Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Maps in the News



Maps in the News:  Honor Killings

News of a reported “honor killing” of a woman by her family in Pakistan is shocking.  This map (click to enlarge) from the State of Women in the World atlas by Joni Seager identifies countries where honor killings regularly occur. 

“’Honor killing’ is a term used to identify a form of legally or socially sanctioned revenged exercised within a family against a woman who is deemed to have soiled the family’s honor, usually through behavior that is judged to be sexually inappropriate.”  Between 2002 and 2006 in Pakistan, more than 4,100 honor killings occurred.  According to the map, three women per day in Pakistan are murdered in honor killings.

The State of the Women in the World atlas is available in the Ball State University Libraries’ GIS Research and Map Collection and the Atlas Collection on the second floor of Bracken Library.

Tuesday, May 27, 2014

ESRI to Provide Cloud-Based GIS Software to American Schools



ESRI to Provide Free Educational Software to American Schools

From the White House Science Fair Fact Sheet and Backgrounder, whitehouse.gov:

In continuing its support of education and in line with President Obama’s ConnectED vision of opening new opportunity through technology in the classroom, ESRI will provide free access to ArcGIS Online Organization accounts to every K-12 school in the United States.  This is the same GIS technology used by government and business.

ArcGIS Online allows users to map and analyze data, create and share content, and collaborate in the cloud via computers, tablets, or smartphones.  This commitment expands on ESRI’s successful program in pilot schools at all levels across the country.  This access will allow students to do projects of unlimited content—from global to local.  Students will be building knowledge and skills for college and career as well as building their community.

Education Week presented an article providing more information about the ESRI donation.


Indiana Summer Roads Trips Map available from Ball State University Libraries




Hitting the Crossroads:  Indiana Road Trips Map

Memorial Day marks the unofficial start of summer and the biggest season for Americans getting behind the wheel.  The Ball State University Libraries’ GIS Research and Map Collection (GRMC) is commemorating the summer travel season with an exhibit featuring a new map, Hit the Crossroads:  Indiana Summer Road Trips (above, click to enlarge).  The map is displayed in the front windows of the GRMC on the second floor of Bracken Library.

The map describes some of the unique places to visit around the state.  State parks, national landmarks, and historic and memorial sites are detailed on the map.  Roadside attractions like a giant leg sundial, the world’s largest yo-yo, and the world’s largest rocking chair are also identified.  The map also features unique diners and drive-ins.

The map is part of a series of Indiana maps created by the GRMC commemorating the state’s rich history and culture.  Indiana sports history and movies that take place in Indiana are also featured on maps in the series.  The Indiana maps, including the new road trip map, are available for use in the classroom or for printing from the Cardinal Scholar Digital Repository.

For more information, please contact the GRMC at 765-285-1097. 

Friday, May 23, 2014

Ball State University Libraries' GIS Research and Map Collection Holiday Hours



The Ball State University Libraries' GIS Research and Map Collection will be closed on Monday, May 26 for Memorial Day and will reopen at 7:30 am on Tuesday, May 27.

Friday, May 16, 2014

Segregation Map from Ball State University Libraries


Mapping History:  Sixtieth Anniversary of Brown versus the Board of Education 

The landmark United States Supreme Court decision, Brown versus the Board of Education, was handed down on May 17, 1954.  The decision overturned the Plessy versus Ferguson decision which allowed state-sponsored segregation as “separate but equal.” 

The map above from the United States History Atlas (click to enlarge) is currently exhibited in and available from the Ball State University Libraries’ GIS Research and Map Collection (GRMC).  The map identifies state segregation policies as they existed in 1954 at the time of the ruling.  The Brown decision allowed for integration and declared separate public schools for students as unconstitutional, an important event in the civil rights movement.

For more information about maps depicting historic events, please contact the GRMC at 765-285-1097.


Monday, May 12, 2014

Nigeria Maps Available from Ball State University Libraries












Maps in the News:  #BringBackOurGirls:  Nigeria and the Education of Girls

The Ball State University Libraries’ GIS Research and Map Collection (GRMC) and Atlas Collection include extensive cartographic resources that can be used to depict events happening around the world.  Maps can serve as an excellent visual aid for understanding complex issues.

At least 276 girls in the northern town of Chibok, Nigeria were abducted from their school by the Boko Haram group.  Some authorities believe that many of the girls were sent to neighboring Niger, Cameroon, and Chad. 

Nigeria is a main source in the sex trafficking industry.  The map above (click to enlarge) is from the Penguin State of the World Atlas available in the GRMC and Atlas Collection.  The map details some of the routes used in the sex trafficking industry using data from 2012.

Another map from the same atlas shows the percentage of children of the correct age enrolled in primary school.  Nigeria falls into the 50-69% bracket for this statistic. 

The map above from the Penguin Atlas of Women in the World shows that Nigeria has fewer than 49% of its girls enrolled in secondary schools.  And another map shows lower percentages for tertiary education—only 20-39% of girls in Nigeria attend the university.  And only 17% of the professors are women.

Women in Nigeria also face discrimination in property ownership.  According to the map from the Penguin Atlas of Women in the World, there is widespread discrimination against women inheriting, owning, or controlling property, land, and wealth—sometimes supported by civil, religious, or customary laws.

The map of Nigeria published by the Central Intelligence Agency shows the location of the Boko Haram’s stronghold state, Borno, in northeastern Nigeria.  The schoolgirls were abducted from Chibok, which is just southwest of Maiduguri.  This map and the most up-to-date maps of countries around the world are available in the Maps of the World collection of the Libraries’ Digital Media Repository.

For more information about these maps and atlases, please contact the GRMC at 765-285-1097.  The GRMC is open from 7:30 to 4:30 during the summer.


Tuesday, May 06, 2014

Resources for Teachers from the Ball State University Libraries


Teacher Appreciation Day: Cartographic Resources for the Social Studies Classroom

Cardinal Scholar is an institutional repository available for use by the Ball State University community.  The GIS Research and Map Collection (GRMC) in Bracken Library offers maps and other resources for use in classrooms.  Now teachers can access Cardinal Scholar to use many of these available resources from the GRMC for education and learning.

Using Cardinal Scholar

Access resources by visiting the University Libraries main Web page or directly from Cardinal Scholar.   To find all of the available resources from the GRMC in Cardinal Scholar, click on "Communities and Collections" on the left of the page.  Then scroll down the list under the "Information Technology" section to “GIS Research & Map Collection.”  Then either type a key word, topic, or geographical place in the search box or browse by the title.  A list of resources including maps, games, posters, lesson plan ideas, and classroom activities will appear.  (The GRMC is constantly updating the educational resources in Cardinal Scholar, so check for additions from time to time).  Teachers and students can click on the file of the resource and save it for use in the classroom.  The GRMC has two large-format color plotter printers available for printing some of the large maps or posters, and a large-format laminator is also available.  (The GRMC charges directly to the Bursar for printing and laminating). 

Lesson Plan Guides and Tutorials


The GIS Research and Map Collection offers from Cardinal Scholar a lesson plan guide for teachers on how to use maps in the classroom:  Teaching with Maps:  Lesson Plan Guide from the GRMC for Using Maps in the Classroom.  This guide provides sample maps and lessons for teachers of social studies, science, English/literature, and economics.  The lessons range in scope and include using topographic maps, mapping prehistoric dinosaurs, studying Indiana authors, tracking the legendary Big Foot, and using football to study U.S. geography and history.  Other guides available from Cardinal Scholar include cartographic guides on women’s history, Black history, using Sanborn insurance and topographic maps, parts of maps, map projections, and genealogy resources.

Final Projects

Teachers can review activities to use as final projects for students like using a map of the Amazon to create an alphabet book, creating a map of Canada’s famous people and inventions, and students working in groups to create a pictorial map of Indiana history as a final project.  Each of these finished projects can be accessed from Cardinal Scholar.

Classroom Activities

Teachers can copy worksheets and other activities from Cardinal Scholar:  Africa Map Search and Canada Map Scavenger can each be completed using one map of Africa and Canada.  Students can learn about the events of the Cold War and use the 1989 world map from Cardinal Scholar to review where the tensions between the former Soviet Union and the United States were located.  Teachers can show world development using the Earth at Night map activity, demonstrate the world geography of the Olympic Games, and review European geography with the Santa Travels Europe worksheet.  Elementary and middle school students can test their knowledge of state capitals with the U.S. Capitals Puzzle game.  And teachers can even find out from Cardinal Scholar and the GRMC how to create a classroom seating chart using latitude and longitude.

Maps

The GIS Research and Map Collection creates custom maps and posters for education and learning.  These resources are all available for use from Cardinal Scholar, including the American Folklore and Legends map, a map about the Heritage of Southern Asia, and Storybook England map, which displays great works of children’s literature by English authors.  A new series features maps of women's issues around the world.  Teachers may also wish to use some of the historical maps like the map of John Dillinger's robberies, the range of the buffalo, La Salle and the Mississippi River, or Martin Luther King, Jr.  

Teachers can print out the educational posters from the GRMC including cultural maps of numerous countries like Pakistan and Argentina, a poster showing the effects of global warming over time on an Alaskan glacier, and posters to commemorate Black History Month, Women’s History Month, and Veterans Day.

Games

Teachers can also print the large maps created by the GIS Research & Map Collection to be used as board games:  Africa Trek Map Game features a large map of Africa.  Teachers can create game pieces and cards so students can move around the map of Africa, hopefully while learning the geography of the continent.  Using the Quest for Heroes I-Spy Game, students must race to find the heroes by identifying in which state they are located.  A new game, Europe Brainstorming Geography Game, is based on the popular Scattegories game.

Contact the staff of the GIS Research and Map Collection for any questions, concerns, or information about using other maps or educational resources or about using Cardinal Scholar.  The GRMC is open Monday through Friday during the summer from 7:30 a.m to 4:30 p.m.  The telephone number for the GRMC is 765-285-1097.