Maps & Geospatial

Creating Spatial Data With the Bad Elf Flex GPS Unit

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Finding spatial data that is publicly available for niche subjects can be a difficult and time-consuming task. Using the resources available from the library along with software provided by Penn State it is now easier than ever to create your own spatial data. In this blog post we will be discussing what resources are available to library patrons at Penn State that enable you to create your own spatial data. The Donald W. Hamer Center for Maps and Geospatial Information in the Pattee Library at Penn State has a variety of GPS units and equipment available. We decided to use the Bad Elf Flex to create our own spatial data because it is easy to learn how to use, very accurate, and can be easily used with ArcGIS Field Maps. ArcGIS Field Maps is an app that allows the user to create points on a map using either their smartphone’s integrated GPS or a connected GPS unit. The Bad Elf Flex can be connected to any smartphone with Bluetooth and can easily be selected as the GPS position provider in the ArcGIS Field Maps app.

For more information on the Bad Elf unit and ArcGIS Field Maps See this former library blog post and Story Map from Bad Elf: 

To show users an example of creating spatial data on your own, we used the Bad Elf unit and ArcGIS Field Maps together to create some arbitrary data about the ground cover types found on campus near the Pattee Library and Pattee mall. We also wanted to test the differences in accuracy between the Bad Elf unit and the integrated GPS within our cellphones. Before collecting any data there is a considerable amount of set up that needs to be done. First you need to create a feature layer in rc ArcGIS online that is appropriate for the data you want to capture (Point, Line, or Polygon) and decide what other information you want to record with that data. Then you need to set up ArcGIS Field Maps on a mobile device and connect the Bad Elf unit to your phone. These steps are explained in detail within the guide from Bad Elf unit linked above. After all this set up, you are ready to begin going out and sampling your data using the Bad Elf unit. 

There are some best practices that should be mentioned to create high accuracy data using the Bad Elf unit. First, we advise that you use the pole, or the tripod stands to elevate the GPS and provide stability (see image below). Additionally at each point where you are collecting data you want to place the GPS and ensure it stays steady so that the spatial error of the data recorded will be reduced. ArcGIS Field Maps provides a live reading of what the error is as you are taking the point and records the spatial error with the data as you create it. Once the GPS “settles” you will see the error stop going down and at this point you should collect the point and all the other information associated that you desire. You should avoid large physical barriers, like buildings or trees, between the GPS and the sky above as this disrupts the pathways that allow the Bad Elf unit to connect to the satellites above. We directly tested this in the data layer that we have shared below. 

 

A screenshot of the Bad Elf Flex Test Map we made while testing the Bad Elf unit.
A screenshot of the Bad Elf Flex Test Map we made while testing the Bad Elf unit. Click the image to go to the web map.

Here are some images of us collecting this sample data and what that data looks like on ArcGIS online after we have collected it:

          Finn holding the pole with the Bad Elf Flex unit on top on the Pattee Mall.                              Brady holding the pole with the Bad Elf Flex unit on top outside the Pattee-Paterno Library Collaborations Commons Entrance.                              Finn holding the pole with the Bad Elf Flex unit on top in the Thompson Hall tunnel entrance by the Sparks Building.

Overall, we found that creating spatial data with the Bad Elf Flex unit is an extremely powerful resource that the library has to offer. The process does require a bit of learning to set up and properly record data but works very well once the user is accustomed to the process. We recommend doing a few tests to ensure you have configured everything to your liking before spending lots of time and energy recording your data. To borrow the Bad Elf Flex unit and any of the other accessories available for spatial data creation come to the Maps and Geospatial center to learn more.

Here are the catalog links to the Bad Elf Flex and Tripod we used in this blog post:

Fin is a fourth-year student at Penn State majoring in Geography and minoring in Soil Science. Fin has had multiple lab research positions where he has contributed to creating spatial data for forest biogeography and forestry research. Fin’s other interests include using drones to collect geospatial data, competing with the PSU soil Judging team and spending time outdoors. Fin has been working at the Donald W. Hamer Center for Maps and Geospatial Information since February 2022. 

Brady is a fourth-year student at Penn State majoring in History and minoring in Geography and GIS. Brady has been working at the Donald W. Hamer Center for Maps and Geospatial Information since August 2022. From August 2022 to February 2023, Brady worked as the Historical Aerial Imagery Bednar Intern at the Donald W. Hamer Center, where he created a detailed inventory of a large collection of historical aerial imagery in the library’s collection and created a Story Map highlighting the collection. Brady’s other interests include creating 3D models of terrain data and participating in Penn State Club Sailing.

Introduction to the Esri Academy

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Whether it’s your first-time using ArcGIS software, or if you already have experience, the Esri Academy provides new insight and introductions to an array of software. Penn State students have access to the courses, and while giving you functional skills, they can be completed in a relatively short amount of time. To log into the academy click the links associated with the individual courses, then click sign in. After that choose “Your ArcGIS organization’s URL” and type: “pennstate” (no caps or spaces).

Why Esri Training? 

This will provide a short introduction to three of these courses including ArcGIS Online, Interactive Dashboards, and Business Analyst.

Creating and Sharing GIS Content Using ArcGIS Online

Course Here

The first course recommended is “Creating and Sharing GIS Content Using ArcGIS Online”. This makes for a good starting point given its use of ArcGIS Online, a staple of Esri services. It estimates that the course will take about two and a half hours to complete, and sets some goals for its completion. The course alternates between course work where you learn about the fundamentals of ArcGIS, and hands-on experience with the software. Some of the basics you learn, as seen in the contents bar, are information about the practical application of ArcGIS online, and the roles of its users, as well as their respective capabilities. Additionally, the course teaches you about web layers, which are then expanded on in a small project.

The project gives you the following scenario: “Imagine that you are a member of the agency’s impact assessment team. You started a new construction site project that will require some content and expertise from other agency sectors. Your team has been given a tile package of 

the site’s soil makeup and a zipped shapefile of wetlands in that area. Because multiple people and teams need to access this content, you have decided to publish the data as web layers.”

The project allows you to learn about the compilation of layers to display information on both soil types and wetland Identification. Additionally, it teaches you how you could hypothetically share the project with your team members who are also working on the project, and what they would be able to do with the map. My finished project. Afterward, there is a short exam that awards you a certificate.

Build an interactive dashboard

Course Here

These Dashboards are useful for allowing the creator to give their users a large amount of information in one place, while keeping all the data minimal by using filters and popups so only what is needed is displayed.

 

The course is separated into four parts, each about fifteen minutes. The overall objective for the project is to make a dashboard where drivers can locate charging stations for electric vehicles, and filter for location and charger type.

The finished project. Based on your selections the popups, charts, and the displayed number of operational stations will change. This project is also very modular, meaning it is easily customizable and can be expanded.

Identify retail gaps with void analysis

Course Here

The final recommended training we’ll cover uses ArcGIS Business Analyst, an important GIS tool for making planning decisions. It uses analytics to help compare the demand for services and businesses to help its users decide whether or not an area is under, or overserved.

The lesson plan is broken down into two half-hour sections; preparing and performing a void analysis.

The basic idea is to try and determine if an area, Plano TX, has the environment to
support a new Juice Bar. They know that the brand’s recent new store in neighboring
Frisco TX has been successful, and as such want to compare the areas.

Through this, we can see the estimated surplus or void of different drink restaurants,
with a final comparison involving age, household income, and population.

The end product can be used in different ways, and again this project is very modular, with a large number of factors that you can apply to filter the data

Conclusion

These courses will help to introduce you to or expand what you already know about some of the different applications of ArcGIS. Esri academy as a whole provides even more lessons and courses, as well as more certificates that you can achieve, spanning a variety of ways for which implications of GIS can be used.

August Paterno is a Sophomore majoring in Geography in the college of Earth and Mineral Sciences. August’s interests also include GIS, Computer Sciences, and Urbanism. He has been working at the Donald H. Hamer Center for Maps and Geospatial Information since May 2022.

Tutorial on the ArcGIS Online Map Viewer: Exploring Symbology Options

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This new ArcGIS Online Map Viewer tutorial highlights features of the ArcGIS Online map viewer layout, symbology, effects, clustering, charts, and map tools.

Clustering Map

This Map Viewer Tutorial was created by Mac Caughey in the Spring 2022.

Mac Caughey is a rising 4th-year at Penn State majoring in Geography and minoring in Environmental and Renewable Resource Economics. He is pursuing certificates in Geographic Information Science, Landscape Ecology, and Global Environmental Systems. Mac’s interests include environmental sustainability, conservation, and food science. Mac has been working at the Donald W. Hamer Center for Maps and Geospatial information since November 2021.

ArcGIS Instant Apps: Everything you Need to Know

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ArcGIS Pro and ArcGIS Online are two extremely effective tools for mapmaking and analyzing spatial data. Creating a useful and distributable map includes many decisions by the designer and stakeholders beyond the initial map design and analysis. One of the most important steps in mapmaking is ensuring that the end product is understandable, accessible, and applicable. This is where ArcGIS Instant Apps comes into play: a tool that allows audiences to easily view and interact with a map and its data. 

Instant Apps provides templates for publishing web maps from ArcGIS Online. Users have 18 templates to choose from (displayed at bottom), and each template includes specific properties that allow the user to customize the app based on their goals. Each template contains the same mission: to create a useful and interactive map for the viewer based on the data that the map is displaying.

Instant Apps experienced it’s most recent update in December of 2021, which makes its usefulness all the more relevant. This update included the finalization of three important templates (Chart Viewer, Countdown, and Slider) as well as the rollout of the newest template, Exhibit. Exhibit is the biggest release to come out of the recent update. This template is especially interesting, as it allows the user to create a presentation across the map using slides and images, essentially mimicking a museum exhibit. Since this template is still in its first stages, a personalized example is not included in this post, however an interesting example from the ArcGIS Instant Apps Gallery can be explored here. Examples of the other 17 templates, in addition to what is included within this post, can be explored in the rest of the  Instant Apps Gallery.

To demonstrate the different functionality of Instant Apps, I have created an interactive web map in ArcGIS Online using a dataset of plant-based restaurants across the neighborhoods in Denver, Colorado. Included in this dataset is the attribute information of each restaurant’s vegan-friendly rating. With this data as my basis, I applied the map to 4 different Instant App templates to illustrate the versatility of the tool. These four templates- Basic, Zone Lookup, Nearby, and Interactive Legend- only touch the surface of what Instant Apps has to offer. 

Basic

The Basic template is one of the most applicable Instant Apps, as it can be applied to any online map regardless of the data type and layout. This Instant App allows the viewer to engage with the map at a basic level, with the ability to explore the map and select the data points to view the attribute information attached to them. 

When configuring an Instant App, there are several parameters that the user can adjust to create the final product. While this template is relatively straightforward, some of the highlights the user can customize include the viewer interactivity- search capabilities, screenshot options, and scroll limits- as well as general layout. Adjusting the general layout means that the user can change the location of features like the zoom buttons, home button, and legend. One last notable feature that I utilized on this template is the basemap toggle option. While this is not exclusive to the basic template, it is an important feature that allows the viewer to change the basemap of the map, which can be useful for a variety of reasons. 

Zone Lookup

For any map that includes geographic boundaries- whether they be political, social, or environmental- the Zone Lookup template is an incredibly useful tool. This template requires that the data on the map is incorporated within a “zone”- in this case, I utilized the neighborhoods of Denver, Colorado. Zone Lookup allows the viewer to either search for a location or pin a location on the map to discover more about the zone that the location is in. In the example I created, the viewer can select a specific neighborhood, which reveals the plant-based restaurants that are located within that neighborhood. Once a zone is selected, the attribute information for the restaurants are displayed in the search box to the left.  

This template requires close attention to the configuration in order to present a useful result. The user must choose which zone to use as the look up tool (I.e. the neighborhood) as well as which data to use as the return result (I.e. the restaurants). The user can also choose how to emphasize the returned results, such as creating a halo or emphasis around the selected neighborhood. The Instant App I created utilized the previously mentioned basemap toggle, as well as the “dark theme.” The theme for each template can either be light or dark, and the user can choose this based on what they believe is most user friendly for their map’s intended use.  

Nearby

The Nearby template functions in a similar fashion to zone lookup, however this template does not require predetermined “zones”, just data with a feature layer. The purpose of this map is to allow viewers to discover what data points are “nearby” a location that they choose. This instant app allows the viewer to pin a location on the map and view the return results that appear within a specified radius around the center point. The distance threshold is set by the creator (i.e. 0.25 miles-2 miles), however the user can choose which distance to select as the radius using the sliding scale.

In the example below, I used this Instant App to demonstrate how many plant-based restaurants there are within a mile radius of the Denver Botanical Gardens. The Nearby template functions in a similar fashion to zone lookup, where the attribute information for the return results are displayed in the search box to the left. The Nearby template can be an incredibly useful tool for a variety of categories; not just for finding restaurants near you, but also for public health purposes, as demonstrated here.

 

Interactive Legend

The final Instant App I created utilizes the Interactive Legend template. This is an incredibly useful tool when the user creates data that is meant to be explored based on the attribute data on the map. This template allows the viewer to choose what components from the legend they want to view and focus on. In the example below, I have selected that the map only displays plant-based restaurants that have the highest vegan-friendly ratings (5). While this is just one way this template can be used, this would also be an extremely beneficial tool when the map contains a feature layer with distinct attributes that the viewer may want to view individually. This is also a useful template when the map may display several different categories of information, and the viewer only wants to see the data that is important to them. 

When configuring this app, the user has to be mindful of how to display the results when the viewer interacts with the legend. I decided to completely remove any data points that did not match with the components selected on the legend, however it is also possible to simply blur the background results or emphasize the selected features with a halo. 

Instant App Fundamentals

Interactivity Settings
Theme and Layout Settings

When using Instant Apps to configure a publishable map, there are several parameters that the user can set and/or change to ensure the template fits the map’s purpose. While each template has its own specific data requirements and capabilities, there are several parameters that are either identical or similar between all 18 templates. These are the basic steps to look our for when creating an Instant App.

Interactivity: Deciding how viewers can interact with the web app is the first step in configuring a template and is based off of the creator’s intended purpose of the map. Instant Apps allows the user to choose if they want to display the following features: bookmarks, a home button, a scale bar, zoom controls, a search feature, screenshot capabilities, a legend, a basemap toggle button, a current location finder, a navigation boundary, and scroll limitations. If the user chooses to include an option for basemap toggling, they are given the Esri Basemap collection library to choose from.

Theme and Layout: After choosing which interactive elements will be a part of the app, the user can then choose the theme and layout of the map. This includes setting the theme to either light or dark, as well as positioning each previously mentioned feature on each corner of the map. Instant Apps provides an easy-to-use tool for moving these features around, allowing the creator to test out multiple options to choose what is best for the final app. The theme choice of either light or dark can be decided by the user to help best emphasize the overall aesthetic of the app. While creating the web app, there is also an option to view how the app would function on different screens, including desktop view, portrait view, and landscape view. This is especially important to consider when thinking about how the audience will be more likely to view the map, whether it be on a desktop, tablet, or smart phone.

Legend in Dark Mode
Legend in Light Mode
Orientation View Options

 

 

Final Thoughts

Even as someone who has used ArcGIS Online to create Web Maps for years, Instant Apps was a tool that I had never experienced or worked with. Despite this, working with Instant Apps and each of the different templates was a seamless process. Configuring the app was an easy process guided by built-in steps in the configuration process. When creating the app, the user can choose to either view all of the settings at once to individually set each parameter, or to follow along with the “express” configuration process. The express mode makes Instant Apps an even more accessible feature for map makers of any skill level, as it eases the configuration process while still including all of the necessary steps to finalize a useful map. More information on Instant Apps can be found here.

Instant App Templates

Template Name Data Requirements App Capabilities  
3D Viewer  Web Scene (layers, basemap, ground)  Allows for easy interaction in 3D web scenes, accompany with images and slides
Attachment Viewer  Web Map with a Feature layer with attachments  Allows users to flip through a layer’s features to view the image and/or video attachments
Basic  Web Map Creates a basic explorable layout with features like a legend, scale bar, and basemap toggle
Category Gallery  Web Map with a group (collection of items)  Creates an interactive gallery of maps, apps, and layers
Chart Viewer  Web Map with at least one configured chart  Include up to 10 charts, histograms, or scatterplots across the map 
Countdown  Web Map with ranked features Locations on a map are ranked by a specified field, users can compare ranked features
Exhibit (New)  Web Map Creates an interactive presentation of slides, which are composed of different layers or attributes of the map
Imagery Viewer  Web Map with at least one imagery layer  Displays layers with imagery across time and space
Interactive Legend  Web Map with a feature layer  Allows for focused view of a specified feature on the legend
Media Map  Web Map Creates a basic map with a navigation boundary and basic tools- great for smaller maps used in a StoryMap or other media
Minimalist  Web Map Similar to the basic template, but utilizes a sliding scale for the zoom feature
Nearby  Web Map with a feature layer Helps to locate features in a specific radius around an area of interest.  
Portfolio  Web Map Allows user to view several different maps, images, and other apps within the same display
Sidebar  Web Map Assigns the map a sidebar that gives users options to interacts with and filter the data
Slider  Web Map with a feature layer with at least one numeric field  Allows users to interact with data that contains time intervals- useful for historical or live data to display a change in time
Zone Lookup  Web Map with a feature layer Identifies features of a specified zone or area based on the users choosing

Table adapted from Esri

Mac Caughey is a third-year student at Penn State majoring in Geography and minoring in Environmental and Renewable Resource Economics. He is pursuing certificates in Geographic Information Science, Landscape ecology, and Global Environmental Systems. Mac’s interests include environmental sustainability, conservation, and food science. Mac has been working at the Donald W. Hamer Center for Maps and Geospatial information since November 2021. 

Staying up-to-date with ArcGIS Online for New and Experienced Users

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Finding ways to stay up-to-date with ArcGIS Online features, updates, and uses can be helpful in your own work as new projects, ideas, and classes arise. As you may be exploring a geospatial project for a specific topic, audience, and analysis, there may come a time in which your audience and project direction may benefit from a new dataset, visual presentation, and/or interaction with users. Keep these tips in mind for those both new to ArcGIS Online and those experienced users wanting to stay current on ArcGIS Online features, updates, and documentation.

Here are tips for staying up-to-date with ArcGIS Online.

1. Check out ArcGIS Help Documentation: What’s New Page.

2. Check out the ArcGIS Online Blog for announcements.

  • ArcGIS Online Blog for announcements of new features, stories about the use of new features, and helpful case studies for other industries.

3. Stay connected to the GIS user community.

4. Subscribe to email updates on products and topics of interest.

  • See the many types of publications and ways to connect to news and updates on GIS products, including ArcGIS Online examples from multiple fields.

5. Subscribe to related GIS, geospatial technologies, and related technologies newsletters.

  • Identify geospatial products, publications, and newsletters to stay current to on their use of ArcGIS Online
  • One option is to follow organizations on social media to stay up-to-date on trends and new uses of ArcGIS Online in their organizations.
ArcGIS Online web map
ArcGIS Online example, Open Streetmap basemap

Submitted by Tara LaLonde, GIS Specialist, Donald W. Hamer Center for Maps and Geospatial Information

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