Assignment: Digital Mapping

Project: Google mapmaking product

Objectives: This activity is part one of a two-part project activity that will take students through the entire process of cartographic production: from the gathering of field data to the creation of a finished map that can be shared with and presented to your friends and fellow classmates. This project exercise will provide students with an opportunity to create a Google Map Mashup using the survey data (geographic locations of landscape features within a theme) collected in the previous lab.

Learning Outcomes: This project will be graded based on:

1) the amount of effort (time, thought, originality of theme) you put into designing and executing your project,
2) the quality of the data that you collected and geocoded,
3) attributes identified for your landscape features,
4) the clarity and quality of your map.

For deliverables below.

Introduction: The term data (plural of "datum") refers to qualitative or quantitative attributes of a variable or set of variables. Geocoding refers to plotting locations on a map using GIS or gathering location information from a GIS. Metadata are data about data and may include: citations, identification, data quality, spatial reference, entity and attribute information, temporal, contact, etc. Google Maps allows the used to enter metadata for user-generated features, including pictures, videos, and URLs.

Directions:

1. Currently Temple email does not support the "My Maps" feature, so you will need to create an independent Google account if you do not already have one.

2. Study the online Google Map Making Tutorials and begin thinking about the layout and design of your own map. The following tutorial provides a brief summary overview of the process of creating and editing custom maps in Google.

Google Maps Engine Lite Tutorial.

For Embedding Videos into Google Maps.

3. Begin creating your own Google Map. Log into your independent Google account and click on "Your places" and "Maps" on the menu bar and then click on "Create Map" on the bottom of the screen. You should then see a blank map of the entire United States. You will then enter the title and description of your map and select the privacy setting for the map you are creating (change the privacy setting to "public on the web").

4. You can import excel file including all of your data to plot your features easily. You need to have latitude and longitude information for all your features so your features can be plotted on Google Map based on that locational information. Google Maps allows you to add metadata that can include text, photos, web sites, and even videos to be associated with your geographic features. You must add descriptive text to each feature.

If you plan to use photos that you took in the field, you will have to upload them somewhere on the web (picassa is the easiest, as it is part of Google that comes with your Gmail account) because Google maps will not save your files, but rather only provide a link to the location of the file on the web.

Deliverables: In order to receive full credit, you will need to submit (1) the answers to the following questions and (2) a sreenshot of the Google Map you created, and (3) a functional link to the Google map you created.

1. In a paragraph or more, explain the map you created. What community did you choose & at what scale (block, neighborhood, city-wide)? What features did you map for and how did you represent them (symbols, shapes and colors)? What information elements or media did you use to supplement the features of your map? What additional information or media elements would you add to this map project if more time or funding were available to expand it?

2. In a paragraph or more, describe the patterns, similarities, and differences you observed among the features of the map you created? How does this map help you to better understand the larger theme or phenomenon depicted? What did you learn about the process of data collection and cartographic production from making this map?

3. Take a screenshot of your map and paste it below. Then, generate a link to you your map and paste the link below the screenshot. Points will be taken off if you fail to provide a screenshot and a functional link. You must click the share button in GoogleMaps and make your map public, then paste the provided link below. Simply copying the web address in your browser will not provide a functional link that others can follow. To double check to ensure the link you created is functional, you may log out of your Google account.