Working with the
ArcGIS program for the first time was not as hard as I had expected, because of
my familiarity with other common programs such as Microsoft Publisher and C++
programming. The hardest part of the tutorial was probably finding the files I needed
to make different maps or data tables. Nonetheless, it is probably easier to maneuver
through those things when I make a map with my own found data. The whole
process of creating a detailed map or geographical outline is just more time
consuming than I imagined, but the final result is something that anyone can do
and understand.
One of the potentials
of the ArcGIS program is that it can take a large amount of data and turn it
into a layout of easy to read graphs and maps. For example, when I started the
tutorial I did not know what the maps were even about but after the first couple
of steps the information on map was easy to follow although it was incomplete. Then,
as everything was coming together, all the information became easier to
understand as a spread sheets or images.
Another potential
of the ArcGIS program is the precision that cannot be accomplished with hand
written maps and data collections. At one point in the tutorial we were asked
to calculate a column with an equation of data from other columns and had I had
to do those calculations by hand it would have been much more difficult.
Furthermore, I was able to combine the data of different layers with ease and
efficiency. Again, the end result was a clean layout of the collected
information.
ArcGIS has some
pitfalls as well, for instance the long time it would take to create layouts of
information. In addition, while I was working with the program it seemed as if
all the parts of my projected were stringed together in such a way that if I
messed up on part of it I had to start over. For example, I constantly
struggled with the maps resizing because I was trying to scroll to the upper or
lower parts of the page but instead it would zoom in or out. On the other hand,
I had times where I would think I put in the correct data but it came out wrong
and I had to start over, costing me more time on the same project.
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