Learning to Teach Open Web Mapping Technologies
ISBN 978-85-88783-11-9
Authors
1Sack, C.M.; 2Roth, R.; 3Donohue, R.G.
1UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON GEOGRAPHY Email: cmsack@wisc.edu
2UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON GEOGRAPHY Email: reroth@wisc.edu
3UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY GEOGRAPHY Email: rgdonohue@uky.edu
Abstract
This poster follows up on a study to evaluate Open Web Platform (HTML/CSS/JavaScript) mapping technologies presented at the 2013 International Cartographic Conference. That research was undertaken to replace the use of Adobe Flash in the UW-Madison Interactive Cartography and Geovisualization curriculum—a shift necessitated by the lack of support for Flash in mobile devices—and led us to select Leaflet and D3 as Open Web alternatives to teach. This poster presents the results to date of our experience teaching these technologies. Unlike the integrated development environment of Flash, Open Web technologies require teaching a multicomponent web mapping workflow. The workflow begins with setting up a development environment and data collection and formatting, then proceeds through representation of the of the data and the addition of enablements for interaction with the web map, and is finalized through deployment on a web server. Different tools and technologies are used for each stage of the workflow, requiring us to teach multiple overlapping skillsets. We organized the curriculum as a set of lessons or modules. These were taught during weekly two-hour laboratory period. Sessions early in the semester each featured multiple modules, with a heavy emphasis on instructorled demonstrations and activities. We attempted to design each module to integrate and build on skills introduced in prior modules. The modules became fewer per period and more integrated across the web mapping workflow as the semester progressed and students’ web mapping skills developed. The first module was an assignment to complete an online JavaScript tutorial through either Lynda.com or CodeAcademy to provide the necessary foundation for learning the class material. Each subsequent module fit within a set of three larger laboratory assignments. The first of these assignments made use of the Leaflet code library to introduce students to the basic workflow for creating a slippy map, or interactive web map relying on prefabricated raster image tiles. The second assignment introduced the D3 code library, a data handling and vector-based representation and interaction toolkit, which addressed some higher concepts in JavaScript-based web development. The third assignment was a Final Project that students completed in groups, requiring them to design a web map from start to finish, make independent choices about what tools to use to accomplish their goals, and collaborate with their peers in imitation of a professional work environment. Each week that a lab assignment was due was partially dedicated to individualized assistance to students struggling to solve problems independently, and such assistance was given outside of the lab periods as well. The final five weeks of the semester were dedicated solely to independent group work on the final project with instructor assistance only given as necessary to overcome very difficult problems (Figure 2). We conducted a case study of curriculum using students who completed the course in Fall Semester, 2014 to ascertain students’ learning outcomes and to delineate points of confusion so as to determine where improvements might be made to future iterations. Our case study consisted of student surveys, narrative feedback from students, narrative instructor observations, and performance measurement instruments including progress checkpoints and rubrics. A full analysis of the data will be conducted and a synopsis of the results reported on the poster.
Keywords
Open Source; Web Mapping; Teaching