If you are using the legacy ArcGIS Online tile services in your apps and maps, then it’s time to upgrade to the new ArcGIS basemap layer service. The legacy tile services are in mature status and are no longer being updated. April 30, 2022 is the deadline to upgrade to the new services. Click below for more information and how to upgrade to the new services.
The in-person workshops are back, along with the opportunity for one-on-one chats with ESRI staff. After being a virtual event for two years, the ESRI Developer Summit returns to Palm Springs, March 8–11, 2022. Click below for more info and to register.
If you are a firefighter, you might find WindNinja Mobile a great tool to have while out in the field. WindNinja Mobile, which can be downloaded for free from app marketplaces such as the Apple App Store and Google Play, was mainly created for firefighters with mobile devices or tablets who need to quickly compute and visualize wind direction and speed simulations. Click below to read an article about it.
Thousands of GIS professionals have signed up for ESRI’s free online course to learn how to make beautiful maps using ArcGIS Pro. If you’re interested in exploring the cartographer’s craft and trying out the latest ArcGIS Pro mapping tools, you are invited to join the course too.
In the course, ESRI’s top cartographers review essential mapping concepts and share tips and techniques to create accurate maps that showcase your data and analysis results.
The course includes the following:
Join the course, get inspired, and do more with maps. The course runs from February 16 to March 30. Click here for more info and to register for the course.
Virtual workshop, February 23rd, click here for more info and to register.
The California Chapter of URISA is pleased to offer its current members a virtual workshop designed to provide insights and guidelines for managing private industry and public agency GIS programs. This professional development opportunity will look at the various organizational and technical issues program managers must address in order to develop a successful GIS program. The course material will cover all aspects of GIS project and on-going program management including such areas as:
The workshop will focus on practical issues and challenges faced by GIS managers. It is structured to allow adequate time to discuss important topics and for attendees to ask questions and present their own experiences.
Interested? Here are the details:
Submit Your Idea for an ArcGIS StoryMap!
The Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) is excited to announce a major opportunity for college and university students in the region. The 2022 Student Showcase is a storymapping competition that challenges students to think innovatively and compete for cash prizes in two award categories: Best in Show and Audience Awards.
Student participants are invited to conceptualize, create and submit ArcGIS StoryMaps using SCAG’s open data. This is a meaningful way to tell a story or provide insight, showcase plans and projects, engage supporters and stakeholders, illustrate the possibilities of data, and highlight the usefulness of open data at the regional level.
Students are instructed to submit abstracts of their projects by Feb. 22, and if selected, SCAG will request an ArcGIS StoryMap to be submitted. In all, there will be a total of $6,000 awarded (one $2,000 first-place prize and one runner-up $1,000 prize each per category).
For more information on the 2022 Student Showcase, including the program guidelines, visit scag.ca.gov/student-showcase.
I thought it was time to start back up with the California Friday posts, about underrated or unusual places to visit in California, mostly in SoCal. So up to bat … Museum of Jurassic Technology!
Located at 9341 Venice Blvd in Culver City, this museum will probably have you leaving with a head full of questions and little answers! What did that all mean? Was any of it real? Was that display supposed to be broken? What was it anyway?
At the Museum of Jurassic Technology, exhibits have featured Soviet space dogs, sculptures smaller than a head of a pin, and letters written by people who may not have existed! As one travel book put it, “Searching for a unifying theme or logical narrative to explain the mystifying exhibits is an exercise in madness! As is trying to figure out what’s real and what’s not.”
You have to visit this place and enjoy the journey! You can find their web page here. They were closed for some time, but now you can visit by making advanced reservations.
Learning GIS is an important skill set, but the goal is to understand an issue or problem in a deeper, more holistic way, and then take action about the issue or communicate that issue to others.
Besides spatial and critical thinking, check out these top 10 educational benefits for students who use GIS.
If you are involved in teaching Geography/GIS at the community college level, you should check out this article.
… much of the growth of geography at the community college level is driven by the demand for GIS certifications and technical skill sets that can be acquired at two-year colleges.
The Education Workgroup of the California GIS Council is interested in gaining an understanding of how we can benefit the larger GIS Council and provide a bridge between the professional GIS community and the education community. Specifically, we are looking to 1) obtain input from current GIS professionals to inform specific aspects of curriculum development in the geospatial science fields, and 2) develop better connections between professional opportunities and students, faculty, and researchers.
Please consider participating in this short SURVEY (5-10 minutes). Your responses will not be visible to council members outside of the Education Workgroup, but we will compile them and share anonymous summaries at a later date. Your responses will be saved automatically, so you can return later to edit them.
Survey closing date is February 28, 2022
Questions? Please email: CAGISCouncil.EdWorkgroup@gmail.com
We thank you in advance for participating. We really appreciate your time and input!
SoCalGIS.org 