Category Archives: Education

Aerial Photo Dates Layer: A Helpful Tip for Getting the Most of ISU Orthoserver

By Article, Education, Imagery, Iowa Geographic Map Server, Outreach, , , ,

The Iowa Orthoserver (also known as the Iowa Geographic Map Server) has a variety of resources available to enhance and serve users. Today we are highlighting the Aerial Photo Dates layer. This layer allows users to determine the date of a particular image.

Here are the basic steps to using the Aerial Photo Dates layer in the Iowa Geographic Map Server ArcGIS Web App:

  1. Open the Iowa Geographic Map Server ArcGIS Web App.
  2. Select the first icon – Choose Map Layers (looks like 3 stacked sheets of paper.)
  3. Scroll down to the Iowa – Aerial Photo Dates layer and then check the box to turn it on.
  4. Expand the menu by clicking the tiny gray arrow to the left of the check box.
  5. Now turn on whichever year of flight date you wish to use (the orange areas symbolize the flight paths and within them will appear the flight dates.)
  6. *Please note* for some of the older imagery years (example 1930s, 1950s, etc.), you need to be zoomed in for the flight dates to appear. Zoom into an area of interest, the flight patterns and dates will be shown.

The statewide 2021 NAIP flight date layer is not yet available. This will be released when the layer is available. If you would like information regarding specific areas for the 2021 flight, please contact Amy Logan. 

GIS Day 2021 – Success!

By Activity, Education, Event, Geography Awareness Week, Outreach, , , , , , , , ,

Here are photos from yesterday’s GIS Day event. We had over 50 visitors stop by our table in the ISU College of Design lobby for information about undergraduate minor in GIS and graduate GIS certificate, cupcakes, posters, trading cards and to help put our map puzzles together.

Celebrate GIS Day! Test and Improve your Geographic Knowledge

By Activity, Education, Game, Geography Awareness Week, , , , ,

Test and Improve Your Geographic Knowledge with Geography Games:

Quizzity – https://david-peter.de/quizzity/ – This quiz challenges you to locate six world cities with greater points for accuracy and speed.

Seterra Geography Games – https://www.seterra.com/#quizzes – Learn the location of countries worldwide by locating counties regionally and globally.

GIS Day @ ISU!!! Wednesday, November 17 2-4pm College of Design Main Lobby

By Activity, Announcement, Education, Event, Geography Awareness Week, Outreach, , , , , , , , ,

Join the ISU Geographic Information Systems Support and Research Facility to celebrate GIS Day! Enjoy themed cupcakes and poster and trading card giveaways, and learn more about the Geographic Information Science minor and GIS graduate certificate program.

The event will be from 2–4 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 17, in the foyer inside the main entrance to the College of Design.

https://www.design.iastate.edu/event-listings/2021/11/gis-day-celebration/

Discover your local geographic Information Council and other groups

By Announcement, Education, Geography Awareness Week, IGIC, Outreach,

The Iowa Geographic Information Council (IGIC) is an organization of geospatial professional across the of Iowa. It provides geospatial support allowing individuals to ask questions and provides opportunities to collaborate as well as network. IGIC is governed by a 25 member board which represent 9 different sectors. There are quarterly meetings as well as a yearly conference (Iowa Technology and Geospatial Conference) and other opportunities to connect with geospatially minded people.

IGIC hosts monthly virtual Lunch and Learn events. These have been very successful for IGIC especially as members are widely distributed across the state.  Each session is recorded and available on the IGIC website.

You are invited to join this month’s “GIS Day” Lunch and Learn: Mulitpurpose Use of Street Level Imagery with Bill Wetzel, Cyclomedia Technology @ 12pm – Wednesday November 17, 2021. He will discuss how local governments and utilities rely on technology initiatives that optimize management of properties, assets, and infrastructure. For more information: https://www.iowagic.org/igic-lunch-learn-street-level-imagery/ .

Trek with National Geographic Explorer across the world

By Education, Geography Awareness Week, National Geographic, Observation, Outreach, , ,
Paul Salopek’s 24,000 Mile Journey

To kick off Geography Awareness week, explore the amazing journey of geographer, Paul Salopek’s 24,000 mile journey across the globe. During his 10-year journey he documented the places and people he encounter every 100 miles. At each of these milestones, he documents the date, location, elevation, shows a picture of his feet and the sky at that location, and interviews the first person he meets asking them 3 questions: who are you, where do you come from, and where are you going?

Follow his journey through an amazing story map: https://www.nationalgeographic.org/projects/out-of-eden-walk/#section-0.

Join in the celebration of Geography Awareness Week 2021!

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November 14-20, 2021

Geography Awareness Week is coming soon. We will be sharing information about GIS and geography related careers as well as activities and games to help you sharpen your geography and geospatial skills throughout the week. Check IowaView daily for a new topic.

The History of Geography Awareness Week:

The National Geographic Society created Geography Awareness Week over 25 years ago as a way to celebrate and raise awareness of geography both as a discipline and as a part of daily life. The National Geographic Society felt there was a dangerous deficiency in American education with limited exposure to geography too many young Americans are unable to make effective decisions, understand geo-spatial issues, or even recognize their impacts as global citizens.
— see more at the National Geographic Website

Return to School with Just the Right Digital Map Tool! – September 28

By Activity, Education, Event, Outreach, Resource, , , , , , , ,

Hey Educators! Directions Magazine and the Esri Education Team are teaming up to provide a webinar to help you find the best digital map tools for your classroom!

When: Tuesday, September 28, 2021 @ 7pm (Central)

Register Here: https://www.directionsmag.com/webinar/10996

Here’s more from the website:
Join us for a look at geospatial tools for any learning space: home, outdoors, school, or virtual. The Esri Education Team has great suggestions to enhance any grade level or subject area with a geospatial perspective.

In this webinar, we’ll cover:

  • Free mapping software (ArcGIS Online, Storymaps, Survey123, and more)
  • Entry-level, standards-based GeoInquiry activities for the class
  • Tips and tricks for flexible instruction with digital maps

SPEAKERS

Charlie Fitzpatrick, K-12 Education Manager, Esri

Tom Baker, Education Manager, Esri

Kylie Donia, Education Industry Specialist, Esri

Join in the fun ~ TeachOSM Back-to-School Night ~ September 21

By Activity, Announcement, Education, Event, Humanitarian Mapping, Imagery, OpenStreetMap, Resource, , , , , , , ,

When: September 21st, 2021 8:00 PM through  9:00 PM (Eastern)

Attention educators and mappers! Join TeachOSM Tuesday, 21 September for our first ever ‘back-to-school’ night. We’re offering an informal open house to introduce our programming. This hour-long event will feature brief demos from teachers and mappers to enable you to:

  • Find out more about how you can put OSM in your school
  • Learn how to take advantage of our Map-Alongs and other educational programming
  • Find out how you can get support open mapping education in your community

Sign up now to reserve your space!

Greetings from Camp Landsat: Cities and Suburbs

By Activity, Education, Environmental Change, Landsat, NASA, Observation, Outreach, Remote Sensing, , , , , , , , , , ,

Greetings from Camp Landsat!

Postcards From Camp: Cities & Suburbs
Are you exploring any cities this summer? Rain or shine, urban planners use Landsat to take stock of city growth and its environmental impact. The front of this postcard features a natural-color Landsat 8 image of Ocean Flower Island in Hainan, China acquired May 6, 2020.

This week’s camp theme is Cities and Suburbs and focuses on the growth of cities and urban areas as seen over time through Landsat images. Urban growth has impacts on the surrounding environment. Visit Camp Landsat to learn more and experience a time-laspse video of urban growth in Qatar, a storymap about urbanization of vacation towns, and learn about urban heat islands in Minnesota. This week’s camp crafts include Color by Number Image Classification and creating a bird house with a “green roof.” Thank you to our friends at NASA for making this fun summer camp possible!