"Am I attempting the impossible?"
No. Just the challenging unknown.
"Should I leave a project like this up to experts with more coding
knowledge?"
Again, no. You don't need to be an expert coder to start using any of
the technologies you mentioned. As long as you have a basic
understanding of programming, you will learn along the way. Most all of
the open source geoweb tools have tutorials, demos, and active mailing
lists for users.
The popular open source geoweb projects already have expert programmers
that create the software. What they often need are people that can
demonstrate that their software is useful, by applying it to solve real
problems. You are in the position to contribute understanding of a real
problem.
"If it is feasible, any suggestions on methodology?"
* Keep on reading blogs. Start with an aggregator like planetgs.com
until you find out what particular blogs are useful to you, then
subscribe to them directly.
* Explore. If you find applications that look useful, read the
getting started documents, install the application, and run the
tutorials. If something doesn't make sense or doesn't work, ask
questions on the user mailing lists. If you can help the project
to clarify the tutorials, you are helping out the project.
Identify yourself as a newbie if you want detailed answers.
Remember that open source geo projects like to have users.
* If you can, take more programming classes. Knowledge of coding is
certainly a very important skill, and it helps to teach logical
thinking. Even if you don't end up being a programmer, you will
gain a better understanding of what can be accomplished. It
probably isn't critical what language the class uses (though
Python and Java are good general languages), since your goal
should be to learn how to program rather than learning to be an
expert in a particular language.
"Most importantly, I have become aware that the most innovative
developments in geography are fairly far removed from the commercial
desktop software I am accustomed to using."
I would suggest including that in the conclusions of your thesis. :)
The easier it is to innovate using the commercial desktop software, the
less upgrades and add-on packages they can sell. In general, avoid
anything that requires a license server.
- Tyler
I work in an academic research institute, and we use many of the tools
you mentioned (ESRI, ERDAS, and open-source). In my opinion, creative
and capable people will learn more and can be more innovative by working
with open-source software rather than from using the commercial software.
amenity applewhite wrote:
Hi, I'm new to this list and to the geoweb in general.
It seems like I am in a similar situation to that of Renee's student.
My undergraduate major in geography, even with a formal
"concentration" in GIS, has supplied me with very few skills outside
of the traditional , ESRI/ERDAS suite. Fortunately, I received an
Erasmus Mundus scholarship to obtain my master's of science in
geospatial technology <http://geotech.uni-muenster.de/> in Spain and
Germany. Our range of studies has introduced database design, (Java)
programming, network tools, and software design on very basic levels.
Most importantly, I have become aware that the most innovative
developments in geography are fairly far removed from the commercial
desktop software I am accustomed to using. I'm therefore anxious to
involve my thesis with the geoweb, however, like Renee's student, I
have very little of the technical background necessary to do so.
This fall I will be working on it in Valencia, Spain. Combining my
background in environmental studies, anthropology of food, and
agriculture, I'm hoping to create a prototype-like map of the local
food network. A Spanish non-profit, CERAI <http://cerai.es/>(sorry,
the English version of their website is basically limited to a
translated menu), has agreed to work with me and has data on local
organic farmers and producers of artisanal products along with points
of sale for such products. The idea is that it would be extensible,
with the potential to include other areas. The idea fits in very well
with the EU's rural development
<http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/rurdev/index_en.htm>and sustainable
agriculture <http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/foodqual/index_en.htm>
initiatives, and the idea of including the geographical regions for
quality labels
<http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/foodqual/quali1_en.htm> and
ecotourism holds special appeal. One of my supervisors, in Lisbon,
has worked with the Portuguese quality labels in the EU scheme and
insists that his bureaucratic contacts are very interested in the idea.
Personally, I would love to incorporate some form of VGI into the
idea. This FarmAid map
<http://www.platial.com/map/HOMEGROWN-New-York/40575> on Platial is
great in that it allows users to add content, reviews and photos.
Admittedly, sustainable agriculture and organic farming might not draw
the kind of public participation in Spain as they would in the UK or
Germany where these issues are more generally more esteemed. However,
the Spaniards do have a great deal of pride and concern when it comes
to artisanal foods, so I do think there is potential for public
interest in such a feature. Another aspect to consider is the
possibility of creating a Google Earth layer like that of Fair Trade
Certified
<http://www.transfairusa.org/content/certification/producer_profiles_google.php>.
I briefly considered applying for a Google Earth Outreach Pro Grant
since they've recently expanded eligibility to NGOs in some European
countries, but they require applicant organizations to have a
technical staff member with an html/Google Earth background.
In the end, my old-school geography and anthropology background
enables me to see the wonderful potential of such a map, yet I'm
obviously worried about my lack of technical expertise. I've been
doing a crash course of sorts; reading Andrew Turner's Introduction to
Neogeography, prowling blogs and forums, and experimenting with KML
and html in Google Maps
<http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=100912967608082801737.00044d3a11046ec7b4466&ll=39.419221,-0.364029&spn=0.01293,0.037808&z=15>/Earth
(don't laugh, this is my first time writing html!). The previous
responses to Renee's query are very helpful. Feature Server,
OpenLayers, GeoDjango, Software Carpentry, and the Google Geodatastore
all look promising. But here's the real question: Am I attempting
the impossible? Should I leave a project like this up to experts with
more coding knowledge? If it is feasible, any suggestions on
methodology?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
Cheers!
Amenity
------------------------------------------------------------------------
_______________________________________________
Geowanking mailing list
[email protected]
http://lists.burri.to/mailman/listinfo/geowanking
--
Tyler A. Erickson, Ph.D.
Research Scientist
Michigan Tech Research Institute
3600 Green Court, Suite 100
Ann Arbor, MI 48105
W 83.6889°, N 42.3021° (WGS84)
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
(734) 913-6846
www.mtri.org
www.michiganview.org
_______________________________________________
Geowanking mailing list
[email protected]
http://lists.burri.to/mailman/listinfo/geowanking
