Resources for teaching with and about GIS using online data, tools, and other information

Joseph Kerski

Teaching with GIS and about GIS in a fully online environment can be successfully accomplished with Esri GIS software, data, and core content.

Given the current challenge of moving your GIS courses to a fully online environment, faculty can (1) use the resources and lessons below, choosing those that will mesh into your existing course goals, or (2) run your existing courses in a virtualized environment.

Learning Plans

One of the easiest ways to implement online GIS tools, data, and activities is with a Learning Plan. These are ready-to-go sets of courses that you can implement right away.

1.07. Additional courses from Esri training that could be used as instructional resources:

https://www.esri.com/training/catalog/search/

2. Software

All of these tools run in a web-based software as a service (SaaS) environment, with the exception of ArcGIS Pro. See notes on ArcGIS Pro below.

2.01. ArcGIS Online: https://www.arcgis.com ArcGIS Online contains 40 analytical tools, including

routing, overlay, proximity, standard deviational ellipse, other tools, along with the ability to access data from the community of ArcGIS Online users, from ArcGIS Pro, from open data portals, and from the Living Atlas of the World.

2.02. Business Analyst Web/Community Analyst

https://www.esri.com/en-us/arcgis/products/arcgisbusiness-analyst/applications/web-mobile-apps and https://bao.arcgis.com Business Analyst Web includes tools to make choropleth maps, multivariate maps, reports, and infographics, with data for multiple countries including demographics, consumer behavior, and millions of business locations.

2.03. ArcGIS Insights

https://www.esri.com/en-us/arcgis/products/arcgis-insights/overview ArcGIS Insights allows you to visualize and analyze data in a variety of graphs, maps, and charts.

2.04. Survey123

Survey123 allows you and your students to collect data in the field, including water quality, weather, objects in the built environment (litter, light poles, recycling bins) or the natural environment (trees, invasive species, animals, landforms), and more, using easily-created surveys that can be instantly mapped and analyzed.

2.05. Dashboards

Dashboards allow you to understand an issue by creating a short but informationpacked display of graphs, maps, and gauges.

2.06. Storymaps

Storymaps allow you and your students to teach about relevant local-to-global issues, and to communicate about current event, issue, or problem to classmates and colleagues using multimedia and interactive maps.

2.07. ArcGIS Urban.

ArcGIS Urban is an immersive 3D experience designed to improve urban planning and decision-making.

2.08. ArcGIS Pro

ArcGIS Pro can be run, with your university license, (1) in a virtualized environment using a variety of ways (see link here) It can also be run (2) as an installed package on students’ home computers. If students have a Mac computer, see these resources: https://pro.arcgis.com/en/pro-app/get-started/run-pro-on-a-mac.htm https://pro.arcgis.com/en/pro-app/get-started/virtualization-overview.htm and https://pro.arcgis.com/en/pro-app/get-started/cloud-overview.htm

3. Instructional Resources

The resources below range from short 15 minute lessons to lessons spanning multiple class periods, but all are focused on fostering spatial and critical thinking, and rigorous use of GIS tools and workflows.

3.01. Learn Lesson library

https://learn.arcgis.com contains over 100 lessons on all of the software tools mentioned above, on a variety of topics (environment, business, emergency response, population) on scales from local to global.

3.02. Map your field data in ArcGIS Online:

https://community.esri.com/community/education/blog/2020/03/10/using-photos-with-locations-toolin-education

3.03. Connecting field surveys, web maps, dashboards, and story maps:

https://community.esri.com/community/education/blog/2020/03/13/lesson-connecting-surveys-mapsdashboards-and-story-maps

3.04. Teaching change over space and time, GIS for beginners, and the Living Atlas of the World, a set of 3 lessons

https://community.esri.com/community/education/blog/2019/07/01/3-new-gis-based-lessons-changeover-space-and-time-gis-for-beginners-and-teaching-and-learning-with-the-esri-living-atlas-of-the-world

3.05. For activities in data science, digital earth, geography, humanities, criminal justice, remote sensing, and business courses:

https://community.esri.com/community/education/blog/2019/03/04/hands-on-gis-workshops-onanalysis-data-and-society

3.06. An activity that uses Business Analyst Web / Community Analyst for a regional convenience store

examination, mapping consumer behavior and population, and local site selection: https://community.esri.com/community/education/blog/2018/05/25/analyzing-convenience-storesusing-gis

3.07. For K-12 teachers and university professors seeking to teach core climate, water, population,

ecoregions, and other topics, see this one page set of resources, including web maps and surveys: https://community.esri.com/community/education/blog/2020/02/19/a-model-professionaldevelopment-workshop-for-educators

3.08. For investigating environmental issues, with tools including web apps, ArcGIS Online, and surveys:

https://community.esri.com/community/education/blog/2020/02/06/a-half-day-workshop-on-gis-inenvironmental-science

3.09. For investigating population issues and challenges from the local to global scale:

https://community.esri.com/community/education/blog/2019/12/26/10-ways-to-teach-aboutpopulation-change-demographics-and-lifestyles-with-esri-web-gis-tools-and-data

3.10. As another field based activity, use the Mapillary field app and map your community:

https://community.esri.com/community/education/blog/2019/10/15/citizen-science-street-levelimagery-and-mapping-with-mapillary

3.11. 10 things you can do with ArcGIS Online, web mapping applications, and story maps:

https://community.esri.com/community/education/blog/2017/07/26/10-things-you-can-do-with-arcgisonline-story-maps-apps-and-spatial-analysis-workshops

3.12. A hands-on lesson in the new story maps tools:

https://community.esri.com/community/education/blog/2019/06/24/a-hands-on-lesson-in-the-newstory-maps-tools

3.13. If you are teaching regional studies or world regional geography, this example focused on Africa

will provide ideas and tools for Africa and, by extension, to other continents: https://community.esri.com/community/education/blog/2019/09/03/teaching-about-africa-using-webgis-tools

3.14. An online course in spatial technology for educators, students, and beyond, covering a variety of tools and approaches:

https://community.esri.com/community/education/blog/2019/08/20/spatial-technology-an-onlinecourse-for-educators

3.15. Using Lidar data in ArcGIS Pro:

https://community.esri.com/community/education/blog/2018/01/12/accessing-and-using-lidar-datafrom-the-national-map-in-arcgis-pro

3.16. Teaching and learning with the Living Atlas of the World, online course:

https://www.esri.com/training/catalog/5dc1b74ce4212b48e187e837/teaching-with-arcgis-living-atlasof-the-world/

3.17. Add power to your GIS analysis through joining features to ArcGIS Online:

https://community.esri.com/community/education/blog/2018/02/23/more-power-for-your-gisanalysis-through-joining-features-to-arcgis-online

3.18. Esri Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), ranging from data science to image analysis, web apps, and more:

https://www.esri.com/mooc

3.19. Predicting weather with real-time data, using ArcGIS Online; an example of feeds from the Internet of Things, including symbology, classification, interpolating surfaces, and other tools:

https://learn.arcgis.com/en/projects/predict-weather-with-real-time-data/

3.20. Analyzing hazard risk areas in Colorado, including overlay, buffer, and enrichment tools:

https://learn.arcgis.com/en/projects/identify-landslide-risk-areas-in-colorado/

3.21. Using GIS in the classroom:

https://www.esri.com/training/catalog/57630436851d31e02a43f125/teaching-with-gis%3Aintroduction-to-using-gis-in-the-classroom/

3.22. Getting started with spatial analysis:

https://www.esri.com/training/catalog/5bca58f8f77b99238f845e1c/getting-started-with-spatialanalysis/

3.23. Getting Started with GIS:

https://www.esri.com/training/catalog/57630434851d31e02a43ef28/getting-started-with-gis/

3.24. Introduction to space-time analysis:

https://www.esri.com/training/catalog/5cacfe6b61a32c31b715f8ae/introduction-to-space-timeanalysis/

3.25. Introduction to Spatial Data:

https://www.esri.com/training/catalog/5dd4485b6cd66f196fbeddad/introduction-to-spatial-data/

3.26. Introduction to ArcGIS API for Python:

https://www.esri.com/training/catalog/5c081715a9e018139ee23cdf/introduction-to-arcgis-api-forpython/

4. Syllabi (available upon request)

These syllabi can be a source of ideas for activities, readings, and sequencing.

4.01. Introduction to Cartography and GeoVisualization, North Park University, Joseph Kerski*
4.02 GIS and Public Domain Data, University of Denver, Joseph Kerski
4.03. Introduction to Spatial Technology, for geography instructors, Joseph Kerski
4.04. GIS and Spatial Data Modeling for Public Policy, Georgetown University, Nicholas Giner
4.05. Geospatial Analysis in the Social Sciences, Bob Coulter
4.06. Teaching Urban, Economic, and Population Geography, Elmhurst University, Joseph Kerski

5. Books

Thanks to the digital publishing environment, these book resources are accessible and available.

5.01. The ArcGIS Book: https://learn.arcgis.com/en/arcgis-book/ Every map in this e-book is clickable and serves as a springboard for investigation.
5.02. Esri Press: www.esri.com/books These books are all available via our digital distributor vitalsource.com. Including Pinde Fu’s Getting to Know Web GIS.
5.03. GIS and Geography Open Educational Resources, Adam Dastrup
5.04. The UCGIS Body of Knowledge: https://gistbok.ucgis.org/ Over 100 peer-reviewed chapters covering a variety of core content in GIS.
5.05. Learning ArcGIS Pro, Tripp Corbin: https://www.amazon.com/Learning-ArcGIS-Tripp-CorbinGISP/dp/1785284495
5.06. Introduction to geospatial technologies, Bradley Shellito. https://www.macmillanlearning.com/college/us/product/Introduction-to-GeospatialTechnologies/p/1319060455

6. Data

Thanks to the open data movement and other data initiatives, there is no shortage of spatial data at your fingertips for instructional purposes.

6.01. ArcGIS Living Atlas of the World:

https://livingatlas.arcgis.com

6.02. Finding data via ArcGIS Hub:

https://spatialreserves.wordpress.com/2018/12/24/finding-data-via-arcgis-hubs-around-the-world/

6.03. Spatial Reserves book and blog about where to find data, and how to evaluate its usefulness:

https://spatialreserves.wordpress.com

7. Readings, Videos, Case Studies

The resources below range from short videos to essays to case studies.

7.01. Esri videos

https://www.esri.com/videos

7.02. Our Earth videos

https://esriurl.com/ourearth

7.03. Spatial Reserves book and blog about societal issues (crowdsourcing, copyright, location privacy):