Introducing SurveyMapper: First Sample Survey Online

Tweet

Do you want to know what people are think about that new town plan, do you want to ask peoples views on a new product, perhaps you are carrying out a straw poll or do you want to collect data to input into a scientific model? If the questions can be asked or surveyed, all you need is SurveyMapper.

The beta release of SurveyMapper, a free real-time geographic survey and polling tool from the nice people at the Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis, University College London, is looking like it is only a few weeks away. If you have used other ‘polling sites’ then you will be up to speed, except we have taken away the restrictions and added real-time mapping into the mix.

We currently have the UK covered down to postcode level (that’s the level of your street) - you can ask anything, survey the nation, your county or just your street. Once a survey closes you can download the data and use it for anything you wish or simply examine the map and the statistics. We will be rolling out to Europe shortly and then moving over to the United States and after that the World allowing surveys and polls down to building level.

As part of the move towards Beta and allowing people to set up their own questions, we have created a test Public Perception of Crime Survey for the UK. It only takes seconds to complete and it will help us make sure our custom written real-time mapping system is operational.

To take part head over to SurveyMapper.com and then select Current Surveys - thanks a lot if you do take part.

Keep up with the SurveyMapper twitter feed for news on the beta release, new features such as blog embedding, twitter voting and a preview of the coming soon professional version allowing advanced spatial analysis and demographic integration.

You can of course also follow us direct on Twitter @digitalurban.

Google Earth API Premiere: New Classroom Geography

Tweet

Roundarch has developed new geography software for NYSTROM Herff Jones Education Division, the makers of maps, atlas and globes for schools. Called StrataLogica, the web-based software utilizes the Google Earth API Premier platform from the cloud to create an interactive 3-D experience for classrooms.

The movie below provides an intriguing demo:



In our day we had to do with 'books' and the odd 'atlas' shared between groups of four, how times have changed in the teaching of geography...

Find out about more about the system via http://www.nystromnet.com

Cassiopeia: Visualising a Nychthemeron

Tweet

The Cassiopeia Project is an effort to make high definition science videos available to anyone who wants them. As they say, if you can visualise it then understanding is not far behind.



Above is the Cassiopeia Projects movie talking through the concept of a nychthemeron or a day on earth.

The movies are well worth checking out if your an geography/science educator, we are off to take a look at the series on complexity...

See the Cassiopeoa Project for full details and downloads.

Geodemographic Data in Second Life

Tweet

Day 2 on Second Nature Island in Second Life and looking into ways to import map data into the virtual environment.


Pictured above is the Output Area Classification for London (see the OAC user group for more info on the data). Second Life works remarkably well for importing representations of geography, indeed it is looking like it would be useful in the class room environment.


As yet there are not any real-time shadow's in Second Life so the only option is to 'bake' textures in 3D Max and import them back into the world, our first attempt is pictured above.

If you have Second Life installed and would like to pop by to see what we are up to then you can visit our evolving cityscape by clicking on our SLURL... that's a Second Life Uniform Resource Locator or Second Life URL:

Visit us in Second Life - http://slurl.com/secondlife/Second Nature/233/159/116

The blog will get back to normal in a few days with more architectural visualisation posts and our HDR tutorial. We are aware it been rather 'Second Life' heavy this week but the environment holds distinct potential and one that if you haven't already is well worth a look.

You can read more about the build so far at Joanna's Nature Network Blog.

Remote Assesment - Digital (Cardboard) Geography

Tweet

The Year 7 class at Court Fields School, Taunton, and St Ursula’s School in Greenwich have used their respective blogs and an innovative use of Windows Movie Maker to remotely asses their city models, built as a homework assignment.



Noel, the Geography Teacher at Court Field's school notes that 'The interesting dimension to this activity is that I haven’t met Melanie (from St Ursula's), and I don’t know anything about her school or her students, other than they seem very keen on Geography'. The use of Windows Movie Maker and blogs to communicate between the two schools is impressively innovative as it adds in another dimension to the geography. This aside the models built by both schools are interesting on their own accord with their linking of the Central Business Districts and transport etc.

Take a look at Noels Digital Geography blog for more info (you may remember Noel from our Fantasy Architecture project) and Gorgeous Geography from Melanie at St Ursula’s.

Both of their blogs demonstrate the recent rise in the ability to communicate geography digitally using either Windows Movie Maker, as we have seen here, or Google Earth, Google Maps etc. If only such technology, and innovative teachers, had been about when we were at school.