A Beginner’s Guide to GIS Bob Lang FRGS C A Beginner’s Guide to GIS Bob Lang FRGS C.Geog King Edward VI Five Ways School

GIS: a formal definition “A system for capturing, storing, checking, integrating, manipulating, analysing and displaying data which are spatially referenced to the Earth. This is normally considered to involve a spatially referenced computer database and appropriate applications software” Chorley Report, 1987 “…a digital map, data located on the map, and a software application (GIS) that links the two together” Diana Freeman (2004)

What is Data? Location Data How Many? – What Kind? – Where? Scale of Data Local to Global Data Presentation Words, Charts, Graphs, Tables, or Maps Estimates are that 80% of all data has a spatial component Data from most sciences can be analyzed spatially Slide from ESRI presentation for GIS Day In the Dr. John Snow example, the locations of the water pumps, the cholera deaths, and the old cemetery are all spatial data. The spatial analysis that Dr. Snow performed was geographic information system (GIS) analysis without a computer. It took Dr. Snow a week to complete his analysis, by then hundreds had died and Soho was deserted; many of the people had fearfully fled. Today we can perform the same analysis in a few hours. 3

“Imagination is more important than knowledge.” How can GIS aid teaching and learning GIS is a powerful and versatile tool for decision makers Enables core geographical issues to be investigated Provides opportunity to explore spatial relationships Improve students’ graphical and statistical analysis skills Supports development of a wide range of skills Ideal resource for coursework Increase motivation and retention Improve their enquiry skills Develop their mapping skills Appreciate how people , places and environments change over a period of time. Experience alternative images of people., places and environments change Improve the appearance of work “Imagination is more important than knowledge.”

GIS concepts are not new! London cholera epidemic 1854 Cholera death Water pump Soho + In the London Cholera epidemic of 1854 Dr. John Snow was able to locate the source of the the outbreak by plotting the locations of fatal cases.

GIS is not just for Geography! Writing about personal experiences at different locations, scales or further a field in English e.g. What is it like looking down from space and what would you see as you travelled from one place to another? Comparing places in the past and present in History. Shape, Space, Measure, Trigonometry in Mathematics. Measuring Athletic events in Physical Education. Observing the Earth from Space in Science. Analysing voting trends in Politics. Carrying out surveys of local areas in Citizenship Surveying of plant species in Biology Creating Art using mapping software

Jack Dangermond, President of ESRI “The application of GIS is limited only by the imagination of those who use it.” Jack Dangermond, President of ESRI

Continuum FREE EXPENSIVE COMPLICATED EASY TO USE BASIC SOPHISTICATED Often web based COMPLICATED EASY TO USE BASIC SOPHISTICATED Sometimes a ‘cut-down’ version 8

Examples of GIS packages used in Schools ESRI’s ArcView ESRI’s Digital Worlds The Advisory Units Aegis 3 Microsoft MapPoint Google Earth

Use of ESRI’s ArcView Geography GCSE Coursework Analysing models of Urban land use within Bishop Stortford. Bishop’s Stortford College

Use of Digital Worlds Investigating factors controlling global biomes in Africa KEFW

Use of Aegis 3 Helen Young www.geographygeek.co.uk

Examples of Microsoft MapPoint Chloropleth map highlighting regions of high and low car use Highest number of car journeys made within a 2 km radius of the school than any other region. Investigation Into School Travel Plan 2004 ASET AVCE in GIS Coursework Aaron Jessop Slough Grammar School

Use of Google Earth San Francisco : visualizing a safer city Google Earth overlays to the rescue! San Francisco with an overlay showing the potential for ground shaking during an earthquake. The 3D building layer is active. Noel Jenkins www.juicygeography.co.uk

GIS starting points on GA and RGS websites Geographical Association’s Spatially speaking project http://www.geography.org.uk/projects/spatiallyspeaking/ Geographical Association’s Think Pieces GIS project http://www.geography.org.uk/projects/gtip/thinkpieces/gis/ Geographical Association’s GIS starts here http://www.geography.org.uk/resources/gisstartshere/ http://www.gis.rgs.org/whatisgis.html

Skills based development Curriculum based development Here you develop first the ideas of skills for example: Switching on/off layers Basic tools like zoom in/out, pan Using tools like swipe & transparency Adding points, lines & polygons Viewing multiple layers Searching by attributes Selecting an area to search within Adding your own data to geographically referenced locations(points, lines & polygons) Here you would focus on curriculum opportunities as dependant upon your programmes of studies for example based upon our 7 SoW: Map skills My place Connections Microclimate Global Cities Why did so many people die in the Haiti EQ?

ISSUES Get to grips with the basic language Start small Keep it simple Keep practising Time Don’t be afraid to ask for help Think beyond geography Make it real