Geo-Everything
In our latest April dispatch, we talked about two mid-range trends outlined in the Horizon Report with a 2-3 year time to adoption. One is the personal web, which consists of collections of tools, widgets, and services that make it easy to develop and organize dynamic online content. I personally use things like i-Google, Delicious, and Zotero, and we have discussed these in previous Dispatches.
The other trend is Geo-Everything which taps into the fact that everything on the Earth’s surface has a location that can be expressed with just two coordinates. Using the new classes of geolocation tools build into many common devices like cellphones, locations can be plotted on maps then combined with data about people and objects to create dynamic and fascinating interactive maps. For example, this eye-opening map of regional variations in Medicare practice patterns developed by Dartmouth Atlas of Health Care created quite a stir in my Health Econ class: http://bit.ly/2PrOoA
Here is another one that had a big impact: The Geography of a Recession – Interactive Graphic – NYTimes.com http://bit.ly/dAHgl. The ability to both get the big picture, then zoom in on individual counties makes it particularly meaningful.
Here is another one on immigration patterns: http://bit.ly/6zrSD
You get the idea. Search for interactive maps in your area of interest and see what you can find. I have found these very useful in my classes to get away from “PowerPoint karaoke” and into a more lively discussion. The old saying that a picture is worth a thousand words is true, especially when the picture is so dynamic.
