Open Data and Spatial Analysis: Engaging Future Decision Makers in Real-World Problem Solving BeSpatial Presentation May 2, 2018 from 2:15 pm to 2:45 pm

University of Toronto Mississauga Campus, CCT Building

3359 Mississauga Road

Crowdsourcing With Statistics Canada

How City-Citizen Interactions are Transformed through Maps, Apps, Open Data, and Crowdsourcing

Mapping With OpenStreetMap• OpenStreetMap (OSM) is an internet project

devoted to creating a map of the entire world

• It is free for anyone to use.

• The map is made entirely by volunteers who use GPS, aerial imagery, and open-source software to add information to the worldwide map.

• The Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team (HOT) demonstrates how crowdsourcing and citizen engagement can contribute to the public good, both locally and globally.

• To get started, see MapGive video tutorial

OpenStreetMap Demonstration

BC2020 OSM Wiki at https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/WikiProject_Canada/Building_Canada_2020

OpenStreetMap (OSM) Educational Resources

•TeachOSM: https://twitter.com/TeachOSM and http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Education.

•OSM Canada: https://www.osmcanada.ca/ and the BC2020i framework to design and implement problem solving tasks using open data resources and digital tools (e.g., European students’ Lifelong Learning Mapping Project).

Crowdsourcing and Citizen Science

•Crowdsourcing and citizen science are powerful tools for teaching real-world problem solving skills through experiential learning. See USAID crowdsourcing case study

•The Federal Crowdsourcing and Citizen Science Toolkit has a good “how-to” section with case studies and other resources.

•The Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Development’s Student Pathways Challenge is a good example of how government’s are exploring ways to leverage open data and crowdsourcing.

Open Data in Postsecondary Sector

•Carleton University developed an Open Data Module with case studies and commentary to help instructors to acquire the information and tools they need to embed open data into learning activities: • Postsecondary teaching, learning and research projects (e.g., exploration of

current events in a Communication, Popular Culture & Film course, and critical thinking and data literacy in a Data and Society course)

• Postsecondary scholarship and applied research (e.g., curating open data repositories such as census data in combination with geospatial data to determine where to place the next child care centre in a community)

Climate Adaptation Knowledge Exchange

Mission: To equip public and private sector decision makers with regionally-specific climate data, intelligence and adaptation services that enable effective policy and investment responses to climate risk in Ontario.

•An Introduction to Collaborative Research Methods webinar

•Great Lakes Restoration Initiative’s Foundation for Future Restoration Actions includes: Educate the next generation about the Great Lakes ecosystem through GLRI-funded place-based experiential learning activities.

Cross-Curricular Inquiry-Based Experiential Learning ActivityLocal Tree Mapping: A Collaborative, Place-Based Activity Integrating Science Technology, Math and Geography:• An integrated, inquiry-based activity to demonstrate the benefit of trees in

the Earth’s ecosystems• Experiential learning activity using basic graphing and mapping skills in

geographical information systems (GIS) and Microsoft Excel to explore the local trees in the school yard or neighborhood• Demonstration of how science, math, technology, and geography field data

are collected by scientists – education and career/life planning• Demonstrate how crowdsourcing and citizen scientists contribute to

ongoing research and decision making at the local level regarding protection and planting of trees to reduce our carbon footprint.

Community-Connected Experiential Learning and the K-12 Education Sector

Think Global and Act Local With Big Data

STEM Global Citizenship – The opportunity to be part of designing and implementing a vision for a more sustainable world by 2030.Computational Thinking – The ability to convert large amounts of data into a broad working problem (or How Might We… Problem) and conduct data-based reasoning to refine the problem’s scope.Design Mindset – The ability to generate and create solutions in contexts where only part of the solutions’ requirements are known ahead of time.Cognitive Load Management – The ability to evaluate the quality of obtained data and then filter the usable information that is needed to produce successful solutions.

Potential Connections

See also Neighbourwoods, that combines citizen science and sophisticated sampling and analysis techniques to strategically manage local urban forests.

Crowdsourcing and Citizen Science: Preparing K-12 Students for Postsecondary

The Philly Fresh Food Mapper: http://www.gis.cwu.edu/phillyfood/ is a good example of how an OSM mapping party can support citizen science.

iTree.org’s free open education resources to map the value of trees in adapting to climate change: https://www.itreetools.org/ and free lesson plans http://www.itreelessons.com/ and Forest Ontario’s annual Envirothon event: https://www.forestsontario.ca/

University of Guelph’s MDM4U Open Data project: https://mathstat.uoguelph.ca/outreach/opendata

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1inkIO2Z0cVbcUlxcoZo6YZ33noiNdnXompv-a5EH8RE/edit?usp=sharing

Additional Examples

•Toronto Urban Forest story map and tree survey. http://arcg.is/1z0mDa. Here is a direct link to just the survey part https://survey123.arcgis.com/share/4a90c8a2803d4ef0b09ed6f99ec5f93e. If there are any questions about this, we are happy to help!!!

• ESRI map on Open Data sites in Canada, a work in progress as new communities join the open data movement: http://edu.maps.arcgis.com/apps/HeaderFooter/main/index.html?appid=a2adc3bcd4db4f689ce3d7654bcd0f68.

•Geothink&Learning upcoming webinar on citizen science: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_-FK1F0tXR7-NT_yINu2DKw

Questions and AnswersHow can we work together to create opportunities for the next generation of decision makers?

Contact InformationJonathan Brown

Jonabrow [at] gmail [dot] com

What is Open Data?

“Open data and content can be freely used, modified and shared by anyone for any purpose.” (Open Knowledge International)

Open Data: Sharing government data online, so that app developers, non-profit organizations, researchers and others can help government solve problems that affect Ontarians every day.

Open by default – Is a principle that says that Ministries and provincial agencies must adopt a presumption in favour of disclosure of public records unless there are specific reasons not to do so.

Ontario’s Open Data Catalogue: An online tool used to disseminate data in accordance with this directive can be viewed at www.ontario.ca/opendata (see also Public Policy for Public Data)