Latest Contributions by GeriMiller

This blog compiles recent resources, webinars, user presentations and stories on the topic of Smart Campuses (Administration/Operations focus). Special thanks to all our university colleagues who have contributed their work and experiences in the below events and resources (stories shared by Michigan State University, University of Minnesota, University of Washington, University of Arizona, Harvard University, University of Maryland, Cornell University, Clemson University, The Ohio State University, University of Oregon, Montclair State University, among others).  Smart Campus Operations Resources page Contains foundational resources, case studies and examples   Fall 2020 Webinar series - recordings/collateral are available on demand Getting Started: Building Your Spatial Foundation Bringing GIS Indoors: Space Planning and Optimization Building a Mobile Workforce: Getting Decision Support into the Field Optimizing Utilities: Digitally Transforming Network Management Spring 2021 Webinar series - Spatially Enable Facilities Management for Your Campus, supplemental Story Map From CAD to GIS: The value of spatially enabling utility and facility information (March 18th). Configuring Solutions: Building information and decision-making tools (April 8th) Smart Campus Operations: Integrating GIS with facility, work, and space management systems (April 29th) GeoNet Administration place Area to engage and collaborate with community ... View more

You may have seen announcements about Esri’s new ArcGIS Platform launch. We wanted to provide some guidance on what this product is, how it could be accessed, and how it could be applicable to Educators. What is ArcGIS Platform? ArcGIS Platform is a location analytics Platform as a Service (PaaS) offering for developers who would like to incorporate location-based services (basemaps, geocoding, routing, visualization, etc.) in apps, products and business systems they build. It is a way for developers to leverage standalone services in a frictionless and easy to use way. It provides access to location-based services in your API of choice, including open source mapping libraries such as Leaflet, Open Layers, and GL JS, as well as Esri’s web and native APIs. ArcGIS Platform has a consumption-based business model, meaning costs are related directly to services consumed.  ArcGIS Online has a subscription-based model, meaning access is provided for a specific time period; ArcGIS Online also provides additional capabilities and end-user applications to create, share, edit, and analyze maps and data. ArcGIS Platform is primarily meant for developers who do not currently have Esri technology; it is an alternative to accessing location-based services through an ArcGIS Online subscription. How can the ArcGIS Platform be accessed by Educators? ArcGIS Platform is accessed via ArcGIS Developer Subscription. All the ArcGIS Platform location-based services  and developer experiences can be leveraged by using ArcGIS Online. For those of you with Institution Agreements, you also already have access to the Enterprise edition of ArcGIS Developer Subscription. Bottom Line: Whether you are a researcher wishing to incorporate location-based services in your work, whether you are faculty teaching programming concepts (please continue to enhance development skills in Python, Web APIs and SDKs!), or whether you are a student working on class projects to develop applications incorporating location-based services, you already have access to the services and capabilities of ArcGIS Platform via the Education Institution Agreement (former Site License). Therefore, please continue to leverage ArcGIS Online and the ArcGIS Developer Subscription available with your Education agreements. ArcGIS Platform is simply a different way for customers new to Esri technology to acquire and pay for the consumption of those location-based services. If your institution does not already have ArcGIS, please reach out to us to help with the best option for your needs – [email protected] Feel free to post any questions here. ... View more

In 2020, we launched the 1-year Learn ArcGIS Student Program, designed to provide access to ArcGIS, along with self-paced learning resources, to higher education Students who do not currently have access through their institution. We are continuing the program in 2021 and wanted to provide clarity on who this program is designed for. If you are Student: If your institution already has educational licensing, you should seek access to ArcGIS via your institution. Please check the following app, which lists colleges and universities in the US which already have institution-wide licenses. For some, there is publicly available URL/information on how to access. If not, please check with your advisor/department. Often, access is facilitated by Library, Geography or other departments/centers. If you are learning independently of your instructor, outside of a formal course, and do not have access via your institution, then this program is for you! For further details, please check this FAQ. Then sign up to access over 450 self-faced lessons and resources!! If you are Administrator/Faculty/Staff: If you are teaching a formal course/degree program, or having students work on research projects, access should be provided by the institution versus this student program. Therefore, for those of you who already have institutional licenses, please continue to provide access as you normally would. Many of you are implementing these best practices for enabling access to ArcGIS for all students, faculty and staff via your institution’s license. Please continue to follow these best practices; this program should not change any existing workflows.  If you do not have institution-wide access or license, please let us know if we can help – [email protected].        ... View more

Esri Innovation Program conducted a Web meeting on the following subject.  Below is a recording with associated resources.  Topic:  Story Maps in Higher Education   December 2, 2020: 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM PST (2:00 PM – 3:00 PM EST) Recording is here, Passcode: *LVxztw3  Presenters:   Charlotte Smith, UC Berkeley   Kate Carlson, University of Minnesota   Peter Knoop, University of Michigan Allen Carrol, Esri Story Maps team Description:     Join us for a discussion of Story Maps in Education. We will focus on common uses and innovative approaches, as well as discuss current/future needs of the Education Community. The presenters will focus on various topics, such as 1) Story Maps in the classroom/teaching, 2) Offboarding students, 3) Automation with Story Maps/handling of assignment submissions. 4) Collaboration in building and sharing resources, 5) Future updates/direction for Story Map product development, among others.  ... View more

Colleagues:   As the academic year begins in many countries, we want to provide updated recommendations for installing ArcGIS on student and employee-owned devices.  This is particularly important now that many students are learning remotely using their own devices.   The Esri Education Program offerings allow deployment of any product on student-owned devices; these offerings include the Education Institution Agreement, Academic Department License, and ArcGIS for Student Use.   We now recommend that institutions provide access to students and employees following these best practices for sharing ArcGIS executables and license files.   To meet increasing demand for online learning and to provide the flexibility expected of cloud computing, we updated our offerings in 2017 to permit any software licensed to a college or university to be deployed (installed and used) on student-owned devices and in hosted environments as well as on institution-owned and employee-owned devices.   The previous method of ordering separate 1-year Student Licenses (EVA codes) is now redundant and obsolete.  Thus, we will retire the pages www.esri.com/slpromo and www.esri.com/EducationEdition at the end of the year. They will not be updated for ArcGIS Desktop 10.8/ArcGIS Pro 2.6.   Last, please refer to the following resource on How to Manage ArcGIS with your updated Institution Agreement (previously known as Site License). ... View more

The Esri Development Center (EDC) program, soon will be renamed Esri Innovation Program (EIP), confers special status and benefits upon a select few leading universities that challenge their students to create innovative applications and projects with ArcGIS technology.  Every year, universities that are a part of this program select one student to be their Student of the Year recipient - for innovative use of ArcGIS technology in learning or research.  Simply sharing the wonderful work that some of these students have done, via this Story Map.  Congratulations to them, and the faculty/instructors who mentored these students.  ... View more

At the User Conference Plenary session, Jack Dangermond briefly announced a new program, the Learn ArcGIS Student Program, designed to provide access to software and lessons to higher education students who are learning ArcGIS independently (outside of a formal course), and who don’t have access through their institution. The program provides access to ArcGIS and self-paced learning resources for self-initiated learning anywhere and at any time.    The program will have a global reach. It is designed for students in fields such as data science, public health, business, journalism (and many others!) who know the value of GIS to their work but lack access to software and training. It provides motivated students a way to acquire additional skills that expand their career options in the digital economy.        This program builds on the success of the program launched in March to support students and educators amidst COVID-19 college/university closures.  That program offered free software access and learning resources via extended Learn ArcGIS membership to students globally until August 31st, 2020.    The new program will launch September 1, 2020 and will offer qualified students free access to ArcGIS Online and ArcGIS Pro for one (1) year through a membership in the Learn ArcGIS organization.    Higher education students whose institution already has education licensing should seek access to ArcGIS via their institution. For learning as part of a formal course/degree program, research, or operational/administrative use, access should be provided by the institution.   Many of you are implementing these best practices for enabling access to ArcGIS for all students, faculty and staff via your institution’s license. Please continue to follow these best practices; this program should not change existing workflows.       For further details, here is an FAQ explaining who this program is for, eligibility, what is included, verification process, and what happens after the 1-year ends. ... View more

Education Colleagues: There are different approaches for off-boarding ArcGIS Online users (students graduating, faculty and staff retiring or leaving the institution). We often get asked for advice on how best to off-board and what to communicate. I am taking the liberty to share an example from a fellow institution, University of Michigan, on their practice. Thank you Peter Knoop. Below is the current text of an email they send to everyone in the ArcGIS Online organization a few weeks before the end of each semester. Feel free to think of similar approaches for your institution.  *Note that the links in the email referring to an FAQ (Google Doc) that will not work outside of the University of Michigan. The relevant sections are excerpted and pasted at the bottom.  ------------------------------------------------- You are receiving this email because you used ArcGIS Online, StoryMaps, GeoPlanner, or some other part of the Esri ArcGIS platform at the University of Michigan during the past year. Who is this message for? Graduating students or those otherwise leaving the University of Michigan.  What is this message about? After graduating or leaving the University, you will no longer be able to login; however, your content will not be immediately deleted. (Access for students not enrolled over Spring/Summer but returning in the Fall will continue as usual.) What do I need to do? If you want to maintain access to ArcGIS and your content, like Web Maps and StoryMaps, then you need to transfer the content from your U-M ArcGIS Online account to another ArcGIS Online location. You have several options:   Transfer to another U-M user -- If you own content that you created in collaboration with others at U-M, and they are still dependent on it (and they are still eligible to use ArcGIS), then you should transfer the ownership of that content to them. For instance, if you created a StoryMap or Web Map for a faculty member to use in their research or teaching, then you should have ownership of those items transferred to them. (More info in FAQ.) Transfer to an ArcGIS for Personal Use subscription -- This is a fully functional environment, just like you have been using at U-M, but just for you. You can transfer your content here, and continue to work on it and share it with others, such as potential employers to highlight your skills. It is also a great environment with which to continue developing and expanding your GIS skills, and includes free access to most of Esri’s training materials. It is for professional development purposes and cannot be used in for-profit activities. The cost is $100 per year. (More info in FAQ.) Transfer to another ArcGIS Online organization -- If you will be heading off to a job or enrolling elsewhere, and your new organization has their own ArcGIS Online subscription, you could transfer your content to their organization, if they permit this. (More info in FAQ.) Delete your content -- You can delete any content you no longer need. Your content will not be stored indefinitely after you leave the University, and eventually will be deleted. (More info in FAQ.)   If you need help determining what to do with your content, assistance with the various transfer options, or have other questions about ArcGIS, please feel free to contact us at [email protected] <your GIS support email>.   You may also find the answers you need in our FAQ.   -------------------------------------------------   Subset of questions from  the FAQ...   -------------------------------------------------   What does our Esri Education Institution License permit me to use the Esri ArcGIS Platform for?   The general terms of the Esri Education Institution License cover functionally unlimited use for university-related academic purposes (teaching and research). Use for university-related administrative purposes is covered as well, but under slightly more restrictive terms (please contact [email protected] <your GIS support email> for more details.)   Our license covers nearly all products included in the Esri ArcGIS platform. It also covers installation on personally owned devices, as long as you are using it for university-related business, including self-education.   Additional information on permitted use can be found in the Rubric for Determining Permitted Uses under the Esri Education Institution License Program. If you have any questions or concerns regarding licensing, for any component of the Esri ArcGIS platform, please contact [email protected] <your GIS support email>. After I graduate or leave, when will I lose the ability to login? Graduating students typically lose access a couple weeks after graduation.    Your access is tied to your role at the University of Michigan. As long as you have at least one role as an active student, staff, faculty, or sponsored affiliate, then your University of Michigan account will remain authorized to use ArcGIS.    You can check your role(s) by looking yourself up in MCommunity. What if I can no longer login but need help with managing my content? Please contact [email protected] <your GIS support email>for assistance. What can I do if I have graduated or left U-M but still need to work in ArcGIS on a U-M project? Ask a U-M faculty or staff member collaborating with you on the project to sponsor you for access. They can request MCommunity Sponsorship for your uniqname at no cost.    You may only use your access to ArcGIS as a Sponsored Affiliate for the purposes of working on U-M projects. Can I still access my content after I leave? You will still be able to access content, if you shared that content publicly with Everyone, even after you can no longer login.   You will not be able to access content whose sharing is limited to private or with a group. Can group members access my shared content after I leave? Yes, if you shared content with a group, then other members of the group will still be able to access that content as they were before, as long as they remain active members of the University. Can I still access my publicly shared content after I leave? Yes, anyone can access publicly shared content without having to login. Can I still use ArcGIS Pro or ArcGIS Desktop after I leave? Not through U-M. You can obtain your own ArcGIS for Personal Use organization for professional development purposes, and it includes licensing for Pro and Desktop, as well as other ArcGIS components. How do I transfer ownership of content to another U-M user? Please use the ArcGIS Online Ownership Transfer Request form to indicate what content needs to be transferred, and to whom it should be transferred. You can organize your content in a folder in ArcGIS Online to simplify identifying what content needs to be transferred. How do I obtain an ArcGIS for Personal Use subscription? See the ArcGIS for Personal Use website for details. How do I transfer content to my ArcGIS for Personal Use subscription? If you need assistance transferring content to a Personal Use organization, please contact [email protected] <your GIS support email>.   Most ArcGIS Online content can be transferred using ArcGIS Online Assistant, however, one notable exception is ArcGIS StoryMaps. For assistance with content that cannot be transferred via ArcGIS Online Assistant, please contact [email protected] <your GIS support email>. How do I transfer content to another ArcGIS Online Organization? If you need assistance transferring content to another ArcGIS Online organization, please contact [email protected] <your GIS support email>. You may also need to contact the administrators of the destination organization.   Most ArcGIS Online content can be transferred using ArcGIS Online Assistant, however, one notable exception is ArcGIS StoryMaps. For assistance with content that cannot be transferred via ArcGIS Online Assistant, please contact [email protected] <your GIS support email>. What happens to my Content if I do nothing? The content you have stored in ArcGIS Online, such as Web Maps, StoryMaps, Feature Layers, etc., will not be deleted immediately when you leave the University.    While we cannot guarantee your content will kept at all after you leave the University, our plan is to only delete content when:   Content owner has not logged in during the last 2-years and no one has viewed the content in the last 3-years. Content owner has not logged in during the last 3-years and no one has viewed the content in the last 2-years. Content owner has not logged in during the last 4-years and no one has viewed the content in the last 1-year. Content owner has not logged in during the last 5-years.   ... View more

Meeting Recording: Returning to Campus Safely: Plan, Prepare, & Respond to COVID-19 with GIS, recording access password is 7t&w?4J* Resources page: Returning to Campus Safely Education Colleagues:   We’ve seen many inquiries for advice on leveraging GIS technology to reopen campus. Given the needs of the community, we are organizing a community web meeting on the topic, see details below.   We look forward to seeing you there. The community meeting will be recorded and posted on GeoNet.   ***   Title Returning to Campus Safely: Plan, Prepare, & Respond to COVID-19 with GIS   Date/Time 6/23/2020 – 3:00 PM – 4:30 PM EST Description How do we maintain safe social distances across campus? How do we track high-traffic area sanitation requirements? How can staff report their daily health status? These are just a handful of the questions that campus administrators are asking as they look to bring students and staff back to campuses this fall. At the heart of these questions is the need to open and operate safely.   To solve these challenges, spatial data and tools play a key role.   This web meeting will explore a range of solutions, some of which you can do with technology provided as part of your Institution Agreement (i.e. site license), some of which may require additional technology, such as ArcGIS Indoors and Tracker for ArcGIS.    Audience Campus IT, GIS administrative staff, facilities staff   Length 1:30  Allowing time for Q&A/discussion Meeting Recording: Returning to Campus Safely: Plan, Prepare, & Respond to COVID-19 with GIS, recording access password is 7t&w?4J* ... View more

As you are aware, the 2020 Esri User Conference is moving to a virtual format.  The event will include Plenary sessions, technical workshops, user sessions, an Expo, and unique networking events. It will take place July 13-15. Registration will be complimentary for all Esri customers with current licenses/maintenance. In addition, it will be free for all currently enrolled students and 2020 graduates, regardless of whether their institution has Education Program licenses. This FAQ provides additional details about registration policies and the event format. Please socialize this broadly across your campus community, as this is a great opportunity to broaden GIS knowledge and learn new skills. Below is a list of commonly asked questions: Q: Can really anyone at my institution attend? A: Yes. Institutions with a current Education Program license may register an unlimited number of participants (e.g., Education Institution Agreement/Site License, Academic Department license/Lab Kit, Administrative Use Department license, Schools Bundle). This means ANYONE in your institution can attend.   Q: Do I need to provide our institution’s Customer Number to register? A: Yes, a Customer Number is needed for full-conference access for faculty and staff.  This video walks through the registration process. However, students can register for full-conference access without a customer number - see next question for details on student registration.  In addition, anyone can register for the Plenary session only without a Customer Number.      Q: I am a student at an institution which does not have an Education program license or would like to register independent of my institution with Education program license. A: Any student or 2020 graduate can attend the Virtual UC for free.  This video walks through the process, or you can follow these instructions:  1. Go to www.esri.com/uc and click on Registration.  2. Click Register now under the heading Student access.  3. Log in with an Esri Account.  (If you do not have an Esri Account, create a Public Esri Account.) 4. The Virtual UC Student access rate will be selected. Please send proof of enrollment to [email protected]. Proof of enrollment can be a photo/screenshot of your most recent course schedule or student ID card (with a date of issue or expiration date). 5. Complete the Personal Information section. 6. Review and accept the policies and submit your registration.  Q: Is it OK to provide my Customer Number to everyone at my institution and do I need to provide special instructions? A: Yes, please share your Customer Number with your users across campus. Some of your users may already be linked to your Customer Number in MyEsri.  For these users, the Customer Number will automatically populate when they log into their ArcGIS account to register for the conference.  If the Customer Number does not automatically populate, the user should enter it manually during the registration process.  The user may then be instructed to request permission to connect their ArcGIS account to the university’s customer account through MyEsri.   The MyEsri administrator determines what permissions to grant, so providing someone with your Customer Number does not automatically provide access to all licenses or to Technical Support.  Q: Can I get a list of users who have registered under my customer number? A: Yes, on MyEsri there is an Events tab that shows a quick summary of who has registered under your customer number.  There also is a more detailed report available under the Reports tab. On the Events tab, the section showing Complimentary UC Registration should be ignored for this virtual offering, since complimentary UC Registrations are unlimited. Note: Students who register under the Student rate will not appear in these reports. Q: Is the Education Summit taking place? A: The Education Summit will be moved to a later date.  Details about the schedule and format will be shared as they become available. ... View more