Functionality of digital atlases (with school atlases as an example)

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Functionality of digital atlases(with school
atlases as an example)

• Ferjan Ormeling

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paper atlases/ interactive atlases/view-only
atlases analytical atlases

•  
• static dynamic
• passive interactive
• maps only maps and multimedia
• limited/selective complete
• compromise for all types panning and zooming
• of use possible
• Fixed map frames customized
• maps as final product maps as interface

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interactivity

• Specific interactivity refers to the access to
  the database through the map. When one clicks a
  power plant symbol on an Energy map, the nature,
  name and capacity of the plant will show up.
• Background interactivity refers to the provision
  of textual information on the methods used in the
  map, or to explanations of the patterns shown.
• General interactivity interactivity refers to the
  possibility to click on any symbol in order to
  find out what it symbolizes a tree, a coal mine
  or a savanna, etc.

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Geography education objectives (main)

• providing a spatial frame of reference, providing
  an understanding of the existence of various
  physical environments that can be used
  differently by man providing for a potential
  critical evaluation of socio-economic phenomena,
  and for the awareness that one should not pass on
  this planet to the next generation in a worse
  condition

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Geography education objectives (addit.)

• getting to learn to manipulate simple
  (statistical) digital files
• - getting to know one's home region through
  simple research techniques
• - acquiring the ability to link the perception of
  the risk to be hit by natural disasters (such as
  inundations) to the actual risks
• perceiving the fact how specific interests may
  colour one's judgement and thereby one's
  representation of reality

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Influences on functionality required (for school
atlas)

• Curriculum requirements
• electronic medium opportunities,
• the atlas concept characteristics, expected atlas
  use contributions to the curriculum
• contents of the paper atlas it was derived from

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Philosophy behind the curriculum requirements

• Learn to handle information systems,
• Learn to query digital databases, in order to get
  access to relevant spatial information, needed to
  solve problems with a spatial component

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Electronic medium opportunities

• On the basis of the electronic medium, one
  expects from an electronic (school) atlas
  interactivity, animations and multimedia.

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Atlas concept characteristics

• On the basis of the atlas concept, the electronic
  atlas should contain
• - exercises in comparing maps
• - exercises in working with access
• mechanisms
• - general map use exercises
• - references to cartographic rhetoric.

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• On the basis of the geography education
  objectives the atlas should contain material on
• - natural disaster risk perception
• - it should provide leads for the study of one's
  own home region.

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Influence from the maps in the paper atlas

• The maps in the digital atlas will be linked by
  style and contents to the maps in the analog atlas

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complementarity

• Because of different functionality, paper and
  electronic school atlas can never provide the
  same services to education. They should
  complement each other. The paper atlas should
  interest in the subject and the electronic atlas
  should provide additional information.

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Functions available in digital atlases

• I General functions
• II Navigation functions
• III Map functions
• IV Database functions
• V Atlas functions
• VI Educational functions
• VII Cartographic functions
• VIII Map use functions
• IX Other functions

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I General functions

• the ability to produce screen dumps
• the ability to save, import or export files.
• ability to print out
• ability to (normal computer functions)

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II Navigation functions

• a) the ability to retrieve or mark the route
  followed through the atlas
• b) the ability to retrieve the starting position
  in the atlas
• c) the ability to show on an overview map the
  position of the cursor in the area one zoomed in
  upon.
• d) the possibility to show on a "map" or scheme
  where exactly the user is in the electronic atlas
• e) the ability to jump from one map with a
  specific theme to another one with the same theme
• f) the ability to jump from one map of an area to
  other maps of the same area with different themes
• g) the ability to show the north arrow at the
  point of the cursor.

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III Map functions

• Ability to turn the legend on/off
• Provision of marginal information
• Provision of 4D information to be queried at any
  point on the map
• long, lat,
• altitude,
• local time)

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IV Database functions

• the possibility to perform whatever queries on
  the database, but especially
• the ability to query all map objects regarding
  their attribute information (including the
  statistical files behind a thematic map).

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V Atlas functions

• the ability to access the atlas information and
  the ability to compare files on the same area by
  confronting their visualisations with each other
  through different windows
• the ability to provide largest resolution
  representations of maps on which typed-in place
  names are rendered.
• the ability to compare different maps on the
  screen.

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VI Educational functions

• Provision of explanatory texts behind the maps,
  that explain map patterns
• memory-functions (where did I stop last time?)
• indicating preferential routes to be followed
  through the atlas
• subdividing the subject matter into parts that
  can be accessed when certain criteria are met
• monitoring pupil's achievements
• providing animations of processes
• working with simple models
• game functions
• competition functions (who performed the test
  with the best score, or within the shortest
  time?)

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VII Cartographic functions

• the ability to change or modify the
  representation on the monitor change colours and
  class boundaries or classification systems, so
  for example
• the ability for zooming and scrolling
• the ability to produce one's own maps on the
  basis of the files made available
• the ability to update or to add one's own
  information
• the provision of explanatory schemes for every
  projection used
• the ability to change projections
• the ability to rotate maps

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VIII Map use functions

• annotation functions,
• measuring functions
• simple GIS functions
• the possibility to annotate maps in the atlas
• the possibility to mark the maps (with lines,
  point symbols) and have these manual additions
  plotted separately
• the ability to show imagery behind hotspots
• the ability to show animations, with the use of
  slide bars
• measurement functions (for distances, surface
  areas, traveling times, directions)
• the ability to analyse correlations between map
  images
• the ability to work with simple GIS functions
  like buffer or overlay

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IX Other functions

• for accessing texts,
• for accessing graphics,
• for accessing animations
• for accessing sound.

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Which functions should we select for school
atlases?

• Our final product has to be
• -inexpensive
• -manageable
• -handy,
• So we have to make a selection of all the
  functions we would like to have, relevant for the
  product and audience targeted

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Wht functions to select for our school atlas?
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Proposed hierarchy of functions

• 1) zoom and scroll functions
• 2) the possibility to query all map objects
• 3) accessing large-scale maps with the required
  locations by entering place names
• 4) including explanatory texts behind the maps
• 5) ease of retrieving the start position in the
  atlas
• 6) overview map function
• 7) showing user's position in the atlas on a map
  or scheme
• 8) ability to compare maps through use of
  adjoining windows
• 9) marking routes through the atlas
• 10) showing images behind hotspots on the maps

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• So amongst the first 10 functions that are deemed
  essential there are no animations, computational
  functions, modifications of the database,
  provision of 4 dimensional data on locations,
  neither are competition or pupil monitoring
  functions.

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Scenarios and strategies

• The selected functions, added to the subject
  matter prescribed by the curriculum, have to be
  integrated in an overall scenario which links the
  various parts into a meaningful whole
• In this case it might be appropriate to devise a
  strategy for getting the new medium accepted
  first

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Strategy, continued

• A first step might be the publication of a
  diskette in order to get teachers used to the new
  medium, with simple statistic files mapping
  programme (t1).
• The second phase would be the introduction of a
  CD-ROM next to the current school atlas with more
  extensive files and games, addressing tasks
  impossible with the paper atlas, which can also
  access website (t2).
• The third phase might be publication of a CD-ROM
  with a sized-down version of the paper atlas
  (t4)
• The fourth phase might be a diskette with all the
  data also contained in the paper atlas (t8?)

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Diskette

• teaching topography, (game)
• learning to handle statistical information
  (provide statistics and base mp for same map as
  in the atlas and make a biased map)
• learning to study one's home region.Obviously,
  there will be no storage room for specific
  information on the home environment of every
  student. The only feasible thing to do would be
  to create an opportunity to access relevant
  topographical or statistical files and create an
  infrastructure to import these data from which,
  at a municipality level, a number of parameters
  can be accessed. It is especially relevant to see
  whether the situation is better or worse in
  neighbouring municipalities!

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CD t2 the themes used to transfer relevant
skills would be, for the Netherlands

• the home environment
• evaluation of the atlas structure and the
  influence of the editor/cartographer on the
  perception
• risk perception of natural disasters
• learning topography and working with satellite
  imagery
• learning to handle and analyse simple statistical
  files
• Working with animated files

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Final CD Map as gateway to real world

• The map as gateway to the real world metaphor, or
  to put it more modestly, as interface to our
  databases , necessitates all map objects to be
  queryable. This presupposes knowledge of atlas
  structure, and of access mechanisms, such as name
  indexes, subject indexes and indexes of
  cartographic hotspots that can be zoomed-in upon.
  

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evaluation mechanisms

• - learning effectiveness - ease of use
• - cost - availability
• - interactivity - ease of access
• - interaction styles - quality of experience
• - synchronicity - level of imbedded intelligence
• - continuity - effectiveness of media
  utilization
• - cohesiveness - nature and level of ancillary
• 
  support
• - interface quality - complexity of delivery
  element
• - engagement - tailorability

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Functionality of the school atlas as compared to
that of other software packages
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• Practical examples comparison of an 1989
  interactive diskette atlas with a 2003 national
  web atlas

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North Sea Transportation Atlas No title
pagesteer by typing letters
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• Part of the explanation
• North Sea Transport Atlas
• Hydrodynamic model
• Transport model
• Use of the display programme
• Technical details of the display programme
• r) Return to main file

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Graphical hardware definition menu
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Functionality of North Sea atlas

• No printing
• Interactivity
• Awkward navigation you have to end first before
  you can enter new parameters
• Limited colour selection
• No names
• No possibilities to query
• Possibility of two scale levels

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National Atlas Information Service, Canada

• Oldest on-line national atlas
• Long development time (1984- )
• Various organisational changes
• Now aiming for public-private partnerships
• Combined with educational projects (so tht
  Ministry of Education will also pay) and with
  Canadian Communities project (so that Ministry of
  the Interior will contribute)
• Confusing structure, but many functions

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Redefinition of themes, modern terminology
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Public-private partnerships
Links with names data base and with topographic
maps
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Alphabetical selection of map themes
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Sales desk function
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Selection of maps to be sold
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Preview of maps to be sold
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Statistics function
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Zoomm function
Base map function
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Explanatory function
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Zoom, continued
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Zoom, continued
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News function
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Additional functions
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So what functions have we got?
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Functionality of NAIS

• Map archive function
• Place name search function (link with
  gazetteer/names data base)
• Present named object on largest possible scale
• alphabetical selection of map themes
• topical selection of map themes
• Geographical selection of map areas
• Map commentary option
• Statistics option

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Functionality of NAIS (cont.)

• Zoom option (with additional resolution)
• Help function
• Print function
• Overview function (inset map)
• Sales desk function
• Query function (if you click an area, name,
  statistics will pop up)
• Base map function (add items or dump them)

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Functionality of NAIS (cont.)

• Animation function (title page)
• News function (to stimulate revisits)
• Feature functions ( ,, )
• Games function (quizz)
• Learning resources
• Glossary
• Relevant links
• Facts about Canada
• Data and services (aimed at industry, OGC)