FAQ | la-k12-gis

What is GIS?

A geographic information system (GIS) is a computer system for capturing, storing, checking, and displaying data related to its location.

GIS can show many different kinds of data on one map. This enables people to more easily see, analyze, and understand patterns and relationships.

With GIS technology, people can compare the locations of different things in order to discover how they relate to each other.

For example, using GIS, the same map could include sites that produce pollution, such as gas stations, and sites that are sensitive to pollution, such as wetlands. Such a map would help people determine which wetlands are most at risk.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What do I do if I want to start teaching GIS to my students?

Teaching spatial thinking and enabling students to solve their spatial related problems can be effectively done using Geographic Information System software. Teachers need tools that will teach content and promote independent analysis of curricular material. GIS desktop and online software are such tools.

This link is a good place to start.

Attending the Teaching Teachers to Teach Institute is strongly suggested. Information about this institute can be found here.

Can I get started without a login?

Yes, you can get started right now at no charge. All you need is a computer and access to the internet.

Click here to get started. There is plenty of information, maps, apps, and map layers for you to use.

One of the most informative areas is "Instructions Docs." Click on Instructions Docs and go to #4. AGO Skillbuilder. You can use all of Level One: Explorer, using ArcGIS without logging in.

School counselors, especially, can use this document as an assessment tool. This document offers a real environment you can work with. There are self checks along the way.

Anybody can do this! Get started!

When do I need to request an Organization Account for ArcGIS Online?

Using the Skillbuilder document, and once you have mastered Level One and Level Two, you are probably ready to request an Organizational Account.

If you are a school administrator, principal or teacher, you may want to begin by requesting an Organizational Account. Click here to request an Organization Account.

Get started here. Click on Instructions Docs. Go to #4. AGO Skillbuilder. Scroll down to Level Three: GeoAnalyst (page 10).

Moving into an ArcGIS Online Organization Account will allow you to grow existing skills to a more professional level, while also adding capacity and capabilities to your account.

What is the difference between a 'public account' and 'subscription account'?

The ArcGIS Online public account is a free account available at www.arcgis.com while the ArcGIS Online Subscription is available to members of a paid organization account.

In the map viewer interface, a web map can be created using map and feature services that are publicly shared. The web map can be saved to the content area of your personal account. All content is private unless you choose to share it. Once shared, it is publicly available to all users of ArcGIS Online. Content includes maps, applications, and files contained within your personal content area.

The ArcGIS Online subscription account is available to members of a paid organization account. In the map viewer interface, a web map can be created using map and feature services that are publicly shared. The web map can be saved to the content area of your organization account.

Click here to see a comparison table of the different account types.

Is the content I upload onto ArcGIS Online made public?

With an organization account, you may choose to keep your content private, share it with other members of the organization, or share it publicly with all users of ArcGIS Online, public or organization accounts. All content is private unless you choose to share it.

What is a public account?

Public accounts are also available for individuals. A public account allows you to create, store, and manage maps, apps, and data and share them with others. You also get access to content shared by Esri and GIS users around the world.

Get started by creating a public account. If you already have an Esri Account, it is automatically a public account. Open a web browser to www.arcgis.com, sign in with your account, and get started using ArcGIS Online.

Click here to learn more.

Changes to ArcGIS Online?

Click here to read more about recent changes in ArcGIS or for more information on what makes up a "group" within an organization.

Map Notes: How to add an Image URL and/or Image Link URL

1. Open ‘Map’ in ArcGIS online.

2. Click ‘Add Map Notes’.

3. Create a Map Note, select your point on the map.

4. There are two fields to complete in the Map Notes dialogue box:

Image URL – the photo you wish to display
Image Link URL – the website you want to connect to the photo

These instructions will help you to complete each.

5. Find an image that relates to your point. This can be from any number of sources (Drop Box, Google Images, Flckr, it must an online service). We are giving you instructions for getting pictures from Google Images.

6. From Google Images, double click on the image you want to use, it will open up on the right as a single image.

7. Image URL: Right click and ‘Copy Image Address’ and paste it in the Image URL field.

IMPORTANT Make sure https:// is not in the link twice. Toggle to the front of the URL to check. If it’s there twice, delete one of them.

8. Image Link URL:: (This field links a website to the image you are using. The image ought to be related to the website, keep this in mind) Browse to a website you wish your Image to connect to. Copy the websites URL, this will be the ‘Image Link URL’, paste it in the bottom box in the Map Notes dialogue box.

IMPORTANT: Make sure https:// is not in the link twice. Toggle to the front of the URL to check. If it’s there twice, delete one of them.

9. Close point, click on “x” and save map.

10. Now, when you click on a Map Note and click on the Image, you will be transported to the website provided.

How do I find High-Resolution Images on Google?

To search on Google for images of a specific size, please see below for the instructions:

Go to https://images.google.com/
In the search field, enter what you are searching for and the image size needed (i.e. Lincoln Memorial 2000x1500)

i.e.

Sometimes, there are search results mixed in that are not the desired/searched for image size. To double-check the image size, follow the steps below:

Click on the image
Your image will open in an enlarged preview pane on the right-hand side of the screen. Hover mouse over the enlarged preview, the image size will then display in the lower-left corner of the enlarged preview.

How do I download the Most Beautiful Places images onto an iPad?

To download the images needed to complete Story Map Tour - Most Beautiful Places onto an iPad:

Go to lagisk12.com >> Useful Links >> GIS Photos. Here they will find the 10 images needed for the activity.
Students should click on the image they want to download, so it opens in Dropbox. From here, they can download the image by clicking the “Download” button on the top left. You do not need to Sign In to Dropbox at any point in this process.

Downloading in Dropbox saves our image into your files, not in your Photos App. So following the first download, a blue downwards-facing arrow in a circle should appear next to their URL bar.

Click this arrow to open a popup that will say the downloaded image's name.

2. To save the image to your iPad's Photos App, click the name of the image and click "Save Image".

Verify that the image now appears in your Photos App. If your image has been successfully downloaded then you are ready to start the activity. Important Note: Downloading the images to your Photos App removes the file names, so you will have to defer back to the Dropbox window to know the named location of each image.

How do I download the Most Beautiful Places images onto a Chromebook?

To download the images needed to complete Story Map Tour - Most Beautiful Places onto an Chromebook:

Go to lagisk12.com >> Useful Links >> GIS Photos. Here they will find the 10 images needed for the activity.
Students should click on the image they want to download, so it opens in Dropbox. From here, they can download the image by clicking the “Download” button on the top left. You do not need to Sign In to Dropbox at any point in this process.

Your image should now be saved and found in the "Downloads" tab of your File Explorer.

If your images is not appearing in your Downloads:

Click "Download" again in Dropbox.
Then, click "SHOW IN FOLDER" in the download popup. This will bring you to where the image has been downloaded to. I recommend copying all of the images you download into a folder on your Desktop titled "GIS Photos" for easy access later.