This year NASA’s Earth Day poster is features a series of QR codes which provide an array of information on a number of their missions, programs, and activities. We have provided a key below explaining each of the numbered QR codes along with the link to each code (click on the name to follow the link.)
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the launch of the first Landsat satellite (July 23, 1972). To celebrate fifty years of earth observation, IowaView will be posting various images and gif documenting Landsat in Iowa and around the world. Check back regularly for new images and articles. #TimeLapseTuesday #ThrowbackThursday
What: VIRTUAL AND IN-PERSON EVENT Virginia Tech Office of GIS and Remote Sensing Research Symposium We have an exceptional panel of speakers on hand this year representing Duke University, NASA (Emerita), and Virginia Tech. Another highlight of the Symposium, is the student poster session & web map app showcase with over 35 undergraduate and graduate student posters on full display! When: 4/8/22 @ 12pm-3:30pm (Eastern) Registration (free): https://virginiatech.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_n0l1pRCTTSWgDeP7Jwx47Q
What: VIRTUAL AND IN-PERSON EVENT Iowa Technology and Education Connection (ITEC) Conference ITEC is hosting the annual conference on April 13-14. Join fellow Iowa educators at the state’s premier Tech Ed event! IowaView staff will be presenting on April 14 at 1:15 -2:05pm – Spreading the Mapping Bug: Sharing Geospatial Resources, Ready-to-Go Curriculum, and Mapping Activities for Teachers to Use Tomorrow and Integrate into Their Lessons. Great for student engagement. Many of these materials align with core standards and resources include interactive maps and apps available immediately. When: 4/14/22 @ 1:15-2:05pm Registration: https://www.itec-ia.org/conference-registration-details/
What: VIRTUAL EVENT GeoTech Center – Earth Observation Day
Enjoy this water themed poster “Water Today and for the Future” from the AmericaView’s Earth Observation Day Team. This poster contains the creative game experience to help bring understanding to how water resources in America are used and managed for future use. You can download the poster and you can play the game online on Tabletopia. The poster is available in Spanish.
The Ladies of Landsat have shared some great USGS case study videos showcasing the paths women and girls can take to become remote sensing scientists. Three scientists stories are highlighted: Jill Deines, Africa Ixmucane Flores-Anderson, and Nikki Tulley. Read more and enjoy their stories below:
Nikki Tulley: Speaking a New Language of Landsat – Nikki grew up in the Navajo Nation without running water in her household. As PhD student at University of Arizona and Indigenous scientist, she uses Landsat to track drought conditions in her home community.
The Iowa Map Contest is open. This year we would like to give out all our prize money. If you know students in grade 4-12 or teachers encourage them to participate. For contest details, visit: https://sites.google.com/site/iowamapcontest/.
Are you interested in learning more about ArcGIS Story Maps? Iowa State University’s Parks Library has a great introductory library guide to get you started.
February is Black History month, and as part of that celebration IowaView would like to highlight a new story map that was recently released by the Tracing Race at Iowa State University. The Tracing Race project funds digital projects that reveal the under-documented history of accomplishment and experience of people of color, and engage with the history of race, inequality, racism, and student, faculty and staff activism at Iowa State University.
The Tracing Race project recently released a Story Map by Gloria Betcher, Ph.D.; Ted Grevstad-Nordbrock, Ph.D. & Jeanne Beck, Ed.S. called Mapping the Black ISC (Iowa State College) Student Housing Experience. It shares the stories of black students as they overcame challenges to find housing in Ames in order to pursue their education at Iowa State College.
“Since its founding in 1858 as Iowa Agricultural College & Model Farm, Iowa State University has allowed Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) to enroll as students. Iowa State’s first Black student, George Washington Carver, enrolled in classes in 1891. At that time, the question of where Black students could live while enrolled at the college became a concern, but it was left largely unaddressed by the institution until after World War II. Prior to that time, BIPOC students at Iowa State College (ISC) were kept from rooming on campus by an unwritten policy that required Black students to room together. This requirement was difficult to meet when so few Black students attended the college at any given time. As late as 1926, ISC had only 13 Black students and had just graduated its first Black woman, Willa Juanita Ewing, according to The Crisis: A Record of the Darker Races (“A Record,” 1926).
The housing situation of most BIPOC students at Iowa State in the years before it became a university remains unstudied in anysystematic way. This ESRI Story Map project is an initial step toward addressing that research gap. It is also intended as a means of illuminating just who the Black students at ISC were and what contributions they made after leaving Iowa State.”
– From the Project Introduction: Mapping the Black ISC Student Housing Experience
This story map is a treasure. It explains the challenges of Black students in the early days of Iowa State College in finding housing and how they overcame those challenges. It provides a map showing many of the early residences of the students around Ames, many of the homes are still there today.
Another exciting feature of this story map is how the authors pay tribute to each of the Black students enrolled in at Iowa State College during this period of history. The authors provide a biography of each of the students and information about their time at the college and life after school as well as picture of the students. This is a great way to remember these students.
A few years back, Tyler Danielson, a GIS professional at Bolton and Menk, Inc. wrote a book called Lindsey the GIS Professional to help describe working with a geographic information system (GIS). In the book, Lindsey explains the information needed to create a map and how to collect it. Then she shows how to take that information to make a map of her favorite park. It gives readers a good introduction to the basics of GIS.Click here to read the book online: https://www.bolton-menk.com/books/lindsey/Lindsey.html.
Since the publication of the book, there have been several other companion resources produced. They can be found at www.LindseyLovesMaps.com:
At Home Activities – a maze, dot connect, data collection activity, analyzing data activity, drawing maps, and map coloring pages.
Teacher Resources – This includes a teacher guide and shows how the book, Lindsey the GIS Professional matches up with English, Social Studies and Science standards.
The coolest thing is that this story is based off of a real LINDSEY!
As we begin this new year you may want to challenge yourself with a new skill. Esri has a 6-week program, Learn ArcGIS Educator Program for New Users, available to give you an introduction to many of the core applications available for the classroom. Each week you will spend time watching videos related to the topic, take notes, share you thoughts using Flipgrid and discussion boards. For more information and resources visit the Learn ArcGIS Educator Program Hub:https://learn-arcgis-educator-program-new-user-learngis.hub.arcgis.com/pages/welcome.