Week 4 & 5: ArcGIS

           As this was my first time using ArcGIS, I had a certain level of apprehension, as I am not a very technical savvy person. Also, I have no background in any knowledge about creating maps or very much about geography in general. Approaching this project, I knew I was going to entering into an entirely new field where I was going to learn a very different set of useful skills. The pre-lab information available gave me a fairly good idea of the type of programming steps I would be taking but I had no idea what the structure of that program would be.

            Opening up ArcGIS and the data from the course website was very simple and easy to use. The instructions were very direct and explicit, which made the process less intimidating. However, the instructions were for a less updated version, so sometimes it was slightly confusing on what change and what functions I needed to use. That is one of the disadvantages of ArcGIS: it is an ever-changing program that has updates to the newest information, and therefore, it is very complex in making sure all the instructions are for the particular version of the program. Also, due to all these complex steps, keeping track of all the information and data can be confusing. One of the unclear features of the program was the map scale. The textual instructions did not always match the visual aids in the sense that the map scales appeared to be different. Nevertheless, the ArcGIS program was fairly easy to navigate around.

            The program ArcGIS is an extremely useful tool to portray spatial data and explore the field of geography. The map reflects the maker’s bias and interests, which can be an advantage and disadvantage. This lab helped me explore the options that can be inserted onto a map, whether it is the amount of data included on any given layer, the organization of that data within the layers, or the organization of the individual layers. The map features are very distinct and easily recognizable, as well as customizable. Each part of the map can be divided up into data frames that represent the “layers” of the map. The ArcGIS is a very interesting way to view the boundaries of designated territories.

            Overall, ArcGIS is a very useful tool to create maps and organize data in a visual form. It is easy to use as long as there are clear instructions to the features of the map. Or, if you have experience with that type of programming, it is a fairly simple structured system that is user friendly. Once used enough, I believe I will be able to navigate my way through the basic programming of ArcGIS and make my own maps. The only downside to ArcGIS is that it is not transparent in the fact that it is not clear how the program is built up so, if necessary and you are capable, you can take shorter steps to create the same map.