Week 1 - ArcGIS Overview Map Exercise

Orientation to online learning and ArcMap

The first week of class centered around an orientation to the online learning format and an overview exercise showing what ArcMap is all about. 

Various tutorials covered how to create a blog, set up your personal file system, and how to create a basic map using ArcMap.  Some of the information was a bit new to me, such as creating a blog.  The basics of ArcMap were not new to me, but I did learn a few things, such as what each file extension stands for within a single shapefile, and the difference between a raster and a vector graphic.

The lab for Week 1 involved the creation of a basic map.  I added two shapefiles to the map, then oriented and centered the view to one that was more visually pleasing (in this case, a landscape view).  I used the layout view to add additional elements to my map, such as a north arrow, scale bar, a symbol legend, and descriptive text.  After re-arranging these items in a way that I thought looked good, I further tweaked the view by customizing the properties of some of the map elements (specifically the map legend and the scale bar).

I exported my map as a .jpg file.  My final map is shown below.