Application of web 2.0 in cartographic education. Is it time for cartography 2.0?

The term web 2.0 was first used in 2004 at a conference where the organizers focused on the new generation web services. Although web is not software and it has no versions everybody understood this term and also understood the real meaning behind it. In the last 30 years, cartography considerable changed and we may think of using a similar term for our science: cartography 2.0. Although web 2.0 is not a clear and easily definable term, we can list new features of the web which has formed this new term. Wiki, blog, RSS, mashup applications, social networking are the key features (and other less notorious ones are still under development) which are not concrete applications, but rather philosophies. Wiki is a type of website that allows the users to easily edit/change some available content, sometimes without the need for registration. This ease of interaction and operation makes a wiki an effective tool for collaborative authoring. Can we effectively use this new technique in cartography? Blogs provide commentary or news on a particular subject, as personal online diaries; they can be part of a wider network of social media. There are some cartographic blogs available (operated mostly by younger cartographers) which can give new chances for collaborative work, so they may help the cartographic education. One of the most prominent mashup applications is the websites which are connected to GoogleEarth to use their basemaps/satellite images to add their own geographically located contents. These applications are also used by non-cartographers to help them to “make maps”. Are these new features enough to introduce the new term: cartography 2.0

Edutainment in cartography

Edutainment is a mixture of education and entertainment. In the software industry edutainment was very popular in the 80’s and the first part of the 90’s when the graphic capabilities of PC-s were very limited. The early computer games were based on textual information. From the second part of the 80’s low resolution pictures became a part of a computer game, but that was still quite far from the so called multimedia. As the CPUs and graphic cards became more powerful computer games started to develop rapidly. Nowadays the 3D, the virtual reality, the real time animation and the high quality sound are the essential parts of computer games. The computer games in edutainment are nearly totally disappeared. In the last some years the internet games turned to be more popular: the relatively low bandwidth and the lack of web multimedia standards gave new opportunities for the edutainment in this environment. Cartography can profit form this revival because maps are very popular content of the web

Knowledge Cartography for Open Sensemaking Communities

Knowledge Cartography is the discipline of visually mapping the conceptual structure of ideas, such as the connections between issues, concepts, answers, arguments and evidence. The cognitive process of externalising one's understanding clarifies one's own grasp of the situation, as well as communicating it to others as a network that invites their contributions. This sensemaking activity lies at the heart of the Open Educational Resources movement's objectives. The aim of this paper is to describe the usage patterns of Compendium, a knowledge mapping tool from the OpenLearn OER project, using quantitative data from interaction logs and qualitative data from knowledge maps, forums and blog postings. This work explains nine roles played by maps in OpenLearn, and discusses some of the benefits and adoption obstacles, which motivate our ongoing work

Creating knowledge maps in Virtual Learning Environments

The intention of this paper is to show a reflexive study about knowledge representation through maps in virtual learning environments (VLE). The aim of this research is to investigate how maps can be used to build information networks, contribute to the collective building of knowledge, and facilitate research and pedagogical mediation in VLEs. For this purpose, the specialization post-graduation online course “Software Use in Qualitative Research” was analyzed. During this analysis, I discuss meaningful learning through maps built using the mapping software Nestor Web Cartographer, CMap tools and Compendium. I then present some important aspects about how maps can contribute to online content design, tutoring diagnostic and assessment applications

Rethinking Map Legends with Visualization

This design paper presents new guidance for creating map legends in a dynamic environment. Our contribution is a set of guidelines for legend design in a visualization context and a series of illustrative themes through which they may be expressed. These are demonstrated in an applications context through interactive software prototypes. The guidelines are derived from cartographic literature and in liaison with EDINA who provide digital mapping services for UK tertiary education. They enhance approaches to legend design that have evolved for static media with visualization by considering: selection, layout, symbols, position, dynamism and design and process. Broad visualization legend themes include: The Ground Truth Legend, The Legend as Statistical Graphic and The Map is the Legend. Together, these concepts enable us to augment legends with dynamic properties that address specific needs, rethink their nature and role and contribute to a wider re-evaluation of maps as artifacts of usage rather than statements of fact. EDINA has acquired funding to enhance their clients with visualization legends that use these concepts as a consequence of this work. The guidance applies to the design of a wide range of legends and keys used in cartography and information visualization

Novi termini iz geoinformacijske znanosti

Navedeno je nekoliko novih termina iz geoinformacijske znanosti: neogeografija (neogeography), sveprisutna kartografija (ubiquitous cartography), suradnička kartografija (collaborative cartography) i web- kartografiranje (web mapping) u kojima je naglasak na kartografskom prikazu. S druge strane navedeni su i termini s naglaskom na podacima: dobrovoljne geoinformacije (volunteered geographic information - VGI), korisnički generirani sadržaj (user-generated content), geoinformacije dobivene suradnjom (collaboratively contributed geographic information)

Knowledge Cartography: Software tools and mapping techniques

Knowledge Cartography is the discipline of mapping intellectual landscapes.The focus of this book is on the process by which manually crafting interactive, hypertextual maps clarifies one’s own understanding, as well as communicating it.The authors see mapping software as a set of visual tools for reading and writing in a networked age. In an information ocean, the primary challenge is to find meaningful patterns around which we can weave plausible narratives. Maps of concepts, discussions and arguments make the connections between ideas tangible and disputable. With 17 chapters from the leading researchers and practitioners, the reader will find the current state–of-the-art in the field. Part 1 focuses on educational applications in schools and universities, before Part 2 turns to applications in professional communitie