Latest Contributions by JosephKerski

In our discussions with faculty, there arise frequent requests for examples of the modern approach to teaching subjects within modern geospatial technology and methods.  By “modern”, we refer to GIS as a system which provides a foundation to build upon and a variety of points at which to access.  By "subjects" we mean subjects within GIScience such as GIS methods, remote sensing, analytics, mapping (cartography, which I am sharing with this essay), and others, as well as subject areas where GIS can be used as an instructional tool, such as meteorology (which I shared here).  The "modern GIS" paradigm includes creating and using crowdsource-able field apps, rigorous consumption and creation of web maps and mapping applications such as story maps, coding and building expressions, performing spatial analysis, and other components of the web infrastructure as enabled by SaaS (Software as a Service) tools and data as services.  As part of this ongoing discussion, I would like to share a course that I created in Cartographic Design that serves as a course that embraces these elements.  The entire contents of the course are available here.  hacc_carto_course_animatedgif.gif The course could serve as one model for a first course in modern GIS in higher education and to foster conversation about approaches, tools, data, and hands-on problem-solving activities.   The course contents could also be considered an e-book, as hundreds of pages of readings and hands-on activities are included.   A playlist of each of the 21 videos in the course is here.  A key advantage of serving this entire course is that you will see the readings, activities, videos, and quizzes as a scaffolded, complete whole, rather than just individual lessons.  Each component builds on other components in a sequenced way designed in tandem with vetted learning theory.  JosephKerski_0-1706957099484.png     My goals in creating and providing this course are so that (1) anyone can take it without the need to access a Learning Management System (LMS) or any other system, as I exported it out of an LMS into a story map collection; (2) instructors can use components of this course for their own instruction (or the entirety of the course) at their own college or university.  Feel free to use this course however you see fit under a Creative Commons CC by 4.0 license. This course is aimed at university or technical, tribal, or community college students who have not had prior experience using GIS.  This course is 16 weeks long.   Each week, students work through the following components:  Readings, videos, and hands-on activities using interactive GIS tools (ArcGIS Online, ArcGIS Pro, web mapping applications, field surveys, and selected other tools such as Axis Maps, WorldMapper cartograms, and ColorBrewer).  They take a short quiz, reflect upon their learning in discussions, and share the results of their investigations.  I also provide the quiz answers in the story map, although when I teach the course, the answers are not provided.   I have successfully taught this course with real students for 3 years; updating it each term. I migrated the course from a Learning Management System (LMS—in this case, BrightSpace D2L) to the resources you see here so that everyone can view and access.  I created a story map for each of the four modules that comprise each week of the course:  (1) Readings and discussion, (2) hands-on activities, (3) quizzes, (4) the quiz answers, and (5) the final few weeks lead up to a student-led project in cartography of their own choosing.  The plan thus helps students frame their own questions and research agenda, implement it using the tools they have learned in the course, and deliver it via a web mapping application of their choice.  I have taught this course at the community college level and most students in it had taken 1 GIS course prior to taking this Cartographic Design course, but not all, so I did include some "key foundations" at the beginning for those students who were new to GIS (but I trust served as an effective reminder for those in their 2nd course in GIS).  I would like to thank my colleague Nicole Ernst for laying the original vision for this course and for giving me the opportunity to teach it at Harrisburg Area Community College.  I made use of the UN Mapping for a Sustainable World e-Book for readings and examples about several key principles (I love that book!), as well as things I've learned over the years from some of my favorite cartographers Andy Woodruff and those from Esri, Kenneth Field (author of Esri Press book Cartography), Jim Herries, Charlie Frye, and Aileen Buckley (co-author of Map Use and tons more content). My key takeaways from this course include:  (1) I am very glad to see cartography making a return to core GIS courses, and it'.  With Web GIS, everyone is a potential mapmaker, and thus it is more imperative than ever that people learn about how to communicate effectively with maps, apps, infographics, and other geo-visualizations.  (2)  What worked very well was the combination of ArcGIS Online (which I used beginning Week 1 and throughout the course), and ArcGIS Pro (which I used from the midpoint of the course onward for its advanced cartographic techniques and tools), with the other tools I mention in this essay.  (3) As we frequently reassure faculty, there's no shame in using someone else's lesson when it meets your objectives and when it frees your time to focus on other aspects of the course.   In my case with this course, I used a Singapore-focused cartography lesson from the Learn ArcGIS library.  While it wasn't exactly what I would have done in that section of the course, it met 90-95% of my objectives, and it freed up dozens of development hours that I could now use to focus on developing the readings, videos, quizzes, final project, and rubrics.  I linked and organized all 19 story maps using an ArcGIS Story Maps collection, which was a straightforward way to present the content that I hope you find useful.  There is 1 story map for each of the 16 weeks, plus story maps for the quiz answers, the syllabus, the detailed outline, and the introductory materials.  ArcGIS Story Maps and the Experience Builder are two ways to present web content and course materials.   Consider using Story Maps and Experience Builder for content that you would like to build in the future!  The only thing lost with exporting out of a LMS is the interactive discussions, but if you use the story maps elements in your own LMS, you'll be able to recreate these discussions in short order. To easily navigate within the Story Maps collection, use the grid symbol on the left side, arrowed below, or the navigation arrows circled below. JosephKerski_1-1706954343775.png   Course Objectives: 1. Describe the components of a map (map elements). 2. Identify ways in which GIS, maps, and geo-visualizations are providing a common language and framework for communication of issues, events, or themes, and for solving problems. 3. Apply cartographic design principles such as symbology, color, projection, and classification methods to create, modify, and share maps. 4. Select and apply ethical and appropriate data model, map scale, map elements, symbolization, and color to produce maps that effectively communicate quantitative and qualitative geographic data. 5. Critically evaluate maps and visualizations. 6. Design professional quality maps, including map elements such as text, graphs, charts, images, and diagrams, employing cartographic principles. 7. Create maps, 3D scenes, and related content in a variety of formats (hard copy, digital, and web). 8. Identify how society influences mapping, and how mapping influences society, through the representation of data through mapping.  Thus, we discuss and work with ethical issues including location privacy, copyright, data quality, and more.   To get a quick sense of the objectives, plus my own philosophy, tips for success in the course, technical requirements, and how to work with the course structure, see the introductory story map, here.  Threaded through the course are these themes:  (1)  maps are not just reference documents, but are analytical tools, and (2) the map is not the end goal, but rather, enhanced understanding of the issue that the maps are tackling--climate, land use, population change, habitat, energy, transportation, and others.  Course Outline: Week 1: What is a map? Why do maps matter? Definitions, explanations, and examples of maps and GIS. Making maps with web mapping applications and considering how cartographic elements are used in those applications. Week 2: Representing data. Discussing geospatial data formats and data models. Mapping data and comparing web maps vs. web mapping applications. Week 3: Space, Place, and Time. Considering core elements of location, including coordinate systems, resolution, map projections, scale, and more. Doing hands-on work with space, place, time, contour lines, and change with maps and imagery. Week 4: Spatial analysis and spatial statistics. Discussion of topology, spatial analysis, geo-statistics, and examining additional maps. Performing spatial analysis including trace downstream, mean center, standard deviational ellipse, overlay, and more. Week 5: Map elements: Color, Type, Symbols. Deep dive into color, type, symbols, proportional symbol maps, typography, labeling, and other cartographic elements. Work with ColorBrewer, mapping points and polygons, labeling, and blending. Week 6: Generalization and Classification. Exploring and comparing methods of generalization and classification, including aggregation and map misrepresentations. Hands-on work with different types of symbols and classification on vector layers, including clustering, classification on raster layers, generalization, and more. Week 7: Choropleth and proportional symbols maps, labels, charts, and more. Discussion on thematic maps, including choropleth, proportional or graduated symbol maps, bivariate maps, diagrams, and mapping time. Hands-on work with tornado data in ArcGIS Online, and a Singapore mapping project in ArcGIS Pro. Week 8: Dot density, flow, cartograms, and cartographic design. Deep dive into dot density maps with examples, discussing pros and cons, flow maps past and present, cartograms, and map layouts. Hands-on work with making dot density maps, flow maps, and cartograms, and continued work on the Singapore project with a focus on map layout. Week 9: Deeper dive into symbols and design. The readings focus on symbolization considerations, including pictorial symbols, design comparisons, communications, design as planning and building, form, type, color, and texture, emotional impact, and putting it all together. The hands-on work focuses on creating and symbolizing a thematic map in ArcGIS Pro: Size, color, basemaps, exporting, and more. Week 10: Data quality, uncertainty, and ethics. The readings and discussion this week focus on how data quality is measured, why it matters, authoritative content, including examples of some truly 'bad' maps, management of error, legal aspects, and the ethics of mapping. The hands-on activities involve using fitness apps, a gigapixel image, mapping uncertain boundaries, and mapping uncertain line segments in a natural hazards setting and in a population setting. Week 11: Mapping Imagery. This week's readings and discussion focus on the types of imagery and how they are represented cartographically, including multi-bands, georeferencing, sharing, UAVs, other imagery, and consideration of audience, usability, functional requirements on maps, and utility. The hands-on activities include an examination of the Landsat Lens viewer, the Landsat explorer app, including cartographic considerations and usability reflections. Week 12: Surfaces and 3D Mapping. Readings and reflections this week include isoline maps, sampling, interpolation, isarithmic maps, 3D maps and visualizations, and space-time cubes. Hands-on work invites the student to map isolines across various themes and scales, work with 3D globes and 3D scenes with a cartographic consideration of each. Week 13: Mapping field data and communicating with maps. The focus this week is on five key forces in GIS and cartography, five key trends in these fields, multimedia means of communicating meaning in cartography including story maps and dashboards, and an examination of a further set of maps. The hands-on activities include creating a dashboard in ArcGIS Online, and visualizing expansion of public transportation in ArcGIS Pro, including 3D mapping elements. Week 14: The Future is now: UAVs, Lidar, Big Data, BIM, and More. The focus this week is on new mapping frontiers: Future directions in cartography. Dashboards, UAVs, Lidar, animations, visualizations, big data, interior space mapping, AI, art, new fields, GIS as a platform, and considering the human element. The hands-on work focuses on 3D mapping, Mars scale and visualizations, and work on the final project. Week 15: Discussion about resources to continue your learning after the course ends. Project work: Hands-on work this week is students working on their final projects. Week 16: Final words of encouragement as students turn in their final projects and present their work. ... View more

Ethics matter in GIS because:  (1) Knowing that maps are powerful means of communication, mapmakers  should take that responsibility as map authors seriously.  (2)  Because everyone is now a potential map producer, and no longer just a map consumer, there are more maps in existence than ever before–with a wide variety of quality and purposes–some well documented, some not so.  That said, maps still have an aura of authenticity–-they tend to be believed.  Take that responsibility seriously, and do not intentionally mislead your audience. Equity matters because it is central to achieving a more equitable, just, and fair society.  We believe that wiser decisions made with GIS and the spatial perspective can help us achieve these societal goals.  It also strikes close to home to me of what makes us human and also what inspired us to pursue a career in GIS and education in the first place, as I describe below: JosephKerski_0-1705706699371.png I am passionate about helping instructors bring equity and ethics out of something that is relegated to Week 15 of a course to a thread that runs through courses.  Just like important themes of scale and data representation, I believe that equity and ethics are just too important to sideline.  I would also argue that these topics should be taught outside of GIS and GIScience in many other courses, and that the use of geotechnology is an engaging and relevant way of incorporating these topics in practical and memorable ways. In the following videos, I model how to teach about equity and ethics.   This includes: 1.  Defining the terms and why these concepts matter. 2.  Covering such topics as fairness, location privacy, copyright, data quality, trust, fitness for use, truth in labeling, and others. 3.  Connecting core topics in mapping and GIS such as map projections, symbology, classification methods, ways of communicating using web mapping applications, and others, to equity and ethics. 4.  Modeling the use of tools such as ArcGIS Online, ArcGIS Pro, story maps and instant apps, gigapixel images, ArcGIS Survey123, Google Maps, GapMinder graphs and charts, WorldMapper and BouncyMaps cartograms, and others.  5.  Modeling strategies and methods, including role playing, GIS-based hands-on activities, discussion, field methods, and the use of imagery, vector data sets, data at different resolutions, and others.  Some of these methods are described in text form that fosters deep discussion in the following articles: - A story map:   Teaching equity with spatial thinking and GIS. - A story map:  Teaching and Learning Ethics with Spatial Thinking and Geotechnology. - Article on the American Geographical Society's site:  Teaching Ethics with GIS. - My chapter on Location Privacy in the UCGIS Body of Knowledge. - An introduction to ethics in GIS. - Reflections on recent geo-ethics discussions. - Concept review module on geospatial ethics from the GeoTech Center. - Case studies in geo-ethics.  - Teaching and learning with the Geoprivacy Video Series. - Terms for using copyrighted imagery. - Does posting pictures compromise privacy? - The results and societal implications from a smoking case study.  - Potential harm to the environment from geotagging photographs. To see how these could be taught in the classroom, see my recent presentation, served in 3 parts: Part 1:  https://youtu.be/P34P4QvIXYo?si=FQKa5D5VCbPPIOaz  Part 2:  https://youtu.be/AZgwVkPM3T4?si=si3rcdt33GZOc65g  Part 3:  https://youtu.be/WbUWGw1eJdE?si=hnXVASSvMh748tU3  JosephKerski_0-1705707119925.png I have been thankful to have the opportunity to test these tools and methods in many different settings over several years, including tribal colleges, community colleges, technical colleges, universities, and even with secondary school teachers in professional development institutes.  I have refined them over the past months and years, but like you reading the Esri Community Education blog, I am always seeking input and ways to improve.  Thank you for any feedback, --Joseph Kerski   ... View more

One of the topics I frequently write and teach about is how to find, evaluate, and use geospatial data.  Given the advance of the open data movement, the plethora of geospatial data libraries, portals, and Hub sites, and the increasing ease of bringing that data into ArcGIS Pro, ArcGIS Online, and other tools, is such a course still needed?  I submit that this type of workshop and course is needed more than ever, because  (1) It is easier than ever to find and add data to your GIS, but with the rise of open platforms including crowdsourced data, it is more important to cultivate the attitude of critically evaluate any data before use, asking who created it, why, and how?   (2) Each data set is still bound to the temporal and map scale at which it was created; each data set has benefits to its use and also limitations.  (3)  The rapidly evolving GIS platform means that the types of GIS files has expanded, but also the means of serving that data--some is downloadable, some is streamed, some updates in real-time, some is static.  Which is most suitable for your needs?  (4)   The use of, and the communication that you do with your mapped data after you are done analyzing and issue, and who you share your web mapping applications with, are laden with ethical choices and issues, including location privacy, copyright, symbology, projection, classification, filtering, and much more.  I recently taught a new edition of this course that I wanted to share, in this essay.  Much of the content for this course comes from writings that Jill Clark and I have been creating for years on our geospatial data blog, Spatial Reserves.  This column stemmed from the book we wrote for Esri Press on the same topic. animated_data_course.gif What are modern best strategies for finding geospatial data?  Despite the increase in volume and variety of spatial data even in the years since we have been writing about data, I still receive this question several times each week.  And for good reason–-(1) Data needs are often very specialized, in theme, scale, region, attributes, and other characteristics, and often it is difficult to find a thread of a similar search by someone else online; (2) The ephemeral nature of the web makes it challenging to learn from others’ strategies (hence the reason for this blog).  My advice is still specifically tailored to the data requester, but there are some elements that are common to many of my responses, which I share below in the hopes it will be helpful to others. 10 Strategies.  (1) First and foremost, have a clear vision of the data you need, the scale, the date, the extent, the resolution, and other characteristics before you spend time searching.  Also set yourself a limit on how much time you will devote to processing the data before you can use it for analysis.  This will reduce the behavior that I think is similar to “wandering through a grocery store without a clear idea of what you are looking for”.  Walking up and down aisles in a grocery store, you might take something that you really didn’t want or originally intend to pick up, and waste valuable time with it in your project.  But once you’ve thought carefully about your needs and what you will and will not accept, then you are ready to search.  Something key to keep in mind here is that more data is not always better.  A corollary is that higher resolution data is not always better than low resolution, whether block group vs county, or 3cm UAV imagery vs 1m satellite imagery--indeed, you may not see the "forest for the trees"; your deluge of data may obscure what you really need to be focusing on--patterns, relationships, trends.  (2)  While you are searching, here is a useful aid to help you decide whether the data will meet your needs. (3) Start your search with the ArcGIS Living Atlas of the World. In my judgment, the 8,000 + layers, maps, apps, and services represent the single most useful set of curated geospatial resources in formats that are easily ingestible into GIS software, especially the ArcGIS platform.  The easily ingestible is key--one noble goal is to minimize the data search component of your project, so that you can focus on analysis, and then communicating your results.  There are many stories of GIS users throughout the decades spending 90% of the project time manipulating and processing the data, leaving only a small amount of time for analysis, assessment, and evaluation.  If the data you are seeking is not in Living Atlas or not in the format that you desire, then move on to the next steps. (4) Investigate ArcGIS Online.  The geospatial community has been wonderfully sharing content in ArcGIS Online since the platform launched in 2010.  Thousands of content items are uploaded daily, so there is no shortage of volume, and you can filter on data type, owner name, and other items to narrow your search, as explained here.  For example, I make use of the owner: ___ < owner name> search strategy quite often to find my own content and content from authors and organizations that I respect most. (5)  Investigate ArcGIS Hub sites.  These have rapidly expanded over the past two years in breadth and depth and are an incredibly useful way of accessing data, especially if you are an ArcGIS user, but even if not.  Hub sites usually offer an array of download and streaming data options.  Starting points include searching on “Your area of interest” and then “GIS data portal” or “ArcGIS Hub”.  As one of hundreds of examples, here is the Boulder County ArcGIS Hub.  There are also useful starting points such as ArcGIS Hub search tools and galleries. (6)  Visit and investigate several of the selected “top 10” (such as satellite imagery, Landsat, and vector data portals) lists that we have reviewed and compiled for this blog. (7) If these do not net fruitful results, then dig into portals organized by theme that would cover your topic (such as WRIs on land use and natural resources). (8) Next, investigate portals organized by location, that would cover at least in part, your study area (such as Ordnance Survey for the UK, and state, province, region, or city (examples here for Oregon, here for a large city of Los Angeles, here for the small city of Oak Hill West Virginia. (9) Scholarly research.  Because more research is tied to geospatial data than ever before (see our essays here on this topic:  Part 1 and Part 2), check Google scholar, library databases, and other sources of peer-reviewed research, as well as conference proceedings from Esri, AGU, AAG, and other major events, to investigate the sources identified in the research.  Be tenacious: Often the data sources are listed at the end; sometimes the research will be published in a poster or a story map or other form of media; sometimes it may require you to contact the author to dig out the sources. (10)   Use ChatGPT!   My recent inquiry to ChatGPT about data for eastern Nebraska was fairly useful, even though there were no hyperlinks available, and I am confident it will improve over time: Results:  Here are a few options for finding geospatial data for Eastern Nebraska: USGS EarthExplorer : The USGS EarthExplorer website offers a wide range of geospatial data, including aerial imagery, satellite imagery, and topographic maps. You can search for data by location and download it for further analysis. Nebraska Department of Natural Resources : The Nebraska Department of Natural Resources (NDNR) provides geospatial data related to natural resources in Nebraska. Their website offers datasets such as hydrology, land cover, and geology. OpenStreetMap : OpenStreetMap is a collaborative mapping project that allows users to contribute and access geospatial data. You can search for specific areas in Eastern Nebraska and download data in various formats. Nebraska GIS Data Portal : The Nebraska GIS Data Portal is a platform that provides access to geospatial data from different sources. You can search for datasets by location or topic and download them for your specific needs. This additional note from ChatGPT was also a good reminder:  Remember to review the terms of use and licensing requirements for each data source before using the data for your project. Words of advice.  Just like there is often no “single best source” for one specific topic on the web, no single “geospatial gold mine” exists that is the end-all site for spatial data.  However, this is actually a good thing, in my opinion.  Why?  It forces the user to think critically about the data sets that user may or may not choose.  As is clear on the Spatial Reserves data blog, choices abound.  Those choices require the user to investigate and evaluate each of them. The course is available in video form, here: Part 1:   https://youtu.be/eBEWQRFYQBE?si=YwkLGw7TWUyIgjfO Part 2:  https://youtu.be/UyG7TEdSv8I?si=UCSflXx16Om-zRhM  Part 3:  https://youtu.be/JDH8LP5Vy1Y?si=GcaK3cVGEe7I92my  Part 4:  https://youtu.be/XSCCq-IrYyY?si=ZSRekabrhCbftkVZ  Feel free to use these resources for your own courses and workshops.  I hope this content is useful and relevant, and I look forward to your questions and comments!   --Joseph Kerski   ... View more

I am very pleased to announce a new book that I was honored to write with Dr Sandra Arlinghaus and Dr Bill Arlinghaus, entitled Teaching Mathematics Using Interactive Mapping.  As the title implies, it is intended to: Offer new, relevant, exciting ways to teach and learn math topics such as ratios, set theory, area and volume measurement, and hierarchies through foundational text and graphics, and interactive maps tied to hands-on activities. Help students become comfortable using mathematics using problems from a variety of professions, including natural hazards mitigation, city planning, utility management, health, business, habitat restoration, and many more. Break down disciplinary barriers and encourage a cross-disciplinary approach to teaching and learning. JosephKerski_0-1702654995911.png Why combine math and maps?  It helps make mathematics more interesting, by tying it to 21st Century issues such as water, population change, energy, 3D landscapes, natural hazards, and other topics, and to in-demand career paths.  It can help reverse the downward trend that has been occurring in the math achievement test scores for many years, giving instructors some wonderful interactive methods and data sets,  There are no maps, nor any GIS, without mathematics.  Mathematics provides the foundation for all mapping—the topological relationships, the database structure, the shape of the Earth that we are mapping, everything.  Math-with-maps provides a rich array of data and tools:  The book immerses students in creating scatter plots, analyzing tables, mapping multiple variables, creating simple expressions, measurement, coordinate systems, and more. The combination enables students to build practical and problem-solving skills that rest on mathematical principles.  Students move from thinking about maps as references that focus solely on "where is" something, to analytical tools, focusing on the "whys of where." Success with this transition through interaction permits most readers to master mathematical concepts and also, in the process, GIS tools.   teaching_mathematics_book_animated_gif.gif What tools are used in the book? The web-based GIS maps, apps, and other tools and data in the book can be accessed on any device, anywhere, at any time, requiring no prior GIS background.  These tools include 2D and 3D maps in ArcGIS Online, infographics, dashboards, multimedia story maps, ArcGIS Living Atlas apps, and selected other tools such as GapMinder graphs and charts, cartograms, and environmental mapping tools.   No software is required; a standard web connection is all that is needed.  None of the activities requires any sign in or log in to ArcGIS Online or any other tools.   The book features an accompanying Solution Guide that is beneficial for instructors, students, and other readers as an aid to gauging progress, and a complete set of resources including data, lessons, and mapping tools to keep learning. Who can use the book? This textbook can be used for undergraduate and graduate students in universities and community colleges including those in basic mathematics courses, and in selected secondary schools.  It can also be used for upper-level undergraduate and graduate students taking courses in geographic information systems, remote sensing, photogrammetry, geography, geodesy, information science, engineering, and geology. Professionals interested in learning techniques and technologies for collecting, analyzing, managing, processing, and visualizing geospatial datasets will also benefit from this book as they refresh their knowledge in mathematics.  The book can be used wholly or selected chapters can also be used.  However, for maximum benefit, the book was written as a scaffolded set where each chapter builds on concepts and skills learned in previous chapters.  The book can also be used by GIS professionals to deepen their skills in selected topics. Chapters and Threads The 9 chapters include:  Classifying Numbers and the Distributive Law, Fractions and Decimals, Simple Relational Measures and Measures of Central Tendency and Variation, Earth Measurement, Coordinate Systems and Trigonometry, Data, Variables, and Thematic Maps, Set Theory and Algebra, Dimension and Geometry, Proximity and Adjacency, and Measuring Hierarchies and Patterns. Several threads run through the book, including understanding how to use and understand many types of data (maps, imagery, 3D scenes, and more), that scale matters, and that mathematics can be applied through maps to understand our world.   The book fosters spatial thinking, critical thinking, problem-based learning, community connections, content knowledge, and students as agents of positive change. For More Information To access the book, particularly the ebook + format that offers the most interactivity, see: https://www.routledge.com/Teaching-Mathematics-Using-Interactive-Mapping/Arlinghaus-Kerski-Arlinghaus/p/book/9781032305332 A chapter listing for the book is provided here: https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/mono/10.1201/9781003305613/teaching-mathematics-using-interactive-mapping-sandra-arlinghaus-joseph-kerski-william-arlinghaus Videos:  Seeing is Believing In the following video, you will see selected interactive maps that you will interact with in the book: https://youtu.be/GqisuReZoO4?si=MSrZYcG2ToLoeeuo In the following video, we discuss why we authored the book and describe its contents: https://youtu.be/Lkcnrohzbm0?si=So--H5D8IdB7V_zi As educators and researchers with deep experience in teaching mathematics, geography, and spatial analysis, we love presenting these topics in a way that we believe can enliven mathematics and make it more inquiry-driven.  I look forward to your feedback and how you are making use of the book.         ... 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Geospatial technologies and spatial thinking can be used as effective instructional tools and techniques for teaching about Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI).  Why?  Because DEI issues such as environmental justice and unequal resource distribution can be understood by examining patterns over space and time.  Analyzing change over space and time, through many different lenses and viewpoints, and at multiple scales is exactly why GIS was created.   With increased understanding, we can work towards solutions that promote equity and inclusion. One way of fostering teaching and learning of DEI is through faculty development institutes.  This year, I had the honor of collaborating with the GeoTech Center (www.geotechcenter.org) to host a four-day faculty development institute for educators at the Harrisburg Community College Gettysburg Pennsylvania campus. Four of us, including Chris Cruz, GeoTech Center Associate Director & West Valley College, Vince DiNoto, GeoTech Center Director & Jefferson Community & Technical College, Nicole Ernst, GeoTech Center Associate Director & Harrisburg Area Community College, and myself from the Esri Education Team, created and taught the content.   GIS and spatial thinking proved to be extremely effective bridge-builders, bringing together educators from multiple levels (from secondary to community college to university), from multiple experience levels (from new to seasoned instructors), from multiple backgrounds, and from multiple disciplines (including geology, language arts, history, poetry, mathematics, biology, geography, GIS, computer science, and others).  The diversity of the participants in the institute echoed the DEI theme that we sought to achieve.  The location chosen for the institute was the Gettysburg National Battlefield in Pennsylvania, where in July 1863 the largest battle of the Civil War was fought.  This provided a rich setting for examining how stories are told, about the influence that physical geography had on the battle, and provided discussion about the many social issues intertwined with the Civil War that are still present today.   How were stories told in the past, and how are they told at present?  How can GIS help people understand issues and communicate what they are and why they matter? We invited several people to share their wisdom with the participants, including Garet Couch from Tribal GIS (collaborating with Indigenous communities), Dr Armenta Hinton from Harrisburg Community College (the importance of DEI in education), and Wayne Howard from Monroe Community College (virtual internships).  The institute was composed of short presentations, longer hands-on sessions in a lab setting, field data collection sessions, and guest-led discussions.  The institute schedule can be found in this story map.  We also made rigorous use of a story map collection to prepare, teach, and seek feedback about the workshop, which is located here.    Modern GIS tools were used, such as data services, ArcGIS Online, Survey123, instant apps, story maps, Drone2Map.  Example sessions included field data collection strategies, effective storytelling, spatial analysis with ArcGIS Online, building effective dashboards, smart mapping, virtual and augmented reality, flying and using UAV/Drone data in your GIS project, using data from the ArcGIS Living Atlas of the World, and more. Participants proposed and presented a DEI project that they intended to pursue after the institute ended.  The goal of requiring a project was to add an action component that was focused on “how and where could I teach DEI concepts using GIS?” It was our hope that the institute encouraged the participants that they too could teach DEI concepts using GIS tools, spatial thinking, and geospatial data.  We are assessing the institute’s effectiveness over the long term but were encouraged by all who participated and trust that they will inspire their own students to be agents of positive change.  I share this information and the resources that the teaching team developed so that the readers of this essay can use these resources as is or modify them for your own programs, campuses, and initiatives. JosephKerski_0-1701965702566.png A portion of the story maps collection that we created and used during and after the institute, which proved to be very effective for the teaching team and the participants. JosephKerski_1-1701965702606.png One of the hands-on sessions in the GeoTech Center DEI GIS institute. JosephKerski_2-1701965702667.png One of our field study sites. I look forward to your feedback! ... View more

I hope the following 10 pieces of career advice will be helpful to you as you blaze your own pathway in the field of geotechnologies.  Why listen to me?  My advice comes from the over 400 universities and colleges that I have visited over multiple decades, listening to the needs and challenges of students, faculty, and others in education (deans, provosts, facility managers, admissions officers, career counselors), creating and giving hundreds of courses, workshops, and presentations annually, and my background of work in all 4 major sectors of society (private industry, government, academia, and nonprofit organizations).  However, these 10 pieces of advice are certainly not the only ones that you should pay attention to.  Like you in the YPN community, I am a lifelong learner and actively seek mentors and collaborators. 1) Network We live in a world where society, technology, and education are simultaneously changing, a world where the sphere of what is known is expanding at an ever-increasing rate.  Such a world means we cannot be an expert at every single thing, or even more than a few things.  Gather colleagues that can help you in your journey, including those who are in fields that are not your own.  Also remember to give back to the community as well.   Use LinkedIn and other tools but make sure you seek opportunities to gather face to face.  When you gather with colleagues, don’t just ask them for technical advice, but also about their experiences, what they are reading, what their biggest challenges are. The YPN Networking space on Esri Community is another space to engage in networking in an online format. 2) Gain Content Knowledge Technical skills are, to be sure, important.  However, don’t neglect developing content knowledge.  One or more areas of domain expertise, such as land use planning, demographic analysis, energy, water, natural hazards, or something else, will be important in your career pathway.  Even at a tech company such as Esri, we don't want just people who know GIS, but who can apply GIS to an important societal domain or sector.  3) Understand Foundations In geotechnology, foundations include measurement systems, spatial analysis, relationships, cartographic methods, geodesy, and more.  Don’t just gain theoretical knowledge of geotechnologies, but know when, where, and how to use the GIS tools—how to select optimal sites, georegister imagery, classify data sets, and so on.  As more people who don't have a GIS background begin to use some GIS tools, this is an area where you, as someone who understands the foundations and knows the tools, can show real leadership:  Sharing what you know with those who are mapping but who are outside the GIS field.  4) Think Critically In our information-saturated world, it is more important than ever to think critically about the questions you pose, about a problem, about your methods of solving a problem, and about data—including and dare I say, especially mapped data. How can you evaluate whether the spatial data will be suitable for your needs?  Who created it, how was it created, how often is it updated, at what scale was it created, what are its sources, and other questions are important in our era where anyone can create and share maps and map layers.  Critical thinkers are what we need to solve the complex problems that are global in scope and increasingly affect our everyday lives.  These include human health, natural hazards, climate, political instability, habitat loss, supply chain management, and many more. 5) Read One of the books I've written is entitled Interpreting Our World—100 Discoveries that Revolutionized Geography.  This book confirmed what I had suspected—that all of the revolutionary thinkers over the centuries, down to our present time, were voracious readers.  Read as a way of engaging with people at a conference; it's a great icebreaker:  “What are you reading right now that is interesting?"  Reading also keeps you thinking creatively and broadly.  Read things in your own field to bolster your skills and foundations, but also outside of your own field.  Read a variety of genres—poetry, novels—not just nonfiction.  Read new books and don’t neglect ancient ones.   Busy?  Your local public library most likely have free audio apps that open up audio books and e-books to you to read on-the-go. 6) Write You have many platforms at your fingertips—self publishing book avenues, blogs, articles, chapters, and more.  Writing helps you become more articulate, helps you in public speaking venues, and opens you up to network (see tip #1 above) as people encounter your writing.  The Esri YPN Community is a great place to begin your writing contribution. Create a post on the YPN Networking space or simply comment on existing blogs. When writing for journals and publishers, make sure you have your “thick skin” on—be prepared for criticism of your style, methods, and conclusion. Criticism will help you grow. 7) Get Outside I have authored numerous essays and videos about the value of outdoor experiences.  These experiences help you think, step back, and refocus.  They encourage you to use all 5 senses.  They encourage you to develop your sense of place—think of all the art, songs, poems, and novels inspired by our human connections to space and place.  Getting outside helps you nurture Earth stewardship:   This is the only planet we have!  It is excellent to be able to study places with vector and raster data in our GIS, but that’s no substitute for getting out onto the landscape.  I remember examining a large volume of spatial data before my first trip to Costa Rica, for example.  I gained head knowledge of the biodiversity of plants, landscapes, and animal life there, but it wasn’t until I was on the ground, teaching a group of educators about GIS, and seeing that within 1 square meter of where I was standing, there were 5 species of plants, 3 types of moths, 3 different types of tiny frogs—"oh, so that’s what biodiversity really looks like!" One of my favorite research works supporting this encouragement to getting outside is Richard Louv’s book Last Child in the Woods.   Louv’s admonition is that if people aren’t getting outside when they are young, they will not have an Earth ethic when they get their future position as the director of a state natural resources agency, for example.  They may be technically proficient and a good communicator, but they may not, deep down, truly care about the Earth.  Louv also says to nurture this ethic, make sure you get beyond soccer fields and other constructed spaces into the riparian zones, seashores, and other wild places.  Part of the goal of getting outside is thinking holistically – that the biosphere is connected to the atmosphere, the hydrosphere, the lithosphere, and the anthroposphere (the human sphere).   Holistic thinking is essential to solve the world’s problems because those problems span many disciplines:   Environmental science, geography, hydrography, civil engineering, health sciences, sociology, demography, and many more. 😎Ask Questions This is the first step in the scientific and geographic inquiry process.  Ask many questions, deep questions, thoughtful questions.  Ask questions that your professor is not even asking you to ask!  In the workplace, ask questions that even your team lead or supervisor is not asking you!  Such employees are highly valued in the workplace. You may have been curious as a toddler but somehow along the way, part of that may have been lost.  Get it back!  Even though you might not have been encouraged in your primary and secondary school to ask questions, except on an exam, but being curious about the world is a lifelong skill to nurture.   Asking questions will help you solve our world’s problems.  It helps you develop tenacity in working with any toolset, including GIS, to work through whatever problem you are trying to solve.   And considering tip #1, network with inquisitive people who model what good questioning looks and sounds like. The YPN Questions space in Esri Community is a great place to ask questions and respond to others. 9) Think Spatially Most of our 21st Century issues have a spatial component.  Thus, to solve these issues requires you to be a spatial thinker.  The most important tool is not one inside a GIS software toolset, but your own brain.  Nurture that tool and keep it moving forward.  The National Research Council’s report Learning to Think Spatially was instrumental in helping people to consider the importance of spatial thinking throughout education.  GIS can be a key tool in fostering spatial thinking, as it focuses on analyzing and modeling change over space and time.  My own definition of spatial thinking is from a practical, applied, standpoint, so it may be better thought of as geospatial thinking:  Identifying, analyzing, and understanding the location, scale, patterns, and trends of the geographic and temporal relationships among data, phenomena, and issues.  10) Consider GIS as a platform GIS is not just learning version x of software y.  GIS has evolved into an interconnected set of tools that allows you to collect data, process data, map data, analyze the patterns that emerge from mapping that data, modeling and evaluating spatial relationships, and communicating the results of your research using web mapping applications and via other means.  Be a well-rounded person that embraces this notion of GIS as a platform by immersing yourself periodically into each component of these tools:  Collect data in the field; start with creating a Survey123 and collecting data into your own survey (as I did here with walkability).  Make a map from your data and then a dashboard.  Use spatial analytical tools to create, for example, a set of intersects, mean centers, or standard deviational ellipses from your data (keeping in mind that you need to choose the appropriate types of tools that make sense on the type of data you are analyzing).  Fold the survey, map, and dashboard, and the resulting analysis layers, into a story map.  A portion of this advice is available in video form, here: JosephKerski_0-1701454462649.png   I look forward to your thoughts and reactions. --Joseph Kerski ... 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We on the Esri education team frequently receive questions on the topic of "Where can I take GIS courses in colleges and universities?"  This essay describes selected maps and listings from which GIS programs can be searched and investigated.  These maps and listings may be helpful for students seeking certificates, courses, and degree programs, as well as faculty seeking employment.  1.  The AAG Guide to Geography Programs.   For many years, the AAG Guide was a longstanding, well-researched comprehensive printed book.  Its current delivery mechanism is online, in a map-driven, interactive, filterable, and easy-to-use format.   The Guide features programs beyond the USA, throughout North America and South America.  While it is true that some GIS programs are housed outside of geography departments, the AAG Guide includes many of those GIS programs, as well.  JosephKerski_0-1701113609735.png   2.  GISDegree.org.  Aspiring GIS students and current professionals can use GISDegree.org to browse all GIS degree programs offered at US colleges and universities. Their GIS program directory includes 400 colleges and universities with 1,000 degree programs in GIS, geospatial science, and related subjects. Visitors can browse programs by location (e.g., GIS programs in California), delivery (online versus on-campus), and level (bachelor's, master's, etc.), as well as GIS school rankings. The website also provides comprehensive degree guides written by GIS graduates with first-hand experience in GIS degree programs. Students can also use the website to learn about GIS professional certifications, conferences and clubs, and more.  I've spoken with the creators of this site and they have done a noble job in making this very user friendly, up-to-date, and informative.  JosephKerski_2-1701113715452.png   3.  GeoTech Center's National Program Locator.   The GeoTech Center's national program locator is map-based:  You can can pan and zoom and search for an institution.  If any information about an institution needs updating or your own  institution is not showing on the map, a form is located below the map that provides a direct update to the GeoTech Center staff maintaining the map and listing. JosephKerski_1-1701113682020.png The listings are valuable, but I encourage you to also do the following:  (1) Carefully consider what you want to do with GIS.  Do you want it to be your main focus of your job, or a tool that you use as a city planner or a wildlife biologist or in some other capacity?  What disciplinary focus motivates you beyond geospatial--is it population change, land use, natural hazards, design, health, business, sociology, or some other fields?  (2) Do a deeper dive--talk with the departments' staff and faculty, alums, friends, colleagues, and read other career advice elsewhere on this Esri education community blog and in the YPN community space when choosing a program.   For programs outside the USA and outside the Americas, examine the resources from the International Geographical Union, the International Cartographic Association, and the European Association of Geographers.  Also investigate the AGILE and the Chinese Professionals in GIS sites on www.agile-online.org and www.cpgis.org, respectively. I have created a video to accompany this blog essay, here, that I hope is helpful as well: https://youtu.be/MPyjQUJTILY?si=s84FFhpTfSJkSw-E  I hope this essay is helpful and I look forward to your comments. --Joseph Kerski ... View more

Slides and recordings from a recent hands-on workshop that I co-taught with my colleague for a university community of practitioners have been published.  The workshop was coordinated by a university librarian (hooray for these folks!) and its focus was to give skills and confidence to those instructors and researchers who had been using ArcMap for many years and were now embarking on their own pathway using ArcGIS Pro. The slides are attached to this essay, and the 6 videos are posted in this playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLiC1i3ejK5vthLlwQ_5TvAKWQRtHN03YP The videos include: 1.  A narration of the attached slides. 2.  The basics of symbolizing, filtering, and navigating the interface. 3.  Importing map documents from ArcMap, creating different types of map output, and more. 4.  Managing content:  Your own, on your device, on your own organizational account, and online in portals and libraries. 5.  Vector analysis:  Example:  Invasive species. 6.  Raster analysis:  Example:  Slope, aspect, land cover. For more information, see:  Modern GIS:  Lessons, reasons, case studies: https://www.esri.com/en-us/industries/higher-education/roles/educators/modern-gis 10 exercises for ArcGIS Pro using public domain spatial data: https://spatialreserves.wordpress.com/exercises-and-data-for-the-gis-guide-to-public-domain-data/ Global to local scale analysis with a focus on problem solving and working with public domain data. Topics:  Tea cultivation, wildfires, oil spills, ecotourism, demographic analysis to site a business, and more.   This Esri Education Blog: https://community.esri.com/t5/education-blog/bg-p/education-blog   Our community of practitioners Esri Higher Education Monthly Chat: https://gis-in-higher-education-chat-edresources.hub.arcgis.com/   Migrate from ArcMap to ArcGIS Pro Learn Lesson: https://learn.arcgis.com/en/projects/migrate-from-arcmap-to-arcgis-pro/   Dr Maribeth Price's book – Switching from ArcMap to ArcGIS Pro: https://www.esri.com/en-us/esri-press/browse/switching-to-arcgis-pro-from-arcmap-first-edition   Sample graphics are below. arcgispro_collage.jpg I hope this content is useful to many! --Joseph Kerski   ... View more