For this weeks lab assignment we were tasked with creating a personal map of Carleton. For mine I used this spreadsheet which details some of the places around campus that I like or that I have spent the most time on even if this year I do not.
The first decision that I had to make was which map to use I settled for one from 1964 because I thought it was interesting to see if there were any changes from the way the college looks from the air today, then I changed the way that the labels were applied, I decided to go for a count of the days a week visited because it helped me put into perspective the changes I have made in my schedule over the past year, how last year I would spend 6 or 7 days a week in the library just doing homework, same for Boliou and yet this year I only spend as much time as I need to and little more.
I think my thoughts on mapping in DH were already properly portrayed in my blog post, however to sum those up I think that the intersection of traditional maps and DH methods can provide interesting inputs into how societies evolve and how we can better improve the life of people that live in them by exploring maps of today and databases with information.
Lastly I think that while ArcGIS has a lot of capabilities, most of which I have not been able to explore, I think that it super confusing to use to the point that this lab took me much longer than I expected it would. But I will agree with the notion that if someone was able to properly use it and learn it then the possibilities for understanding data would be infinite since they could make it so that only professionals understand what they are looking at or the general public and that sense I think it is a great platform.
3 thoughts on “Mapping Carleton with things I like! – Lab week 6”
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It is super reassuring to hear that someone else was also struggling with using ArcGIS and that this Lab also took way longer than expected. I also totally agree that someone with the ability to use the program properly would probably be able to use the program to its fullest extent and could do things within it that I couldn’t possibly think of. I really enjoyed the background map you chose, as it makes the markers for the building stand out.
I really like how you added a map from 1964, it adds a really interesting vibe to your project. I like how you tracked visits by days of the week, it is a cool way to see how our habits change over time. I also agree that ArcGIS can feel overly complicated and I really hope that they can figure out a way to make it more simplified.
Hi Conrado, I really like the way you visualize your map. The contrasting black-and-white landscape and red buildings really make it easy to recognize the locations you’re pointing at. I’m also intrigued with the way you chose an “up” arrow to showcase the exact longitude and latitude. I also agree that ArcGIS is kind of a pain to use.