GIS Resources

Blogs and More!

visual.ly blog (infographics, data, design, and tools)
FlowingData (by Nathan Yau, excellent)
A Cartographer’s Toolkit (by Gretchen Peterson)
Better Posters! (improving poster presentations)
Information Aesthetics (artistic data visualization, very cool!)
visualizing.org (visualizations of complex data, plus free data!)
Esri Education Community (great tools and applications)
Esri ArcGIS blog (everything you can imagine!)
GISNuts.com (data, tools, and discussions)
The Geospatial Revolution (excellent videos from Penn State)

Making Better Maps

Don’t just make maps – make good maps!

Monmonier (2005): Lying with Maps
Lying with Infographics
When Maps Lie!
Jerry’s top ten (crime) mapping tips
Checklist for more effective maps
The connection between maps and art
Make Maps People Want to Look At
Designing a good (GIS) poster
Good Poster Design
Better Thematic Maps (ArcUser, Summer 2012)
Thematic Cartography Guide (short and friendly!)
A Look at Choropleth Maps
Mapping Patterns on Maps
Making Maps (John Krygier and Denis Wood)
Designing Great Web Maps! (ArcUser, Summer 2012)
Video: The Language of Diagrams (and maps)
Image formats for maps, posters, and the web

Colors and Fonts on Maps

You don’t have to be a graphic designer to choose good fonts and colors for your maps!

Your Friendly Guide to Colors in Data Visualisation
Colors in Maps: Infographic
ColorBrewer 2.0: interactive color advice for cartography
Colorgorical (a tools for color palettes)
Colours in Culture: the meaning of colors in different cultures
What’s that color? (color names in 9 languages)
A ‘map’ of all named colors!
Color Oracle: a free color-blindness simulator
The Psychology of Color Part 1: A Guide to Color Selection
The Psychology of Color Part 2 (infographic)
Colors and their suggestive effects (infographic)
The Complete Guide to Color Psychology (good examples!)
The Impact of Color (nice and simple!)
Colors and their effects (nice and simple!)
Shaded Relief and 3D color (useful!)
What Font to Choose: serif or sans?
The History of Fonts
So You Need A Font (or Typeface) – the ultimate decision-tree!
A Typeface Flowchart
Beyond Black and White?
More tools and resources (compiled by Esri)

Bad Maps!

Here’s a start: let’s look for bad maps (and charts) so we can avoid these mistakes!

Spatial correlation is not causation!
Correlation is not causation!
Great examples of bad maps and graphs from the US Congress
More examples of bad maps

Tutorials, Excercises, and Training

ESRI Training: free training courses for everything ArcGIS
ArcLessons: free tutorials and exercise projects for ArcGIS
UNH Training Materials (excellent)
Siting Wind Farm Sites in Colorado With GIS: v.10
Installation Instructions for ArcGIS 10 Education Edition
Installation Instructions for ArcGIS 10.1 Education Edition
How to install ArcGIS 10.1 on Windows 8
Introduction to GIS: an excellent tutorial from Harvard
GIS Applications course at UNLV: great resources!
30-Minute Training Webinars for ArcGIS10
An Introduction to ArcMap 10 in 16 short tutorials
ArcGIS 10 Online Help
Codeacademy: fun and free Python tutorials
Free GIS courses by Oregon State University on iTunes U (requires iTunes and/or the iTunes U app)
Learn GIS for Free (by GIS Lounge)
Social Explorer and Census Data (YouTube video)
Using Social Explorer (and ArcMap, UNC)
Using Social Explorer (UCLA)
Social Explorer Quick Guide (U. Redlands)
Help and Tutorials for ArcGIS Online (by Esri)

Metadata

Metadata are critical for success, so please take this seriously!

ArcGIS and MS Excel

Getting spreadsheet data into MS Excel is easy…if you avoid some of the common mistakes!

GPS and DNR Garmin

DNR Garmin Tutorial I
DNR Garmin Tutorial II
DNRGPS Video Tutorial I
DNRGPS Video Tutorial II
DNRGPS Video Tutorial III
Mapping Field Data
Using GPS data in ArcGIS Online
GPS Babel: converts GPS as needed, great program!
GPS Visualizer: creates online maps from GPS data, quick and easy!
GPS Spotlight: a good introduction to GPS and GPS data
Using the Garmin eTrex Venture HC

Geocoding

Geocoding Tutorial (Tufts University)
Geocoding Tutorial (Cornell University)
Geocoding with TIGER Data (I)
Geocoding with TIGER Data (II)
Proximity Analysis Tutorial (Tufts University)
Geocoding with Bing
Geocoding with ArcGIS Online
Geocoding with Google Maps
Geocoding with Google Fusion Tables
Geocoding by address
Free Online Geocoding from Texas A&M University

Map Projections

Georeferencing

Raster Data / Remote Sensing

Using Raster Data (I)
Using Raster Data (II)
MassGIS LiDAR Data
LiDAR and Orthophoto data for Amherst (MA)
MassGIS Image Data
ASTER GDEM
GTOPO 30 DEM
SRTM 90m Global DEM
HYDRO1k Database
NASA SRTM DEM
USGS/NASA Elevation Data
USGS Aerial Photography
USGS Satellite Images
USGS Center for LiDAR Information
OpenTopography: high-res data and tools
Tips and Tricks for LiDAR
More USGS/EROS Image Data
Earth as Art by NASA
Earth at Night (also on flickr and as a GigaPan)

(DIY) Remote Sensing

PLOTS: Low-cost aerial mapping with ballons and kites
3D mapping using remote-controlled helicopters
Video: $65 plane and GoPro camera over Vermont
Remote-controlled plane used in the above video
Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) mapping system
The Gatewing X100 UAV (by Trimble)
EagleView: roof measurements from above!
ICARUS: DIY remote sensing from the stratosphere
Parrot AR.Drone 2.0 (cool!) plus a way to program it!
microdrones UAVs

Census Data

2010 Census Data Analysis (Tufts University)
2000 Census Data Analysis (Tufts University)
Census Data from MassGIS (Tufts University)
Census Data Tips (Tufts University)
Mapping Census Data (ESRI ArcLessons)
Social Explorer: all census and ACS data as maps and spreadsheets
2010 Census Dotmap: a great visualization!
Census Data from ArcGIS Online
2010 SF-1 data at county, tract, and block group-level (by GISNuts.com)
Bloomberg Visual Data: census data as dynamic graphs

Software – GIS

Quantum GIS (QGIS): an open-source alternative to ESRI
MapWindow GIS: another open-source alternative to ESRI
Portable GIS 3.1 (a GIS on a USB stick!)
Global Mapper: a GIS data processing application
Urban Network Analysis Toolbox (for ArcGIS 10/10.1)
InVEST: tools for ArcGIS to map and model goods and services for sustainability
Tools for Graphics and Shapes: a great ArcGIS extension for calculating areas and lengths
Geospatial Modelling Environment: analysis tools for ArcGIS, R, and stand-alone
Geospatial Data Abstraction Library (GDAL): all kinds of open-source translators and tools
IndieMapper: a simple web-based mapping platform

Software – Remote Sensing and Image Analysis

MultiSpec: a free image analysis system from Purdue University
ImageJ: another free image processing and analysis program
UNESCO-Bilko: a free image analysis / remote sensing environment
TerraLook2: free software and free satellite images, plus easy to use!
IrfanView: fast and free image and graphic viewer / editor
Microsoft ICE: excellent and free image composite/mosaic editor
Hugin: open-source panorama stitcher
GIMP 2.8: An open-source image editor
ExifTool: view and edit image meta information
PLOTS Map Toolkit: everything you need to map your own aerial images – cool!

Software – Flowcharts, Concept Maps, and Networks

FreeMind: an open-source mind or concept mapping tool
Simple Mapper: create concept maps, network diagrams, and flowcharts
CMAP Tools: yet another excellent concept mapper
SpicyNodes: Display information online as mind maps
creately: a web-based, collaborative tool for diagrams
Gephi: create network diagrams and complex systems visualizations
Treemap: visualize hierarchial structures as trees and sub-trees

Software – Other

Tableau Desktop: data analysis and visualization, plus web-mapping (free for students and educators)
Inkscape: An open-source vector graphics editor = a great alternative to Adobe Illustrator
Maptorian: vector maps for Inkscape or Adobe Illustrator
Polymaps: Creates dynamic, interactive maps in web browsers
Depiction: Create your own dynamic maps to show interactions – very cool!
GeoCommons: Use and share geographic data and maps
Layerscape: Microsoft’s 3D global mapping approach
OpenOffice: A great open-source alternative to MS Office!
Prezi: create zoomable and non-linear cloud-based presentations
MIT App Inventor: create your own apps for Android devices – cool!
Mapnik: a free toolkit for making beautiful mapping applications
STATSilk: web-based mapping and visualization software
OpenGeoDa: free software for spatial data analysis
ImagePlot: visualization software for pattterns in image collections
Google Earth Mapping: Tessin (Switzerland)
Google Earth Mapping: The Quelccaya Ice Cap (Peru)
Google Earth Information and Tutorial

Infrographics

infogr.am: a great tool for creating interactive infographics
visual.ly: create and publish your infographics
Datameer: visualize and communicate data
IBM Many Eyes: a web-based data visulization tool
Hohli Charts: an online builder of charts

GIS Data

MassGIS: GIS data for Massachusetts
MassGIS Oliver: Online Mapping Tool
MassDOT Pictometry: oblique aerial image viewer
Connecticut CLEAR Center: mainly image data
Connecticut MAGIC: aerial photographs and vector data
NH GRANIT: GIS data for New Hampshire
Vermont VGI: GIS data for Vermont
GeoData@Tufts: part of OpenGeoportal.org
Social Explorer: a vast collection of demographic data
ArcGIS Online: base layers, web mapping, and map sharing
NGS Benchmarks map via ArcGIS Online
OLIVER: The Massachusetts Online GIS Data Viewer and Downloader
HyperCities: Explore hisporical layers of cities as interactive maps
Surging Seas: Dynamic online sea level rise maps for the U.S.
Gapminder World: Mapping, but different!
Worldmapper: 100s of cartograms – the world as you’ve never seen it before!
Project Linework: clean vector lines for thematic mapping
WeoGeo Market: Mostly free GIS data
USGS Topographic Maps (from WeoGeo Market)
Worldwide Boundary Data (from WeoGeo Market)
Natural Earth 2.0: free global vector and raster data. More info here and here.
Natural Earth 2.0 (from WeoGeo Market)
Free GIS Data (compiled by Robin Wilson)
Top-10 List of Geospatial Data Portals (by Spatial Reserves)

Web Mapping

Storytelling with Maps by ESRI – a great way to tell stories with maps
MapBox and TileMill: open-source interactive web mapping
indiemapper: custom web maps with your own data – all inside the browser!
Geocommons: similar to indiemapper, but focused on data exploration and analysis (requires free sign-up)
Map Tube: create, share, and mash web maps!
WorldMap: an open-source alternative to ArcGIS Online, especially for large datasets
WorldMap WARP: free tool to geo-rectify historical maps and other imagery
Interactive Mapping and Data Tools from the National Renewable Energy Laboratories

OpenStreetMap

OpenStreetMap: global open-source street vector data
ArcGIS Editor for OpenStreetMap
Cloudmade downloads (last update 13 December 2011)
Geofabrik.de (updated daily)
OpenStreetMap from WeoGeo Market (in many vector formats!)

Google

Google Fusion Tables: create dynamic maps from your tables!
Google Spreadsheet Mapper: create maps from spreadsheets in Google Earth and Maps
Google Refine: a great to to clean-up messy data
Google Map Maker: enrich and improve Google Maps with your local knowledge
Google Building Maker: create your own 3D models online
(Google) SketchUp: 3D modeling software, now owned by Trimble
gps4sport: integrates video, GPS, and Google Earth – cool!

ArcGIS Online

Routing with ArcGIS Online
Geocoding with ArcGIS Online I
Geocoding with ArcGIS Online II
Georeferencing with ArcGIS Online and ArcGIS Desktop
Using data tables with ArcGIS Online
Comparing Data with ArcGIS Online
World Bank Data with ArcGIS Online
Building Data with ArcGIS Online
Making and Sharing Maps with ArcGIS Online
Authoring Web Maps with ArcGIS Online
Smartphones and Tablets with ArcGIS Online
Web Application using ArcGIS Online
Helpful Youtube tutorials for ArcGIS Online
Helpful Vimeo tutorials for ArcGIS Online
Sharing GIS content via an ArcGIS Online Subscription
Administering an ArcGIS Online Subscription
GIS for Organizations: ArcGIS Online Subscription
Mapping Data and Telling Stories with ArcGIS Online
The US 2012 Election mapped in ArcGIS Online: Blog Feature Service Web Map
The US Electoral History: Blog ArcLesson Web Map
Making and sharing an ArcGIS Online map: Video and Paper
ArcGIS Online for Organizations
Resources and tutorials for ArcGIS Online