INTERNET AND WEB TECHNOLOGY USE IN CARTOGRAPHY CURRICULUM: A JOINT POSTGRADUATE PROGRAMME EXPERIENCE

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1 INTERNET AND WEB TECHNOLOGY USE IN CARTOGRAPHY CURRICULUM: A JOINT POSTGRADUATE PROGRAMME EXPERIENCE Hamrah, M. Surveying Engineering Faculty, K.N.Toosi University of Technology, 1346 Vali Asr Avenue, Tehran Iran. Fax: hamrah@kntu.ac.ir and mhamrah@yahoo.com ABSTRACT We are witness of an information revolution. A major part of technological changes are communication and information technology innovations. The Internet has linked computers and provides communication standards. The Web is a major communication medium and maps are becoming one of its major components. By understanding cartography as a system, where information has to be stored, coded and transferred, it becomes obvious that cartography is directly connected to these innovations. Events and developments over the past few decades in cartography, both in theory and practice have changed profoundly the way in which cartography is regarded and operated. Nowadays it seems that the use of Internet and web technology in cartography education is innevatable. This paper explains the necessity of using web technology in cartographic curriculum, focused on experience in designing a joint postgraduate programme in Geoinformatics specialization carried out by ITC of Holland, Agricultural Jehad Ministry Iran and K.N.Toosi University of Technology Iran (JIK). 1. INTRODUCTION During the past centuries, Cartography has gone through a rapid process of evolution, which has changed cartographic disciplines both in theory and practice. In the literature, quite a considerable amount of papers can be found to review these changes. Among them, information revolution and its effects are the greatest challenge in the contemporary cartography. Technical transition has been rapid and fundamental; microelectronics, computer, communication and digital methods have been radically transforming the field and the scope of mapping in its broadest sense. Ormeling (1991) believes that since 1987, new developments such as GIS, desktop cartography and expert systems have influenced cartographic practice. Cartography all over the world is changing very fast, as the amount of manual work is diminishing quickly, and instead, much of the practical work is now done on personal computers or terminals. Technological changes allow cartographers all over the world to design, produce, and present maps instantly, which were not easily possible before appearance of computers. As cartographers, it is important to understand changing the use and attitudes about maps (Peterson 1999). Once technological advent achieved, one should immediately apply it in cartographic practice. This paper shows the implementation of new technology in the partial design of a Geoinformatics course. 2. INTERNET AND WEB CARTOGRAPHY In recent years, the Internet has become an important element of the information family, and thus also of the field of cartography. The Internet seems to be a wonderful tool of communication. Everyone can surf through an Internet connection and access huge amounts of information and spatial data. In fact, the Internet is a global network of computers connected through communication devices to one another. The rapid growth of the Internet provides highly customized, accessible, and interactive sources of public information, and is changing the ways that people capture and manipulate spatial information. The reason for the explosion of interest in the Internet is probably because it is hardware/software independent, which means that data is portable and can be transferred from any computer to any other, without any problem. Following the rapid developments of Information Technology in the past decade, especially with the introduction of the Internet, cartography seems to have evolved to a great extent. One of the main stages of this evolution has been the advent of the so called Web cartography which shifted desk-top centric cartography to network-centric digital cartography to provide the increasing network users with cartographic data and geoinformation. The Internet is in a state of flux and is made up of various tools and services; among them the World Wide Web (WWW) has become an ideal media for maps. The advent of WWW with its graphic interface has opened a new horizon to geoscientists, especially cartographers, to perform their work in a new media. While it took weeks or even Proceedings of the 21 st International Cartographic Conference (ICC) Durban, South Africa, August 2003 Cartographic Renaissance Hosted by The International Cartographic Association (ICA) ISBN: Produced by: Document Transformation Technologies

2 months to publish classical print media, only seconds lie between the production and publication stages of a Web map today. The Internet, particularly the Web, has established itself as a major form of map distribution (Peterson 1999). The initial Web browser was purely text based, the use of maps on the Internet implicitly hyperlink these visualization with other multimedia elements. The Hyper map concept as introduced by Laurini and Millert-Raffort (1990) was put in practice by a 23-year old graduate student, called Marc Anderseen, two years later, i.e. in 1992.Anderseen developed a multimedia browser called Mosaic, which permitted images to be viewed. With the invention of WWW by Berners-Lee, users were able to browse a document and jump from one document to another using hypertext links. The first real interactive application was the map server at Xerox s Palo Alto Research Center (PARC), which was put online in June As the first Internet mapping site, the page was pure HTML, with a series of links for selecting options such as zoom in, show rivers, and so on. It just generated very simple maps from public domain data. This first application helped spreading other ideas for incorporating maps into the Web. Within a few months many systems were online. The Xerox Map Viewers was discontinued in 1997 after four years of services [8]. In 1994, another attempt was made by Virtual Tourist company who developed a European Tourist Guide [9]. Nowadays, there are many sites that make web map available. The WWW is based on pointing and clicking and uses a simple mark-up language (HTML) to lay out pages. It is essentially a huge databases of information made up of interconnected pages. The WWW uses the client/server idea. The concept of client/server involves splitting an application into tasks between the server and client. A client/server application with its three (client, server and network) components is supported by specific software and hardware. The client sends a request to the server, which processes the request and returns the result to the client. The client then manipulates the data and the results are presented to the user. The connections between the client and server are established according to a communication protocol such as TCP/IP. Geographical, statistical data and even meta information supplied by database servers show some opportunities for the creation of both topographic and thematic maps. In other words, presentation of geographical data on the Web is done via maps or plans. F. Huber of IGN (2001) proposes four types of maps or plans as follows:! Maps to read! Maps to click! Maps to creat, and! Animations. Maps need a set of tools for association. These tools are zoom, pan, direction arrows, printing, pass to previous or next map for visualization, choice of colour and symbols and selection of topics for elementary cartography, to quarry information related to objects on the map. The development of the web and expansion of the Internet provides two key capabilities that can greatly help cartographers: First, the web allows visual interaction with data, by setting up a web server; client can produce maps from remote data. These maps can be updated in real time as new data are received. At the same time, users can interact with maps to highlight key areas or relationships. Since the maps are published on the Internet, other clients can view them. Second, clients can work on maps from almost any location. Perhaps, more interestingly, users can update the data from almost anywhere. This means that users can collect data in the field and instantly update their data sets with new data. Both of these features will probably alter the way cartographers do their work in the near future. 3. THE JIK EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMME The Ministry of Science, Research and Technology of Iran has officially accepted the JIK MSc programme. It was established in a co-operation between the following three parties: The Iranian Ministry of Jihad of Agriculture (JA), The International Institute for Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation (ITC), The Netherlands and The Khajeh Nasir al-din Toosi University of Technology (KNTUT), Iran. The joint programme was named "JIK". The purpose of the programme is the development of knowledge among the users of Remote Sensing (RS) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) with a wide range of fields of specialisation. Graduates of this programme may use their knowledge in the fields of: Environment, Housing and Urban Planning, Water, Soil, Transportation, Natural Resources, Agriculture, Petroleum, Cadastre, Surveying, Mapping, etc. in both governmental and private organizations. The goals of the programme are to achieve critical understanding and competence in the application of geographic information systems for processing, analysing and presentation of geo-information, as well as develop skills to carry out research in this field. It emphasises the use of remote sensing methods for the acquisition of up-to-date terrain and land cover information, and the application of GIS for the effective management and analysis of spatial data sets. The focus is on the application of Remote Sensing (RS) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Successful completion of the programme leads to a Master of Science (MSc) degree.

3 The MSc programme is multi-disciplinary and is supported by three scientific organisations: the Soil Conservation and Watershed Management Research Institute (SCWMRI) of JA, Tehran, Iran, the International Institute for Geo- Information Science and Earth Observation (ITC), Enschede, The Netherlands, and the Civil Engineering Faculty of KNTUT, Tehran, Iran. The programmes are specifically designed for mid-career professionals interested in the application of spatial information technologies. Depending on the chosen specialisation, the individual should have a background in one of the following areas: renewable natural resources, water resources and environmental engineering, general agriculture, civil engineering, basic science, geomatics engineering, or geo-sciences. The programmes will be built on the experience previously gained by the participants in their work practice. Participants may come from governmental and/or private organisations, executing agencies, engineering companies, research institutes, universities, etc. 4. EDUCATIONAL METHODS AND COURSE STRUCTURE The programme offers an attractive and intensive educational package, including lectures, practicals, self-study and project work. Practicals may be in the form of assignments, image interpretation, computer-assisted analysis and multimedia exercises. The programme is intended to deepen knowledge and skills in a practical problem-solving approach. The study programme consists of a series of three-week modules. The PM programme and the MSc programme consist of 15 and 24 modules, respectively. A total of 4 core modules are common for all 3 specialisations. For the students to be initiated into the world of RS and GIS, 4 modules, including different exercises and workshops, are offered. Skill will be developed in the utilization of spatial databases, spatial data acquisition, analysis, and statistics. Specialisation modules follow the core modules. All students participate in a field project, in which data and image interpretation is followed by verification and data collection in the field. Different field methods and techniques will be applied for terrain, soil, land cover and hydrological studies. At the end of module 13, the academic level of the participants will be assessed. To be allowed to enter the MSc stream, the student has to meet the appropriate requirements. Those who do not meet the requirements are allowed to continue with the Professional Masters stream. PM participants are required to undertake an Individual Assignment (IFA) in the form of the independent formulation and execution of a problemoriented project. At the end of 9 weeks (3modules), participants will have to present and defend a report. After MScqualification, 4 advanced modules are offered including proposal writing and research training for Msc students. Each MSc participant is required to design, undertake and report on a research project demonstrating a critical understanding of the content of the modules. In most cases, the research includes field survey. The final 7 modules (thesis writing) are given at ITC. During this period, the participants must write an MSc thesis, which they will defend before a board of examiners. Upon successful completion of the programme and after passing the required exams, participants will be awarded a Professional Master degree or a Master of Science degree in Geo-Information and Earth Observation with the specialization: Watershed and Environmental Management, Rangeland and Agricultural Management, or Geoinformatics, accompanied by a course record. All degrees are awarded jointly by ITC and KNTU. Table 1 shows the course structure. Table 1. Course Structure MODULE TYPE TITLE 1 Core Introduction to the Educational programme 2 core Principles of GIS 3 core Principles of RS 4a/b 4c 5a/b 5c 6a/b 6c 7a/b 7c 8a/b 8c 9a 9b 9c WEM RAM Principles of Terrain Mapping Data Analysis & Statistics for Geoinformatics Application of RS & GIS Spatial Information Production Processes Data Analysis &Statistics for Natural Resources Spatial Data Bases Principles of Soil-Vegetation Mapping Visualisation and Internet Hydrology & Ecosystem Interaction Spatial Data Bases Hydrologic Modeling Mapping Land Cover Species Habitats Integrated Spatial Information Production Systems

4 10a 10b 10c 11a/b 11c 12a/b 12c WEM RAM Table 1. continued Erosion Modeling Land Use Planning Electives Mapping of Small Catchments incl. Field Survey Field Project Advanced GIS Advanced Image Processing Professional Masters Programme 13PM IFA subject proposal writing / 14PM Individual Final Assignment / 15PM / Individual Final Assignment Master of Science Programme 13 core Research Training and proposal writing 14-a WEM Soil and Water Conservation 14-b RAM Range Land Modeling 14c Surface Modeling 15a/b Decision Support Systems 15c Geo-information infrastructure 16a/b Field preparation 16c Quality aspects in GIS 17a/b Fieldwork 17c Electives Thesis Work Writing of Thesis at ITC Those involved in education of Cartography have commitment to ensure that elements which make up any course in cartography are relevant, tuned to the needs of industry and are assembled in such a way that students are introduced to the profession and are able to embrace ideas and methodologies associated with modern-day map design and production. As seen in Table (1), module 7c has been designated as Visualisation and Internet. New aspects of curriculum are the emphasis on and the stronger orientation towards Web Cartography. The overall objective of the module is to teach participants how to make suitable Cartographic visualizations of the geographical data while working with both as screen displays, on the WWW, and on paper. Participants will have the opportunity to select exercises from different application areas. To publish maps and other representation of spatial data on the WWW, one needs only very few resources. But to make sensible use of this medium, one has to take into account: first, the special design needs for information on the WWW, and second, the capabilities and pitfalls of information dissemination through Web sites. The module content designed in cooperation with ITC staff is as follows:! Cartographic design principles; mapping methods! Principles of the production of cartographic visualizations! Possible pitfalls of Web sites for spatial data dissemination! How the World Wide Web works! Design principles applied to the Web: user-interface design! Using HTML authoring tools; Optimising graphics and maps; Web server access; Web site maintenance! Interactivity through forms and Java-scripting; Dynamic and interactive maps; using plug-ins; map animation! Publishing Web site Upon completion of this module, students should be able to define a map and explain its purpose and use, particularly for exploration, analysis and data in a GIS-environment; to expand and apply the basic principles of the translation of geographic attribute data into cartographic symbols and maps (both virtual and permanent, static and dynamic); to understand and apply the basic principles of the description, production and use of co lour in cartographic visualizations; to design and produce proper cartographic visualization (both on screen for the WWW and on paper) of attribute data from particular application areas; to apply Web design principles and HTML authoring techniques to

5 develop a web site with functionality relevant for spatial data dissemination; to understand the capabilities and limitations of Web as a medium for the dissemination of spatial data; and finally, to build and maintain Web sites for spatial data dissemination. The first JIK joint educational programme offered three specialisations in the fields of Watershed and Environmental Management, Range Land and Agricultural Management and Geoinformatics, at two levels, viz. 1) a Professional Masters (PM) course and 2) a Master of Science course. The PM course consisted of course work, had duration of 12 months and led to a PM degree. The MSc course, with duration of 18 months, led to an MSc degree on the basis of course work and a thesis. The MSc students were required to pass a mid-term evaluation before continuing with the advanced topics and research work. The course work and fieldwork were completed in Iran; thesis writing and defense took place at ITC, Enschede, The Netherlands. A total of 46 students (4 students came from Sudan, Pakistan and Ghana) participated and successfully completed the course. A sample of web map design carried out by students can be seen in Figure 1. The second JIK joint educational programme will be held at Khajeh Nasir Toosi University of Technology, Tehran, Iran and the Institute for Geo-information Science and Earth Observation, Enschede, The Netherlands, and will start on October Figure 1. A sample of web map carried out by students 5. REFERENCES [1] Hubert F. (2001), Assistance Mechanism Use for Needs Specifications In Geographical Information on the Web. Proceedings of 20 th International Cartographic Conference, Beijing, China. [2] Kraak M.J. (2001), Web Cartography. Taylor and Francis,London,UK [3] Kraak M.J.and Ormeling F.J. (1996), Cartography: visualization of spatial data. Harlow, Essex: Addison Wesley Longman Ltd. [4] Ormeling F.J. (1991), Education Consequences of Current Information Technology. Proceedings of 15 th International Cartographic Conference, Bournemouth, UK. [5] Peterson M.P. (1995), Interactive and Animated Cartography. Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, USA. [6] Peterson M.P. (1999), Trends in Internet Map Use. Proceedings of 19 th International Cartographic Conference, Ottawa, Canada [7] Peterson M.P. (2001), The Development of Map Distribution Through The Internet. Proceedings of 20 th International Cartographic Conference, Beijing, China. [8] The Xerox Map Viewer: [9] Virtual Tourist: [10] JIK: [11] JIK:

6 INTERNET AND WEB TECHNOLOGY USE IN CARTOGRAPHY CURRICULUM: A JOINT POSTGRADUATE PROGRAMME EXPERIENCE Hamrah, M. Surveying Engineering Faculty, K.N.Toosi University of Technology, 1346 Vali Asr Avenue, Tehran Iran. Fax: hamrah@kntu.ac.ir and mhamrah@yahoo.com Short CV Name: Majid Hamrah Born: 1950 Position: Academic Staff, Assistant Professor University: KNT University of Technology Tel/Fax: Cell: Faculty: Civil Engineering Faculty Department: Surveying Engineering Department Postal address: 1346 Vali Asr Avenue, Tehran 19697,Iran Research activities! Contribution in production of Slope atlas of Iran, Geography Institute, Tehran University, ! Contribution in production of Contour Atlas of Iran, Geography Institute, Tehran University, ! Study of natural hazards in part of western Iran based on GIS and RS, KNT University of Technology, Educational Background! Degree of B. Sc on Cartography, Tehran University, 1972! Degree of Master of Applied Science in Topographic Science, Glasgow University, G. Britain, 1978.! Degree of PhD. on Remote Sensing, Bedford College, London University (Incomplete), 1978.! Degree of PhD. on Physical Geography, Islamic Azad University, Tehran Iran, Courses taught Basic Cartography, Principles of Photogrammetry, Digital Cartography, Map Reproductions, Map Projections, Thematic Mapping, Visualizations and web Cartography. Publications! Hamrah M, Slope Atlas of Iran, paper submitted to 13 th International Cartographic Conference, Mexico, 1987.! Hamrah M, Fayaz.R, Extraction of Topographic Data from Land sat Imagery, paper presented to ISPRS Conference, Kyoto, Japan, 1988.! Hamrah M,Topographic Mapping Status in Iran, paper submitted to 17 th ISPRS Conference, Washington, USA, 1992.! Hamrah.M,Few published textbooks, and Ten Technical Papers on area of Cartography, Remote Sensing, Photogrammetry in Persian Language presented in National Conferences and Magazins, Interest Cartography, Automated Cartography, Digital Mapping, GIS, Web Cartography, Integrated Mapping System.