Learning Objectives

At the successful completion of this lesson, you should be able to:

• locate an example of an online geovisual analytics software that relates to health focused data
• discuss ways to evaluate the user experience of interacting with a geovisual analytic software
• describe a national mapping agency's solutions to their country’s national mapping needs

Lesson Roadmap

Please refer to Canvas for lesson deliverables, including specific timeframes and due dates.

Questions?

If you have any questions about course mechanics, where to do something, or how to do something, feel free to send us a message in Canvas at any time (or  - this week - talk to us in person!).

Please note: the following schedule is subject to change.

Saturday, May 13

Morning:

• Free time on your own

Afternoon:

• Travel by coach from Ljubljana, Slovenia to Salzburg, Austria

Evening:

• Free time on your own

Sunday, May 14

Morning:

• Planned events and free time

Afternoon:

• Planned events and free time

Evening:

• Free time

Monday, May 15

Morning:

• Travel by coach from Salzburg, Austria to Munich, Germany

Afternoon:

• Planned events and free time

Evening:

• Free time

Tuesday, May 16

Morning:

• Travel by coach from Munich, Germany to Prague, Czech Republic

Afternoon:

• Planned events and free time

Evening: 

• Free time

Wednesday, May 17

Morning:

• Visit the State Administration of Surveying and Cadastre in Prague

Afternoon:

• Free time

Evening: 

• Free time

Thursday, May 18

Morning:

• Free time

Afternoon:

• Free time

Evening:

• Free time

Friday, May 19

Morning:

• Free time

Afternoon:

• Travel from Prague, Czech Republic to Vienna, Austria

Evening:

• Farewell dinner (provided)

Saturday, May 20

Morning - Evening:

• Students and faculty depart Vienna, Austria for their respective destinations

The design of a geovisual analytic application requires many considerations. Chief among those considerations is what functions will the application provide and ultimately operate on the data. To that end, the end user must be able to interact with those functions through an intuitive and meaningful interface. Part of any system usability, then, is the overall design. That design in an ongoing process involving the end user. There has been much written about the development cycle related to software applications and their interface design. 

Since part of this class involves the conceptual development of an application there should be some consideration of the interface design, what functions would be available through your application, and how that design would facilitate accessing those functions. This deliverable is designed to get you thinking about designing the interface and how user testing could benefit during the development cycle.

In preparation for this delivarable, please read these articles.

This week, please share your evaluation of a geovisual analytics software. In your post, please respond to the following questions. 

1. Use the internet and locate a health-related organization or agency that uses geovisual analytics in the presentation and visualization of health-related data. Examine their web site and examine how geovisual analytics has been applied to health-related data. This geovisual analytic software could be a website, an app, or downloadable software. For this task, the geovisual analytic software should be free for use. Once you have located the software, explore its interface and functionality. After you feel comfortable with it, write a concise summary that describes its overall utility and functionality. Include at least two (2) screen captures showing the interface and perhaps a symbolization method. Explain some of the available tools the software contains that help visualize data. Make sure to provide a link or some reference to where you found the software.
2. Using one or more of the approaches presented in the article discuss how would you evaluate the suitability of this geovisual analytics as a means of visualizing the COVID-19 data set or your own choosing. In your summary, make sure to comment on the strengths and weakness of the proposed evaluation method with regard to your geovisual analytic software used by the organization of your choosing.
3. Given what you have learned thus far in the course and any thoughts from your summary here, what kinds of additional tools or functionalities would you recommend be included in the geovisual analytics software of your choosing?