Blog Posts

This week, due to my spring break, I chose a shorter training to complete this month. I chose a digital accessibility training that can be used for apps like WordPress. The course helped me with my ARIA and HTML abilities. The training was helpful in practice for creating documents, color contrast, and typography. In typography, it was helpful to learn why some common fonts are difficult for some to read and to understand the website I am creating. Another typography tip was to check letter pairs and unique letter characteristics, like using “I” as a “1” in some cases, as this could cause confusion for some. I hope to apply the skills I gained from last year’s accessibility training to build a better website and app next semester.

This month, I worked on expanding my WordPress skills. I first reviewed the Vivero trainings from last year to refresh myself, then looked at WPBeginner to help with my block editor, and lastly, I did a moderate-level website training on LinkedIn. The Skills I learned included integrating Figma and other website editing tools into WordPress site building, and creating a site that is easier to access and more user-friendly. These skills, I hope, will be useful for future projects I will encounter next semester.

This semester, I hope to expand my skills in website creation. Last year, I learned a lot about GIS, but still had areas in vision and site creation that I would have liked to know more about. I think this can come in handy for projects next year. I think playing around in WebPress and other sites could help me refine my skills, and watching some videos could help me get new skills.

 

The most important thing I learned this semester, I believe, was staying on top of work and working ahead even with a busy schedule. I learned much about juggling many balls this semester with my project’s data collection while staying on top of my other work and homework. After a couple weeks in the semester I found myself getting into a good groove of sectioning off a block of time to work on my project work and even if I did not finished what I hoped to or I ran into a roadblock with I experienced many times while working and reading up on arcGIS Online and arcGIS Experience Builder. I could still work on it later; fresher minds are best, and a little work is better than procrastination. When things started to get much busier, especially after finals, this method worked and helped keep me on top. I gave myself more time to work during my blocks, but I realized I already gave myself a good foundation of work that I had done in the months prior, which allowed me not to be very stressed about my work, and also no stress about finals, papers, and more. The part of my work I’m most proud of is pulling up the tree map anywhere on campus sometime in the future and realizing that the map I created and am still working on this last part of the semester will be used by hundreds or thousands of people. They will be able to experience a part of the campus that many overlook or walk on by. Instead, they will find a new topic to fascinate them and might spark someone’s interest enough to take a class or attend an event hosted by the Prairie Center or by Professor Queathem, or just read a book about trees. I think the biggest challenge I faced this semester was creating creative and different ways to make a good-looking website for the trees. I’m no artist, so this took a lot of thinking and trying to find inspiration. I created documentation on how to edit and maintain the tree map on ArcGIS Online and Experience Builder, as well as tips and tricks I found while working on the project this year. My documentation is not finished yet, but I hope it will be complete very soon, next week, when my very hectic week is done.

This month, I worked on an Esri training about building and creating an app through ArcGIS Online using an example of food access. This was, in my opinion, a great way to learn tools and ideas for my project. My project is creating a digital tree map using ArcGIS Online and Experience Builder.

https://www.esri.com/training/catalog/6410c0a84d750615175c18d7/building-an-app-in-arcgis-online-to-expand-food-access/

This month, I learned about accessibility through GIS mapping. For a map to be better accessible, you should always think about accessibility from the beginning. Much of the beginning of it was similar to the training we did earlier this year, but later on, I did learn valuable parts to incorporate into my map. These are text alt, semantic structure, think about and contrast, screen reader, magnification, and eye tracking software. I hope to include some of these later this semester when I have found time.

https://www.esri.com/training/Engine/defaultui/player/modern.html?configuration=&preventRightClick=False&cc=en-US&cache=22.16.365.0&playerConfUrl=n&registration=ApiRegistrationId%7C67911500bf396900131505ef-163261-sicabrun_Grinnell%21InstanceId%7C0&package=ApiCourseId%7C67911500bf396900131505ef-163261%21VersionId%7C0&tracking=True&forceReview=False

 

This month, I worked on multiple ArcGIS online and experience builders trainings. Throughout the trainings, I learned how to work layouts, pop-ups, base map and different actions within experience builder some of those being working the search widget, zoom widget and table widget. This week, I worked on how to do innovative mapping styles, which I think will come in handy in making the tree map a more enjoyable experience for those using it. My hope is that this training will allow me also to find inspiration for tomorrow’s meeting with Professor Queathem.

https://storymaps.arcgis.com/collections/9dd9f03ac2554da4af78b42020fb40c1?item=1

I learned that color contrast is essential in everybody’s day-to-day lives, not just those with vision difficulties. The styling of a website can help fix that, make it easier, and make the experience better with a better layout.

 

Text spacing

Use of color

I did not consider reflow

 

I learned that accessibility is something we can continually improve upon with our digital projects and website. I ran NPR’s main website through the checker and found 57 errors, missing alt-text labels, and more. Then I ran my website through the site checker and found no errors, only a warning about adjacent sites. One thing that I think the checker could have flagged is my leading site’s text color. Right now, it’s white with my background of snow mountains. It blends a little bit when you scroll down. Yes, Harvard mentions color and the contrast it has with the background.

I think the things I learned the most this semester is sometimes you just need confidence to do what you want. This semester I started out with no knowledge of GIS and digital mapping but now I can do a decent amount with arcGIS online, Experience and Pro. I am happy that I really did not rush learning it and just took my time little by little to make sure I did not lose track or get lost. I would tell myself at the beginning of the year that it’s okay to not know something and you have time to learn and progress is slow and something that you can’t see in the moment and stop worrying about the state of it now. The training I felt the best on were probably ones like arcGIS, audio recording and editing since I’ve already had prior experience with them. I think being given wiki really helped my learning of new skills like with Omeka. I think the parts that I found the most confusing were probably just errors I ran into like when Audacity crashed mid edit, that was probably more annoying than confusing. I’m still trying to figure out the problems with that right now. My leading guess for those is that I have a mac. The next steps for my project is to try and meet with Professor Queathem again before winter break if not, which seems likely because she has been sick and has not written back to my two emails. I would like to discuss what feedback the Prairie studies students have for me and give them the opportunities to explore and look at the current state of the map, what things they would want me to add to the project and maybe have it be a monthly thing. Also in the same vein maybe ask some other professors who remember the old tree map if they had some ideas and also someone who is skilled in design could help (I am no arts but I try), but those are things I would like to discuss with Professor Queathem first. For my documentation so far I have four titles: Finding the Grinnell Tree Map, EcoCampus info, Hosted Feature Layer and New Data for the Tree Inventory. Over the weekend I was reviewing in hopes to submit last week but felt like I could do a better job so I’m going to take some time to make edits and changes to improve before submitting later on.

I feel pretty good about being able to help some of them, maybe less than if they came in with a question about GIS or WeVideo but still comfortable enough. I think this tool is very good at telling stories that just looking at a map would not give and is able to explain data to those not familiar with maybe arcGIS. When making a story map I think I should consider if I do use maps and data how I use my color as for those who are colorblind this could be a barrier for understanding. I think a good thing about these story maps is that they are interactive and helpful in getting readers excited about that they are looking at.