A Workbook for Interactive Cartography and Visualization on the Open Web
A workbook teaching practical skills for creating interactive maps and visualizations on the web using open-source technologies.
What is A Workbook for Interactive Cartography and Visualization on the Open Web?
Web Mapping is an open educational workbook that teaches practical skills for creating interactive maps and visualizations on the web. It focuses on core open-source technologies like HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Leaflet.js, and D3.js, using a spiral curriculum to build proficiency incrementally. The workbook is designed as a living resource, free to use and extend under a CC-BY license.
Students, educators, and professionals learning interactive cartography and web visualization, particularly those in geography, data science, or related fields who need hands-on skills with open-source mapping libraries.
It provides a structured, practical entry point to web mapping with a focus on open-source tools, offering a spiral curriculum that builds skills incrementally and is freely available as an open educational resource.
Overview
Workbook about making maps and visualizations for the web.
Use Cases
Best For
- Learning interactive web mapping from scratch
- Teaching cartography and geovisualization courses
- Building skills with Leaflet.js for interactive maps
- Creating data visualizations with D3.js
- Understanding web technologies for mapping (HTML, CSS, JavaScript)
- Developing open educational resources for geography or data science
Not Ideal For
- Teams needing rapid deployment of production-ready maps without deep learning
- Developers seeking comprehensive coverage of alternative libraries like Mapbox GL JS or OpenLayers
- Projects requiring server-side GIS integration or enterprise-level mapping solutions
- Casual learners looking for quick, isolated tutorials without academic structure
Pros & Cons
Pros
Lessons are interconnected and build incrementally, using a spiral approach to ensure cohesive skill development from basics to advanced web mapping, as outlined in the workbook's philosophy.
Freely available under a CC-BY license, allowing for sharing, adaptation, and use in courses without cost barriers, explicitly stated in the README as a core feature.
Concentrates on essential open-source tools like HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Leaflet.js, and D3.js, providing a solid foundation for interactive cartography, as highlighted in the key features.
Uses GitHub as the primary teaching platform, embedding version control and collaboration skills into the learning process, which is emphasized throughout the workbook.
Maintained and updated by the University of Wisconsin Cartography Lab, ensuring relevance with technology changes, as noted in the 'About this Workbook' section.
Cons
Requires basic knowledge of programming, HTML, and CSS, with the README recommending external Codecademy courses, making it less accessible for absolute beginners without upfront time investment.
Instructors must manually convert Markdown to HTML and repair image links for platforms like Canvas, adding significant overhead for course integration, as detailed in the 'How to Use this Workbook' section.
Focuses only on Leaflet and D3, omitting other popular web mapping libraries such as Mapbox GL JS or Cesium, which limits its utility for projects requiring diverse tooling.
Designed for university courses, it may feel too structured or slow for industry professionals or self-learners seeking faster, more pragmatic tutorials.
Frequently Asked Questions
Related Projects
Geospatial Network VisualizationA collection of visualization techniques for geospatial network data
Thematic Mapping: 101 Inspiring Ways to Visualise Empirical DataKenneth Field
Fundamentals of Data VisualizationClaus O. Wilke
Color use guidelines for mapping and visualizationCynthia A. Brewer
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