GIS6005- Communicating GIS - Student Spotlight

GIS 6005 - Communicating GIS, Instructor, Dr. Derek Morgan

Communicating GIS is the first course to be offered from the M.S.A. with a specialization in Geographic Information Science (GIS) degree plan. This course begins with the basic theory of graphic design, cartography, and map production and distribution. Students then learn to communicate specific types of spatial and analytical information through maps, written and oral explanations, graphs, tables, charts, and interactive web mapping applications.

During week 9, students built on previous exercises and worked with techniques for including multiple variables within a single map. When effectively designed multivariate mapping can be used to show relationships between variables, making this method particularly useful for exploration and confirmation purposes. The lab drew on previous material such as color, choropleth and map design in general.

STUDENT SPOTLIGHT AWARDS

We would like to recognize EmilyVandenheuvel for her multivariate module work. 
 

Emily has been a pleasure to have in the class. Emily comes to us with a BA in Geography & Psychology from Northern Michigan University. Her previous education has served her well in Communicating GIS, as she has thoughtfully contributed to course discussions both as a student and discussion leader. For instance during the week of lab 6 Emily asked clarifying questions regarding the usage of normalized variables within Choropleth mapping that fostered a subsequent dialog that was useful to her classmates. For the multivariate lab Emily successfully created a bivariate map illustrating obesity as it relates to physical activity rates across the USA. Her legend (shown here) demonstrates many of the design principles that we covered in the class. She makes use of different typography and colors effectively showing the relationship between these two variables. Also, her blog post is well written and shows the corresponding map she produced.

Great work Emily!  

Multivariate Mapping Module Learning Outcomes

• Recall map design choice for multivariate maps
• Explain how multivariate maps contribute to a better understanding of the relationship between variables.
• Carry out bivariate choropleth using GIS software