Sigh....

Oh, this lab was the bane of my absolute existence for 2 days...but I got it done!  Always looking for the silver linings!  I don't know that I would say that I am a better GIScientist after this lab but I do think that my GISninja skills improved.  The purpose of this lab was to take downloaded information and produce a map with the information in the same projection.  Which I did accomplish, but I'm not sure if it is correct or not.  I did not like the lab instructions because they were so ambiguous, not sure if that was on purpose or not but I suppose I'll find out soon enough.  I wish that at least the projection they wanted was specified because I chose one and went with it.  This is the production of me just going for it:

Combination map

Now with my gripes out of the way I can tell you what I liked about this map.  The creative control and being set out on our own was nice although frustrating at times.  Also, past examples were provided as a basis for what excellent maps through poor maps looked like.  I sure hope mine falls somewhere in the excellent category because it would be nice to have done a good job.  I absolutely loved the mix of map to imagery because if I do pursue this as a career then I would like to work with imagery, although it would be of the ocean but still!  I feel that this lab could also be used as an introduction to analysis maybe of the number of stations within the quadrangle that the mapper chose.  Well stay tuned for next weeks midterm and hope that I'm more comfortable after this lab.  If that is the case then this lab did its job!

Comparisons!

This weeks lab was all about comparing projections.  This is a very powerful tool because it can make or break your map.  With the wrong projection data may be distorted, therefore it is very important to choose the correct projection for your project.  Some projections are better suited for specific tasks than others.  For example the World Geodetic System 1984 is used for the GPS and by NASA satellites.  Other projections are suited for mapping a specific part of the world.  This lab concentrated specifically on examining the differences between four counties in Florida.  It used the square mileage of each county to show the differences between each projection type.  Below is the output I created.  We were left to our own devices when it came to the creativity aspect of this project which I really did like, it is a change of pace and shows that we are getting more self sufficient with ArcMap.

Projection Comparison.

The only issue I had with this lab was after running the projection tool it didn't add the data frame automatically. Which wasn't a big deal except I didn't get a pop-up notification that the tool even ran correctly so I ran it multiple times before realizing that it was correctly outputting the data and that I needed to manually input it.

ArcGIS Online

This week was a little less involved than last week.  We learned about creating and sharing map packages online.  This is a vital tool when you need to present or collaborate with multiple parties who may or may not be in the same location.  It was fairly simple to create map packages, we needed to create 2 separate map packages

Use and modify map and tile packages

The above map package will be used to identify climbing spots in Yosemite National Park.  It was a very good introduction to using and sharing map and tile packages.

Optimize a map package

The above map package was significantly more involved.  We constructed a map that showed the study of Ponderosa Pines in the Aguirre Springs drainage. This map can be used to monitor the sample sites by hydrologists, landscape ecologists, and hydrologists.  Overall it was a very good lab to show the power of the online collaboration tools as well as how easy it is to upload a map for collaboration.