of maps (and, if you're up for it, 3D scenes) and experimenting with different approaches to see what works. One set of data can be used in many different ways - see what works (and doesn't work). And then... and this is the hard part... put them out for others to comment on. Feedback is critical to help improve what you're doing. Several of us are on Twitter and will happily take a peek.
In regards to giving clients the maps they ask for, it can be tough to change an existing pattern, especially when they're paying the bills. There's nothing to stop you pitching a "better approach", though. Give it a shot. It's up to them whether they listen, or simply don't see the added value in the change.
My favorite scene (because I'm very 3D) is nearly always "the one I'm working on next". Having said that, I did geo-position 36 Views of Mt Fuji (by Hokusai) by positioning them in 3D space. That was a lot of fun.
-Nathan.

[deleted-user-Q2MMZOFZpCOZ]

I think you may have shown some of the Mt Fuji work you did at the UC last year... it was amazing to see how well the art was lined up! I am slowly teaching myself 3D and playing around with some maps/ scenes in arcPro. Looking forwards to the next section to learn more of the how-to's! 

[Paul_JamesDoherty]

Paul Doherty

Hello. I am struggling a bit with step 15 and 16 of Section 3 'Thematic Maps. I have successfully generated the tiling scheme from the Geoprocessing pane and receive the 'successfully published web layer' message also. However my problem arises when I sign in to ArcGis Online.

When searching my content my Map is not visible. I have tried this on numerous occasions but have had no luck   

Any ideas?

Thanks in advance!!

[AlexMohr2]

How does one get into the profession of cartography? I am currently doing a GIS internship but I much prefer the cartographic side. There is no educational program specifically geared toward cartography where I live. I have taken what classes were offered and I do a lot of online training and MOOC's (THANKS for this great one!). What can I do next? How can students help themselves be better map makers? 

[JohnMNelson]

Lots of paths into any sort of field. But starting with a GIS background, like you have, then increasing your design skills, is a great path forward. If you find blogs of cartographers you like, there are lots of helpful how-to posts usually. Don't worry too much about formal programs.

[suehawkins1]

I started with an Art Major and have never had any formal geography courses at all. The lack of geography is a bit of a handicap, but the art background is very helpful. I knew I loved maps as early as age 4, playing with giant planning maps my Dad used to bring home for us to color on.

People are so lucky nowadays to have GIS programs in school... even *computers* in school...

I'm really loving this MOOC; looking forward to more! Thanks for putting it all together!

---sue

[EdiePunt]

There's more to cartography than just the direct tasks of map-making. Learn about graphic design, typography, color theory. Learn everything you can about statistics and how to graphically portray numerical data. Learn about different data sources and data sets. 

Edie

[AnastassiyaSuprunova1]

Thank you for a great MOOC! I was enjoying it so much so far. 

My question is not technical, but I would love to know what inspired each of you to be a cartographer. I and my co-workers are participating in GEO Mentoring program from ESRI and it would be great to set an example for kids of such great cartographers as you guys and share what inspired you. 

Thank you, Anastassiya.

[WesleyJones1]

I slowly walked into this career. It took me a long time to find something that really spoke to me. When I finally decided on Cartography  I made the decision to go to a school that taught it really well. I will give a shout out to my college: the Nova Scotia Community College - Centre of Geographic Sciences. They have a variety of programs and also a two year program that can super jump start your cartography / GIS career.

I can tell you one reason that cartography is a great fit for me. I get to combine art and science. I get to balance both sides of my personality. 

[KenField]

I kinda fell into it simply by following what I loved to do. Given I was rubbish at Chemistry that meant I couldn't be a surgeon and I didn't have the patience to spend 7 years studying architecture. Maps it was!