Recently a fairly new mapping tool called DataAppeal was brought to my attention. DataAppeal renders art and design with geo-based data into highly effective and interactive 3D maps. Unlike many other GIS analysis tools on the market this one has been designed to be a simplified easy to use tool so, no previous experience or training is required. Simply upload your data and use DataAppeal to transform rows and rows of boring data into fascinating and beautiful 3D images.

“DataAppeal transforms geo-referenced data by allowing users to generate, render, analyze, and share information through highly effective and visually powerful 3D and animated maps, yet is extremely simple to use. It takes the guess work out of generating information by instantly mapping any uploaded data. “

1. Upload Your Data
- sign up to the free service
- download the basic template file
- add your data to the CSV file
- upload the CSV data set
2. Customize Your Map
- click the icon to import the data from your file into the system (if there are problems with the data then the system will alert you here and you will need to check or reformat your file)
- click the icon to load your data into a default map
- customize the look of your data and map with the various available settings and options
3. Share Your Maps
- Use icons provided to share your maps on Twitter, FaceBook, Email or on your own site or blog
- You can also download a Google Earth file

“We just released an updated version of DataAppeal, with new functionality to make it even easier and much faster to use! We added new features to provide new ways to visualize data sets. You now have the option of layering multiple maps so you can quickly compare different data sets. You can also use the new color gradient feature to quickly see common data points- all on the google earth platform.”

All these features will continue to be free for a limited time (in beta mode), so you can see how useful they are when analyzing your data.-we also launched a new website, with 3D data-map image samples and demo videos.

“We would love it if your followers would test it and provide us feedback”

The basic features will remain free always with the more advanced features such as color gradients, texture styles, ability to layer maps and the ability to upload larger data sets will be part of the premium service. So now is a good time to sign up with  DataAppeal and create some 3D interactive maps of your own data, and then share your feedback and experiences with other CanadianGIS.com readers.

Here are sme sample data sets that were rendered through the Dataappeal web-based application showcasing some of the various styles and features available.

Toronto Population- http://dataappeal.com/explore/featured-maps/toronto-population.html

Great Lakes Parks - http://dataappeal.com/explore/featured-maps/great-lakes-parks.html

The city of Regina, second largest in Saskatchewan is a beautiful little city situated in the center of the prairies offering many different attractions and events that take place every year for residents and tourists alike.

Recently our Geomatics LinkedIn group was selected as the top Canadian Geomatics LinkedIn Group by the GoGeomatics team.

To come up with their rankings they had a team of people examine various available Geomatics based groups that emphasize Canadain related topics. GoGeomatics considered the size of the group (the number of members), the spatial coverage of the group, the groups content and the group’s activity.

Thankfully, LinkedIn’s new ranking algorithm takes both of those factors into consideration when generating results for search queries, as well as the number of contacts in networks that are already members of that group. LinkedIn do that to ensure that their search results have a much higher rate of relevancy.

The province of Prince Edward Island has always been pretty good and open about making their aerial photography available. They have an in house library in Charlottetown where prints and copies can be ordered as well as an online interactive web map service allowing users to search and download lower resolution versions of their aerial photography.

The online initiative began shortly after the 2000/02 Corporate Land Use Inventory Project had completed. This extensive project involved creating orthophoto maps from over 16 thousand 1:17.5k false color infrared images.  The orthophotos were then tiled to match the provinces topographic map series and all land use of the island was updated using air photo interpretation and heads up digitizing. The project was a large success and stirred fond interest from other government departments and the public leading to the scanning of historic photos from the provinces air photo library. An online map interface was then developed to help make it easier for users to search photos and the ability to download images was included for easier access. Electronic versions of the images on CD-ROM are available from the PEI Resource Inventory and Modeling section in Charlottetown (e.g. 34 CDs provide full coverage of the Province in the 2000 series).

Selecting a different air photo series of the left will change the points on the map to represent the flight lines of aerial surveys for that particular year. This tool is great for projects that involve historic work in the same area.

The PEI online map application displays the collection of aerial photos that are available from a set as points on the interactive map. Then users can view a thumb-nail of any photo simply by double clicking on one of the map points. Larger version of the file can then be downloaded, images are in JPEG format (reduced in size by 25% from the in house scans), with download file sizes ranging from 2 to up to 10 mb.

Aerial photographs of Prince Edward Island are available for download from surveys of 1935, 1958, 1974 and 1990, 2000 & 2010. The type of imagery available depends on the aerial photo survey of that particular year, thus you will find that there are colour images, false colour infrared and black and white images.

The department has also gone ahead and generated some quick-search pages allowing users to browse Aerial Photographs by community if they do not wish to use the interactive map tool. So users can pick a community from the provided preset short-cut list to see a list of photographs available in that area.

For example you can click on Charlottetown and it will open up a page containing thumb nails with relevant photos for the Charlottetown area with links to download the corresponding image or open it up larger into your browser.

There is also a set of images on their interactive map tool of oblique aerial images of select places across the island that can be viewed similar to the way the traditional air photos are with the map tool.

The province of Prince Edward Island continues to do a great job at making their aerial photography available to the public and this interactive map tool is your key to finding aerial photography for anywhere in Prince Edward island that you can then use with ArcMap, MapInfo, Google Earth or any other GIS based software as well as other non GIS uses.

Prince Edward Island Interactive Map Tool can be found by following this link:  http://www.gov.pe.ca/maps/aerialphotos.php3

The Atlas of Canada recently published a beautiful new cartography product featuring the Canadian North in support of Natural Resources Canada and the Government of Canada’s Northern Strategy.

The new bilingual map product (available either in paper or digital formats) features the vast geography of the north from approximately 50° latitude and above. The map highlights populated places in all three Canadian territories, northern sections of the provinces, and also adjacent northern regions ofAlaska, Greenland andRussia.

The Canadian North is a fundamental part of our country, part of our heritage and  key to our future. It has an extensive geography from the boreal forests north to the tundra, across the permafrost regions and the ice of the Arctic.

The Atlas of Canada provides Canadians with current accessible geographic information products covering the entire country. It was first published in print in 1906 and then in 1999 became one of the first online electronic atlases in the world. Today, the Atlas of Canada continues to provide Canadians with a diverse cartographic collection of maps, data, images and other related resources.

 “The Atlas of Canada Web site will provide the most interesting, dynamic and comprehensive collection of maps and related information about Canada available anywhere on the Internet, with effective and intuitive tools for users to access them.”

The Atlas of Canada provide free downloads of new map of the Canadian North in either JPG or PDF versions. They no longer sell map products directly to the public but do make hard copy versions available to purchase through various dealers all across the country. So if you do not have the ability to print your own copies you can still get paper products.

To download any Atlas of CanadaMaps see: http://atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/site/english/dataservices/wall_maps/index.html

To purchase download any Atlas of Canada Maps see: http://atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/site/english/dataservices/wall_maps/purchase_info.html

Reference number: MCR0036
Size: 43.5 inches by 47.5 inches or 110.49 centimetres by 120.65 centimetres
Scale: 1:4 000 000
Published: 2012

Print Version:
Cat#: M114-25/2011
ISBN: 978-1-100-54028-3

PDF Version:
Cat#: M114-25/2011-PDF
ISBN: 978-1-100-54029-0

The Centre of Geographic Sciences (COGS)

Location: Lawrencetown,Nova Scotia
GIS Programs: Advanced Diploma in Geographic Sciences
Prerequisites: University Degree

The Centre of Geographic Sciences (COGS) has been providing Geomatics related education to students dating back to 1948 when it was known as the Nova Scotia Land Survey Institute. Over the years since then the survey school morphed into a well established diversified training institution for geographic sciences including, survey, cartography, remote sensing and GIS. The college has evolved to become one of the largest technical education centers in the field of Geomatics with a reputation of producing some of theCanada’s best grads. The school has changed names and programs over the years but they continues to offer a wide range of Geomatic disciplines to meet the changing need of industry.

One of the more popular well known programs at COGS is the Advanced Diploma in Geographic Sciences designed to add a technical hands-on component to an existing University Degree. This GIS program prepares students to join the Geomatics Industry in roles such as GIS Specialists, Technologists or GIS Analysts.

The program is broken into two semesters, the first is a common one shared with other programs such as the Advanced Diploma in Remote Sensing, the second one offers students the opportunity to specialize in a number of GIS based diciplines enabling them to build on their existing education and skill sets.

Theoretical knowledge, spatial analysis and programming is emphasized providing students with knowledge about the history of the technology coupled with the interrelationship that GIS and other sciences and technologies can generate when brought together. Students are also provided with a range of Geomatics skills beyond GIS including basic geodesy concepts, GPS surveying, Programming Fundamentals and spatial thinking / perception.

The COGS program boosts that over 90% of their graduates find employment in related areas of their field based on post graduate survey and communication that they maintain with their alumni after the program has ended. They also have a mailing list that is maintained by the school and regularly used to send out related jobs to students and alumni all throughout the year. In the second semester of the program the school organizes a career fair where various companies and organizations such as ESRI come to the school to recruit graduates.

Applied Geomatics Research program is a second diploma meant to complement the Advanced Diploma in Geographic Sciences. This program emphasizes the application of GIS in a research environment where students are paired up with outside organizations where they work on real world projects. The GIS program has been very successful due to the significant federal investment into the infrastructure of the program providing students with the latest software products, GPS equipment and even LIDAR and high-resolution aerial photography.

“Since January 2000, AGRG has conducted applied research on the application of geomatics technologies to research questions in the environmental sciences, natural resource management and health informatics sectors. The AGRG group has a particularly unique expertise in LiDar technology, being one of the few post secondary educational institutions in the world with its own airborne and ground based LiDAR systems.”

COGS also offers a few other variations of GIS programs including a two year Diploma in Geographic Sciences designed for students that do not have a University degree, a GIS for Business program where GIS is utilized for solving business related problems.

Contact

Nova ScotiaCommunityCollege
Annapolis Valley Campus
50 Elliott Road
Lawrencetown, NS
BOS 1M0

902-825-3491 / avc.info@nscc.ca

See the GIS Program page for more details.

Social media is a method for online networking interaction, using highly accessible and scalable publishing and marketing techniques. Traditionally people have always gained information, education and news through electronic and print media. Social media is distinct from industrial or traditional media, such as newspapers, television and film because it is relatively inexpensive and easily accessible to enable all most anyone to publish or access the information, compared to traditional media, which generally requires significant resources to publish, promote and distribute the information.

Web based social services make it possible to connect people that share common interests and activities across political, economic, and geographic borders. Several popular websites have begun to tap into the power of the social networking model for philanthropy. Such models provide a means for connecting otherwise fragmented industries and small organizations without the resources to reach a broader audience with interested users. Social networks are providing a different way for individuals to communicate digitally. These communities allow for the sharing of information and ideas, an old concept placed into a new digital environment.

CanadianGIS.com has been active with several social media web-based technologies for marketing, interactive communication and networking opportunities with others in the geomatics industry. You too should get involved in networking with us and others in GIS to help further build on the Geomatics foundation of your career.

I have provided some basic information below on ways that I have been social networking  with other GIS professionals and encourage you to try some of these as well (if you have not already done so). If you are looking for a starting point then contact me, I will be more than happy to network with you and help get your geomatics networking circle started.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn is the one of the largest professional networking web sites with over 80 million members and growing rapidly every day. The goal of LinkedIn is to help connect you to your trusted contacts and to help you exchange knowledge, ideas, and opportunities with a broader network of professionals in your field. There is a strong presence of GIS proffesionals on LinkedIn and the numbers continue to grow. 

The big difference with this social media site compared to others sites such as FaceBook is that it is more career orientated and an important place to have your resume, portfolio and other career tools listed.

If you had to choose only one social media networking site to join and really wanted one that can help boost your career then this would be the one to join.

To successfully grow your professional network, you often need to reach out to other people you already know or meet others with common interests and invite them to join your network. If you have not joined LinkedIn yet and you are trying to increase your presences in the geomatics industry then I really recommend that you consider joining LinkedIn (it is free, although they do have some paid services that can help you further).

You should check out and the Canadian GIS LinkedIn group – http://www.linkedin.com/groups/Canadian-GIS-4150297 - it is like an extension of the website where group members can post information, ask questions, interact, find jobs etc. And the best part is that the other members of the group are all there for the same reason. The group sends out weekly emails with updates so you can only tune into discussions that really interest you if you want. Currently there are over 500 members in the group from all regions of Canada.

Twitter

Twitter is a web site that offers a social media texting service, allowing its users to send and read messages shared among one another called tweets. Tweets are small text-based posts of up to 140 characters displayed on the user’s profile page. Users are encouraged to subscribe or follow to read other users’ tweets, also known as following and the subscribers are known as followers.

People send and receive tweets via the Twitter web site, compatible external applications (such as smart phones), or by text message through a smart messaging system (SMS). Tweets are made visible on users profiles to anybody (unless you chose to sign up for a private tweet account) as well as they are also get sent to the profile of any followers. So let’s say that Jon Doe has 10 followers, when he makes a tweet message, it will be posted to the twitter site for anybody to read on his profile and it will also be sent and placed on his 10 follower’s profiles, so obviously the more followers then the larger the audience who the message may reach. You may wonder how this can help you in your career; well once again it goes back to networking. The Twitter environment provides an easy way to connect and meet people that you may not know as well as share content and interact with others that have common interests such as colleagues or possible employers.

You will notice that many companies and professionals have gotten involved with sending and receiving messages on Twitter and CanadianGIS.com is no different, Recently GoGeomatics did some research to determine the 10 most influential Geomatics Twitter accounts and @CanadianGIS ranked 4th in Canada.

@CanadianGIS has over eight thousand followers so when I broadcast a Geomatics message on Twitter it reaches a large audience. Therefore if you are already a Twitter member or have considering joining then you should network with me on twitter and keep updated on GIS events, Geomatic related news, jobs, site updates and much more.

Other Social Media

I have been involved with social media for several years now and what the two methods that I have covered above are only a small insight to what I know about Social Media. There are many other social media programs and techniques that I use for both my career and to help market my portfolio and Geomatics related websites.

Twitter: @canadiangis 8,500+ followers @tedmackinnon  11,000+ followers

FaceBook: http://www.facebook.com/groups/canadiangis/ Free GIS job resources – 1200+ members joined so far, help make the group better by joining up. CanadianGIS also runs a facebook page with over 700 followers that have liked the page to get updates about our website and Canadian GIS  topics - http://www.facebook.com/CanadianGIS

LinkedIn: Join one of our up and coming LinkedIn groups GoGeomatics 400+ members & CanadianGIS group 500+ members  and feel free to connect with my personal network of 800+ LinkedIn professionals as well http://www.linkedin.com/in/tedmackinnon

Niagara College (Glendale Campus)

Location: Niagara on the Lake, Ontario
Program(s): GIS Certificate
Prerequisites: University degree or College Diploma

Info:

At Niagara College they combine GIS, remote sensing and geodatabase management together throughout the three terms. The one year GIS Certificate program at Niagara on the Lake Campus includes a thesis project that students work on for the whole term while working along side with employers to help design and implement real world GIS projects.

Niagara continuously updates their GIS program to meet the changing and evolving needs of the Geomatics industry. A full year long thesis project is required where students get to work with real employers designing and implementing real world GIS skills on a real world project. The Niagara College offers a $750 bursary to eligible students who are enrolled in full time Graduate Certificate Program such as the GIS program.

“When deciding to go back to school at the age of 36, I wanted to get into the Niagara College GIS/Geospatial Management program. When I found out that I needed to have a degree or relevant work experience to get in; I spent 5 ½ years in university to obtain a BSc. in Geography.

This program is THAT highly regarded.

While centered mostly on ESRI software and products, this program also provides experience in MapInfo, Manifold, AutoCAD Map 3D, ERDAS Imagine as well as various elements of programming. The best part of this program is the year long thesis project in which students apply to and partner with industry to provide real world GIS solutions to real clients.

While the program can sometimes be demanding, students will be incredibly prepared to enter the workforce. I do not know one person who ever regretted taking this program. The skills I learned in the program I use every day. “ Darren Platakis – Niagara College GIS Graduate

Contact Info

This link to an online web map was emailed to me recently and although it contains mainly American weather stations there are a good number of Canadian ones on there as well so I thought I would share it. NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) is an an Operating Unit of the U.S. Department of Commerce that provides a National Weather Service.

The Weather Service provides weather, hydrologic, and climate forecasts and warnings for the United States, its territories, adjacent waters and ocean areas, for the protection of life and property and the enhancement of the national economy.

Their operational server maintains a current database of meteorological and hydrological data, historical data, and written information generated by the NWS or other official sources.

In addition, their server accesses in real-time a selection of current weather observations, forecasts, and warnings from U.S. government sources for use by the national and international community.  They also offer many other Weather services on their website such as storm watch, alerts, local and regional information and much more.

Moving the cursor over one of the symbols on the map will reveal data for the weather station of that area and is usually clickable, opening another web page with more information, details and measurements. It would be nice if they could expand a little further north to include all of Canada but in the mean time if you are located in Ontario, the Prairies or the Southern Rockies then maybe you can make use of this interactive weather mapping tool.