Community Edu in Open Geo
@MaptimeSEA
Christy Heaton & Andrew Powers
Christy
Introduce selves. We're happy to be back at UW GIS Day again talking about community education using open source geospatial technology and this great group called maptime Seattle.a year in review
Christy
Last year MaptimeSeattle was just getting going, but now we're 1 year old! So we're excited to share with you what we've accmomplished this year.Maptime Around the World
Christy
We'll also tell you about how maptime has spread thoughout the world and its global context.Where we are Headed
Christy
We'll let you know what we've got in store for 2016.Where you fit In
Christy
And finally, how you can get involved, and we can learn new things together!What is MaptimeSEA?
free technology workshops
free and open source software
everything we do targets beginners
Andrew raise your hand if you've used a map? raise your hand if you've made a map? Raise your hand if you are an educator? Raise hand if you're a student? have you heard of maptime? Been to a maptime? raise your hand if you want to learn new things? do you use foss on a daily basis?Talk is cheap
In the last year we...
mapped for Humanitarian Open Street Map
facilitated project nights
Our Focus
Christy:
The focus of our group like Andrew said, isBeginners
Christy:
beginners! And anyone else! We welcome people of any skill level who have an interest in learing open source mapping technologies. We want our workshops to be accessible to all. We do not assume any existing skill set, and strive to provide a supportive and encouraging environment for all.Free and Open Source Software
Christy:
In the same vain, we use free software. We think that no one should have to buy software just to learn something, and that they should be able to take work home and practice more. So our workshops use software anyone can download free of charge.What is FOSS?
Christy:
Free and open source software is free, as in its free of charge. And it is also open, as in the source code is accessible to all. Users are encouraged to contribute, fix bugs, implement new features and the like.
Christy:
Here are some of the foss tools we use in maptime. For every proprietary geospatial software, there is likely an open source option too. and not only software, but data, like open street map.Is FOSS for Beginners?
we're a little biased...
but the answer is YES!
although it can be slightly more complicated
Christy
Fix bugs? Implement new features? That sounds really hard. Open source software can be more difficult to begin using, but we think with the right environment, FOSS can definitely be for beginners.The Practice and Perception
FOSS is created by experts for experts
Our Goal
Make FOSS more accessible to beginners through education and participation in FOSS design/direction!
How is this Relevant?
AndrewWhere we Come From (academically)
Where we Come From (professionally)
Cascadia Users of Geospatial Open Source
cugos.org
Engage the local communitySo then there was MaptimeSEA!
How many chapters?
80!
Give out a sticker prize to the person who gets closest to the estimate50 Chapters on meetup.com...
How many members?
8,669!
MaptimeLA: California GIS Contacts
What can this community do?
Christy
The community aspect is a big deal. Together we can make things change!Support Beginners in FOSS
Christy
We can help beginners learn to use FOSS and expand their arsenal of tools.Mobilize for good
HOT OSM
Christy
We can give back by mobilizing when their is a crisis. We used the skills we learned on how to contribute to open street map to add buildings and roads after the major Nepal earthquake. You may not feel up to contributing code fixes and functionality, but this is another way to give back.What comes next?
Christy
We've got some great stuff coming up in 2016.QGIS series
Christy
We're developing q series of workshops on QGIS. QGIS, if you haven't heard of it, is a desktop mapping application like ArcMap, but its free and open source. Its a complex program, so we'll be doing 2 hour sessions on using different parts of it to do different things such as geocoding, working with raster data, using the python window, etc.Project Nights
Christy
Our project nights have been wildly successful, so we're planning on doing a lot more of those. Not only is it less work for the organizers, but it turns out a lot of people just want to learn something new and need the environment to do so. Other things you can do are install different software, or reformat something you did for work that your boss won't give you time to do.More Volunteer Instructors
Christy
We're also looking to get more volunteer instructors to give workshops. There are a lot of people in the community with great skills that I'm sure they are eager to teach to our maptime group. Teaching a workshop is also a great way to solidify your own knowledge of something. I know I was no expert on the QGIS and tiling workshops that I taught before agreeing to it. But we did it together!Reusable Tutorial Development
Christy
We'll also be working on building reusable tutorials. We can share these with other maptime groups or encourage people to work on them even if they can't make it to the maptime event.Call to Action
Andrew
Where do you come in?Get Involved
join our meetup page
volunteer to instruct
host an event in your space
participate in our open learning community!
Community Edu in Open Geo
@MaptimeSEA
Christy Heaton & Andrew Powers
Christy
Introduce selves. We're happy to be back at UW GIS Day again talking about community education using open source geospatial technology and this great group called maptime Seattle.