ArcGIS Online definitely has a bit of a learning curve…or should I say.. arc? [ba dum tss]
When using ArcGIS Online for the first time, I was pleasantly surprised by the ease and versatility of the platform for creating web maps. Our goal was to map the provenance of a neolithic clay jar from the Majiayao culture in northwest China, and we were able to do so with just a few clicks.
One of the key decisions we made was to change the symbols on the map to represent the different stages of the work’s life in regard to its origin, sale, importation to the US, and donation to Carleton. This allowed us to not only visualize the location of the jar but also display the journey it took with a quick glance. We also added labels that displayed the names of the stages rather than the locations of the object because of the imprecise addresses of its provenance. Our lines that trace the movement of the object are also rather simple due to the labyrinthine nature of the ArcGIS user interface.
The potential of web mapping for digital arts and humanities work is vast. By mapping cultural and historical objects and events, we can gain new insights and perspectives into the life of a particular subject. It’s a magnificent tool to present complex information in an accessible and engaging manner, bringing stories to life in a way that wouldn’t be possible with traditional forms of presentation.
ArcGIS Online is a particularly useful platform for this kind of work, as it offers a wide range of tools and features that allow you to create interactive and engaging maps. Its clean interface, extensive documentation, and active user community make it moderately accessible to users of all levels, and its versatility makes it suitable for a wide range of projects.
In conclusion, my experience with ArcGIS Online has been a mostly positive one, and I’m interested in possibly using it for future mapping projects—its potential for DH work is unlimited.
5 thoughts on “The Learning Arc of ArcGIS Online”
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Great pun! I think we had similar processes in the creation of our maps, especially with the symbols. I really liked how you chose different symbols to be associated with different locations. I also like the point you bring up about how it can help us gain insight into the life of a subject. This makes me think it would also be interesting to map living subjects as well.
This looks great! You mentioned that there is a time slider in ArcGIS? If so, how did you implement that?
I also 100% agree with your take on the user interface as “labyrinthine”, I find the user interface to be very noisy and sometimes just counterintuitive and buggy. I know that the classical view is by far more compact and confusing than the regular view, but I’m guessing there are a lot more capabilities with the classical view. Definitely a trade off.
I really like your thoughts on the potential of web mapping, and I totally agree with you that it could potentially offer new angles to the life of culturally and historically important objects. I found ArcGIS very useful as well. I think it is intuitive and accessible to users. In terms of your web map, it is really cool that you used different symbols to represent the different stages of the work’s life. Like you said in your post, the symbols allow audiences to understand the journey of the object at a quick glance.
Interesting post here, I also thought the ArcGIS online platform was easy to learn. The user interface made the process simple and straightforward. I also like that you used different symbols to visualize the different parts of the process. I think that ArcGIS ca allow many different new types of data visualizations that may not be seen without it.
Funny – my group tried for quite a while to change the symbol for each individual stop on our object’s journey and were unable to do so; we ended up leaving them all as red flags instead of flags that change color (with Northfield having a checkered flag). It’s nice to hear you had a smoother process, and it’s cool to see what it would look like to properly figure out the symbol feature. I think changing the names of each point to the state of the object rather than the location itself is an interesting choice. It definitely gives the viewer a sense of the various stops that were made, but leaves the viewer to figure out the exact locations for themselves by zooming in. Cool visualization!