Interactive Web Maps: Usability Heuristics Proposal

With the evolution of technology, maps have changed how they are produced and consumed. In the 1990s, along with the internet uprise, printed and digital maps began to be shared and viewed on the web, which provided more significant user interaction with the map and geographic data. However, the ease of creating interactive maps using computational resources sometimes neglects cartographic concepts, impairing the interpretation of geographic data and the quality of the interaction between user and system. This work presents ten specific Usability Heuristics for Interactive Web Maps to identify and elaborate a set of criteria that help create and evaluate the quality of interactive web maps. For this, we used a methodology to develop domain-specific Usability Heuristics, composed of eight steps. This paper presents the ten heuristics elaborated along with the attributes of the name, ID, category and definition, and an additional checklist. This new set encompasses both the concepts of cartography and usability, contributing to better user interaction with the system and geographic data.

Metadata: A pedagogical tool for the teaching of map projections in Elementary School

Digital interactive maps include a set of metadata, which show the purpose the user can use the map. Metadata in digital interactive world maps inform users about important information, such as the map projection. This research examines whether the educational and teaching use of the metadata of digital interactive maps construct a tool in the approach to the issue of map projection in Elementary School. The research was carried out in 17 Elementary Schools of Thessaloniki, Greece, where 6th-grade students (Ν = 655) were engaged in a series of activities related to metadata and map projections. ArcGIS Online was used as a didactic tool. Results showed that metadata of digital interactive maps have a great pedagogical value. The identification of the different information in the metadata, i.e., the map projection, and the students’ decision of what they can and cannot study with each map, is an important finding regarding their educational relevance.

Identifying the Industrial Cultural Heritage of Athens, Greece, through Digital Applications

In Greece, the appreciation of industrial buildings is relatively recent, with the legal authorities having recognized their historical value by listing them as monuments. Nineteenth century industrial buildings can be identified as cultural monuments of the past, as well as assist in the reconstruction of urban landscapes. Additionally, individual initiatives, organized by volunteers, present the necessity for documentation through relevant research projects. The reuse of industrial buildings for cultural activities has lately become a common practice. In Athens, a large number of buildings dated to the industrial revolution and that present historical and architectural features worthy of being preserved have been recorded. Following the philosophy of smart cities, this paper presents a digital inventory of the industrial buildings located in the historical center of Athens; many of which have recently been adapted to host cultural activities. Τhe use of smart technology, by creating a digital application for smart phones, will provide access to a continuously enriched registry, via interactive maps. This initiative will promote the buildings’ past and present use and, moreover, the creative concept of their multiple functions. The suggested model of cultural management is applicable to every industrial building in Athens.

Multidimensional Approaches to Illustrate to Digital Divide among K-12 Students

In this paper, we share the initial findings from a multi-disciplinary project by Team D2IE (Digital Divide and Inclusion in Education), the recent first-place winner of the Global XPRIZE Education Open Data Challenge, where they investigated how digital infrastructure and internet connectivity varies among K-12 students at the county level across the United States. Two quantitative measures (Student Digital Opportunity and Benefit-Cost Ratio) and three interactive maps were developed from socio-technical and economic perspectives to support decision-making. The three interactive maps allow stakeholders to evaluate digital access, usage, cost, and economic benefits at the county level across the country.

Mapping the pandemic: teaching critical map literacy with interactive COVID-19 maps

PurposeThis article helps secondary teachers use online maps about the COVID-19 pandemic to develop students' critical map literacy and digital geographic information literacy while helping students analyze the pandemic and its impact on society. The purpose of this paper is to discuss unique features of online maps, suggest six questions to bring to online maps, and provide an activity and resources to develop students' skill in using these maps.Design/methodology/approachFor social studies teachers, online interactive maps create opportunities as well as challenges. They can be more engaging and interesting than static maps. They also show the relevance of key themes in geography as well as the power of maps to convey information. Maps about COVID-19 are used to explore themes in geography.FindingsInterpreting COVID-19 online maps can help students learn about the pandemic, evaluate the decisions of health officials and elected leaders, and thus develop tools to participate in society as active citizens.Originality/valueYoung people and adults are often more engaged by interactive online sources; however, online maps require teachers to develop new approaches to teaching basic and critical map literacy that include elements of digital geographic information literacy. Students can learn to ask questions of maps while learning about COVID-19.

The COVID-19 Pandemic in Brazil: Some Aspects and Tools

The article presents some aspects related to the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil including public health, challenges facing healthcare workers and adverse impacts on the country’s economy. Its main contribution is the availability of two web applications for online monitoring of the evolution of the pandemic in Brazil and South America. The applications provide the possibility to download data in different formats, view interactive maps and graphs of the cumulative confirmed cases, deaths and lethality rates, in addition to presenting plots of moving averages for states and municipalities. The predictions about new cases and new deaths caused by COVID-19, in states and regions of Brazil, are also reported using GAMLSS models. The forecasts can be easily used by public managers for effective decision-making.