Overview
Layered information systems gain their power by indexing some kinds of information to graphical or other types of representations. GIS and Google Earth are examples (mapping data on representations of real geographical locations), but so is Second Life (layering data on a virtual world foundation).* Since the term "layered information systems" does not imply that the foundational layer of information be spatial, the collective consciousness of the BORG in StarTrek could be a foundational layer upon which the trifling sensations of individual Borg agents might be layered. This category clearly overlaps with other categories, but the concept has to do with the semantic or perceptual leverage gained by mapping layers of information against a common universal layer.
We typically think of the common universal layer as predating the "mashup" hybrid, where layers of foreign data are indexed to the common layer (e.g. a climate content add-on is indexed to Google Maps). An interesting question arises, however, about whether disparate layers of information can create a common universal layer. For example, a 3D digital imagine of the CN tower can be made from a collection of photographs taken over time by different photographers on different media. The 3D image of the CN tower, made from the amalgam of the photos, is distinct from (and greater than the sum of) the individual photos. Yet, it does not incorporate the unnecessary information (people, objects) that many of the individual photos contain.
*If you would like to have an idea of how individual sets of data are layered on the spatial graphics of Second Life, you can watch this relatively short YouTube video (it concentrates on the mercantile layers). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b72CvvMuD6Q
Pedagogical Goals and Approaches
By the end of the class, you should be able to do the following:
a) Make a simple mashup using Google Earth cartographic templates, photos, video and text.
b) Give examples of how GIS applications are currently being used in education.
c) Explain the advantages of using GIS as a pedagogical tool.
d) Forecast future uses of GIS software.
The kinds of knowledge building that happen in such communities might occur when someone manages to identify important patterns in a certain data layer (e.g. recent home sales figures, based on a mapping to Google Earth) or to create an application based on available information (a homebuyer's companion application) that connects into the Google Earth API/ Web services.
Here's an interesting article that details how Google could makeover its GoogleMaps system into a knowledge-building community.
Specific examples from past classes (see Implementations, below)
-It would be clever and educational to deliver the introductory information about GIS-i.e. both the information on these wiki pages and in the presenters' class lecture-in a GIS application itself!
-A wonderful idea would be to create a Clue game on My Maps (Google Maps), give students access to the map and a provide them with an initial clue about the map location of the next clue. The students will work independently (or in teams, if there are not enough computers) and visit various locations on the map to discover the clues (e.g. at the AGO, students might discover that Colonel Mustard is innocent). The student who solves the mystery will also have to prove that she visited all the necessary sites by drawing a line to each clue location (therefore practicing some rudimentary mapping skills). If the GIS software is sophisticated enough, clues can be hidden on the sides of 3-D buildings (advertisers are now buying space on blank billboards in virtual "fly-throughs" of cities, so this capability should soon be possible).
-A good idea that is perhaps too ambitious for the class time limits would be to have the students create a virtual Field Trip based on a previous trip that they took. Students could follow the instructions for mounting a virtual trip on Google Earth from the ATEEC video and then implement it in class. Preparation would include bringing digital photos and video with them to class so they don't have to serach for generic ones on the net. At the end of the exercise, students could present their field trip or mount a link on the implementation page so others could see it.
-Although it is reputedly time-consuming, students could set up an account with Second Life (the first avatar is free). During class time, students could collectively visit one of the Second Life virtual libraries and check out material (i.e. read a text or download an MP3 while online). This exercise would give them an experience of a complex, innovative layered information system.
-For our in-class exercise, students will create a mashup with the theme "My Special Place in Toronto," where they will index text, photos, video about one of their favourite locales in Toronto to a Google Earth map. To further practice their mapping skills, they will be required to draw a route from our KMDI class location to their chosen location. They will have two models from the presenters to guide them. At the end of the exercise, students will present their maps to the rest of the class.
-One idea for homework was to hold a kind of treasure hunt where people used Google Earth to find multipoint data (e.g. Find a movie theatre that is close to a natural attraction, near a city of more than 3 million people and serves coffee.) Or hopefully better examples than that!
-Another notion was to get the class to actually build a Google Earth layer of some kind, related to their OWN past experiences - e.g. where we had all lived, places we'd traveled, etc.
N.B. In-class experiences should engage students in learning with the technologies.
Reflections, Evaluations and Ideas for the Future
Future Applications of GIS and Layered Information Systems in General
- Virtual guide in a museum (Naomi Szeben)
- The above idea (virtual guide in a museum) has gotten me (Alison, hello everyone...) thinking about how layered information is presented - specifically, what are the possibilities or layered sounds being incorporated into these systems? Layered information isn't limited to being represented in maps, images, graphics, and textual formats. I think there is potential for for the integration of sounds, narrative, and soundscapes into layered information systems of many kinds. This is probably straying from using GIS and LIS to support knowledge communities, but... I also think there are interesting parallels to be drawn between these systems and collage art forms (such as visual collages or audio mashups).
- Web advertisements that brings in potential customers and lets them explore the product or service at their own pace (Naomi Szeben)
- Cyberspace, a virtual world available to people who interface directly with computers, is a layered information system. "Cyber-cowboys," as
Sci-Fi novelist William Gibson refers to them, navigate this virtual landscape where information--mostly proprietary--takes the form of shapes
(e.g. skyscrapers). The information is the landscape. - In a cruder form, the Wachowski brothers' Matrix trilogy introduced the idea of an immersive layered information system where prodigies,
like the protagonist "Neo," could see and manipulate the information (computer coding layers) behind the foundational spatial layer. - If we consider the future of layered information systems in general, we can entertain a popular post-human scenario. Consider "techlepathy"
(technologically enabled telepathy). People connect to others via neural network. Although this hive mind would give people the benefit of a
collective consciousness (the foundational layer in a layered information system), what threats does this innovation pose to privacy and
individuality? Could minds be "hacked"? How might the digital divide impact the way in which this technology is used? Would it exacerbate
existing inequities?
Resources
- Google Earth
- [iPhone] - e.g., the spoons application, or tim-finder
- other handheld applications - also see smart spaces...
AM/FM/GIS. (2007, September 11). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 19:57,
October 12, 2007, from
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=AM/FM/GIS&oldid=157139156
At-location mapping. (2007, April 13). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 20:46,
October 12, 2007, from [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=At- location_mapping&oldid=122422795]
Baker, Thomas R. 2000. Introducing GIS in the classroom: A process framework. (see attachement: process.pdf
http://tbaker.com/tbaker/academics/papers/published/gis_nsta_article/GIS_nsta_oct00.PDF
Brower, A. M., & Carroll, L. (2007, March & April). Spatial and temporal aspects of alcohol-related crime in a college town. Journal of American
College Health, 55(5). pp. 267-75.
Cain, Patrick. (Toronto Star Editor). Map of the Week (Maps of Toronto showing transit usage, accidents, etc)
Dunn, C. (2007, October 9). Google Transit: Now with handy Google Maps. Treehugger.
Retrieved Octiver 10, 2007, from
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/10/google_transit_1.php
Geographic information system. (2007, October 09). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.
Retrieved 19:59, October 09, 2007, from
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Geographic_information_system&oldid=163484302
GIS in archaeology. (2007, October 8). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 21:07,
October 12, 2007, from
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=GIS_in_archaeology&oldid=163140263
Lbell927. (2006, August 3). Alliance Second Life Library 2.0. Talis Developer Network
[website]. Retrieved October 11, 2007, from http://www.talis.com/tdn/node/1506
McClurg, P.A., & Buss, A. (2007, March). Professional development: Teachers use of GIS to enhance
student learning. Journal of Geography, 106 (2). pp79-87.
Public Participation GIS. (2007, July 11). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 21:30,
October 12, 2007, from
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Public_Participation_GIS&oldid=143957898
Taylor, C. (2007, September 5). How one school in Australia uses Google Earth. Google Earth
Community [Education-Educators forum]. Retrieved October 10, 2007, from
http://bbs.keyhole.com/ubb/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/888523/an/0/page/888523
Techniques for Using GIS in the Classroom, 1997, Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc http://www.esri.com/industries/k-
12/download/docs/techsuse.pdf
United States Geological Survey. (2007, February 22). Geographic Information Systems?
[website] Retrieved October 10, 2007, from
http://erg.usgs.gov/isb/pubs/gis_poster/#applications
Implementations:
Layered Information Systems, Winter, 2010
Layered Information Systems, Fall, 2008
Layered Information Systems, Fall, 2007
Google Earth and GIS, Fall, 2006
Comments (1)
Oct 17, 2007
N says:
I loved watching the video on how to make a route, but I found that steps, 1, 5 ...I loved watching the video on how to make a route, but I found that steps, 1, 5 and 6 were either incredibly slow to load, or just completely defunct. I was able to gather how it worked via the the rest of the working video.
That said, a great application for this would be Tourism Toronto: an interactive route for people with particular hobbies or interests: Routes of theaters and theater supply shops, hotels, bus routes to Niagara on the lake's Stratford Festival.