A picture is worth a thousand words, and so holds true for maps. Displaying data and statistics on maps allows trends and interrelationships to be revealed in ways that would be difficult to discover in tabular format.
Much data and statistics have a spatial component, which lends it to be quantified, analyzed and displayed through geographic information systems (GIS). Addresses, census tracts, place names and longitude/latitude are examples of spatial location.
This technology is used at CWRU to create maps and analyze data, from undergraduates working on class projects to faculty and graduate research. GIS is a versatile research tool and powerful teaching aid that can be used in almost any discipline.
The University Center for Innovation in Teaching and Education will host a two-part session Thursday, Aug. 4, and Friday, Aug. 5, to teach faculty how they can use GIS.
The first session will be held Thursday, Aug. 4, from noon to 1 p.m. in the Allen Memorial Medical Library’s Herrick Room (use Adelbert Road doors).
At the first session, Ann Holstein, a GIS specialist and librarian at the Freedman Center for Digital Scholarship, will introduce GIS and show examples of how faculty can use it for their research or incorporate it into their teaching. Pizza and sodas will be provided.
A hands-on workshop will be held Friday, Aug. 5, from 1 to 3 p.m. in Kelvin Smith Library to give participants the chance to experience the power of GIS and explore some of its capabilities to display and analyze spatial data. This session has limited availability, so registration is required.
Email ucite@case.edu to register.