Category Archives: Education

A Quick Look into Two Worlds: Video Games and GIS

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This week we are celebrating Iowa’s Computer Science Education Week – December 4-10, 2023. As part of this celebration, IowaView has a special post from guest blogger, Wael Alhaj, a GIS Analyst with the ISU GIS Facility.

A Quick Look into Two Worlds: Video Games and GIS
By Wael Alhaj


Imagine you’re playing your favorite video game, exploring new territories, or maybe you’re looking at a map, trying to find a place you’ve never been. Sounds pretty different, right? Actually, not as much as you might think! Video games and Geographic Information Systems (GIS), another term for map-making and analyzing, share more in common than you’d guess. Video games are all about fun and adventures, while GIS sounds like serious business with maps and data. But if we look more in depth, they are close related in the world of technology.

Image Source: Created by Prof. Kristen S. Kurland of Carnegie Mellon University from the article “Gamification in GIS and AEC” by Chris Andrews, https://www.esri.com/arcgis-blog/products/arcgis/3d-gis/gamification-in-gis-and-aec/

How Games and Maps Draw You into Their Worlds

Both video games and GIS are big on creating spaces, whether it’s a fantasy land in a game or a detailed map of your city. In video games, you might roam around imaginary places or ones that look similar to the real life. GIS, on the other hand, is more about mapping out the real world, but sometimes it uses simple and easy to understand pictures instead of super detailed ones. Both are all about giving you a sense of space one for fun, the other for facts and figures.

Making Things Look Real

As game players we ask, how do some games look almost like real life? This is called “visual realism” and it’s pretty impressive in today’s games. GIS does something similar, but instead of creating life-like world and landscapes, it shows real-life information in a way that makes sense by converting the data into a colorful map. Games go for the impressive appeal and eye-catching goal with graphics, while GIS tries to make complex info easy to get.

Handling Loads of Data

Video games and GIS deal with a lot of details. Games keep track of everything in their world such as places, objects, characters. As Same as in GIS, which combines location and spatial info with all sorts of other data. They both handle a ton of different kind of information, showing us how to manage and use big sort of data in different ways.

Scripts and User-Friendly Features

Both video games and GIS use some smart tricks behind the scenes. They’ve got algorithms for figuring out space related stuff, like how to find the best path from “A” to “B”. Games focus more on making everything interactive and fun, with everything happening in real-time. GIS concept is more about analyzing space and showing data in a fixed way. But deep down, the theories, codes and scripts they use is pretty similar.

Challenges and Possibilities

Video games and GIS can learn a lot from each other. Games are always pushing the limits of making things look real and keeping players engaged and hooked, which could be great for GIS to make maps more interesting and interactive. On the flip side, GIS focus on getting every detail right and accurate could help games, especially when a developer wants a game to mimic the real world.

So, the intersection where video games and GIS meet shows us how two areas we thought were worlds apart can actually help each other out. As tech keeps evolving, we’ll probably see more of this mix and match, leading to even great results in both gaming and the map-making industry. It’s all about being creative with space, whether it’s for fun, learning, or visualize facts and information.

References

For all the reasons mentioned above, GIS industry, including companies like ESRI, is actively working on developing various plugins and tools for game engines such as Unity and Unreal Engine. These tools are designed to help game developers and designers to create realistic world maps and 3D content using GIS data. For further reference, you can explore these links:
ArcGIS for Unity (https://developers.arcgis.com/unity/) and
ArcGIS for Unreal Engine (https://developers.arcgis.com/unreal-engine/).
Additionally, the paper “Videogames: the new GIS?” by Ifan D H Shepherd & Iestyn Bleasdale-Shepherd (https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228577009_Videogames_the_new_GIS), offers valuable insights and is a great resource while exploring this topic.

Day 5 GAW: Have you discovered the Iowa Geographic Map Server?

By Education, Geography Awareness Week, Imagery, Iowa Geographic Map Server, Observation, Remote Sensing, , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Iowa Geographic Map Server is a gem of historical and contemporary statewide aerial imagery for Iowa from the 1930s to 2021. It also has many other statewide layers including:

  • elevation maps (LiDAR and USGS topographic maps),
  • historical maps (General Land Office survey maps from 1800s, Andreas Atlas, historic topography),
  • land cover maps (historical and contemporary)
  • geology (landforms and bedrock)

Here’s your challenge: Zoom into your city or a place of significance to you and discover how it has changed over the years, look at how the land cover changed, challenge yourself to find as many changes as you can.

Interested in learning more about the Iowa Geographic Map Server? Watch Gregg Hadish’s recent presentation, “Accessing Iowa Map Services in GIS and Web Applications,” for the Iowa Geographic Information Council September 2023 Lunch and Learn professional development series.

Day 2 – GAW 2023: Contribute to OPENSTREETMAP and MapRoulette

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OpenStreetMap (OSM) is a publicly created and maintained map of the world – the Wikipedia for maps. Anyone with access to an internet browser can view the map and can sign up for a free OpenStreetMap account to edit and update the map. Edits to the map are reviewed and validated by other members of the community. If you are new to OpenStreetMap, visit their welcome page to a short introduction: https://osmgeoweek.org/guides/intro.

Here are several ways to get engaged with OpenStreetMap:

~ Review your local OSM basemap for accuracy and consider adding community features that are missing or need updating.

~ Spend time working on a Humanitarian OpenStreetMap project. For a current list of priority project visit: https://tasks.hotosm.org/explore

~ Only have a little bit of time? Consider MapRoulette, the game of mini mapping challenges, it breaks OSM work into snack-sized “challenges.” Earn points by fixing validation issues, turning nodes into areas, adding missing tags, and through countless other little tasks that contribute to a healthier map.

Happy Geography Awareness Week 2023 – The Power of Place

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It’s that time of year again! We are celebrating Geography Awareness Week! November 13-17, 2023

The History of Geography Awareness Week:

Thirty-six years ago, the National Geographic Society advocated to create Geography Awareness Week. Geography Awareness Week is a way to celebrate and raise awareness of geography, both as a discipline and as a part of daily life. The National Geographic Society felt the limited exposure to geography in American education was a dangerous deficiency. Without proper exposure to geography, students are unable to make effective decisions, understand geo-spatial and geo-political issues, or even recognize their impacts as global citizens.
— see more at the National Geographic Website

To learn more about exciting careers in geography and the National Geographic MapMaker tool by visiting the National Geographic webpage: https://www.nationalgeographic.org/society/education-resources/programs/geography-awareness-week/

Join us for Geospatial Career Day – 10/10/2023

By Announcement, Earth Observation Day, Education, Event, Outreach, , , , , , , ,

In celebration of Earth Science Week (Oct. 8–14), IowaView and the ISU GIS Support and Research Facility will host an Earth Observation Geospatial Career Day from 11:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 10, in 206 Durham Center at Iowa State University. GIS professionals will share short presentations discussing their jobs and career paths. Students can learn more about the geographic information science (GISC) minor and GIS graduate certificate program. Lunch and refreshments will be provided. Please join us!

Iowa Map Contest – Tell Your Stories, Spread the Word

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Here’s a great opportunity for Iowa students in grades 4-12. The Iowa Map Contest is an ArcGIS Online Story Map competition for students to tell Iowa stories. Each school can submit up to five entries. Entries are due Monday, May 8, 2023. For more information about the Iowa Map Contest, visit the contest website: https://sites.google.com/site/iowamapcontest/.

Ready for the holidays? Do you know holiday trivia?

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Test your holiday geography trivia with Esri’s Holiday Grab Bag Treasure Hunt. Questions range from holiday movie trivia to the origins of festive holiday plants and questions about the great elf himself. Challenge your family and friends and perhaps learn some new facts along the way! Enjoy this festive geographic treasure hunt!

Mappy holidays!

Photos from ISU GIS Day 2022

By Activity, Education, Event, IGIC, Imagery, Iowa Geographic Map Server, Landsat, Landsat Golden Jubilee, Map, Remote Sensing, , , , , , , , , , ,

Celebrating 30 years of GIS at ISU today on GIS Day! We also celebrated the 50th anniversary of Landsat and were able to hand out playing cards, refreshments, posters, and other educational materials. This was a great opportunity for our staff in the GIS facility to share the work that they are doing, and teach others about GIS.

Happy Geography Awareness Week 2022!

By Announcement, Education, Geography Awareness Week, National Geographic, Outreach, , , , ,

This week we are celebrating Geography Awareness Week!

The History of Geography Awareness Week:

Thirty-five years ago, the National Geographic Society advocated to create Geography Awareness Week. Geography Awareness Week is a way to celebrate and raise awareness of geography, both as a discipline and as a part of daily life. The National Geographic Society felt the limited exposure to geography in American education was a dangerous deficiency. Without proper exposure to geography, students are unable to make effective decisions, understand geo-spatial and geo-political issues, or even recognize their impacts as global citizens.
— see more at the National Geographic Website

To learn more about the exciting adventures and careers in geography, visit the National Geographic Explorers webpage: https://www.nationalgeographic.org/society/our-explorers/.