geoplaza

Welcome to the renewed Geoplaza platform!
Here you will find all information about GIS and spatial data for the VU.

Select below if you are new to GIS, student, researcher or teacher and find out how Geoplaza can help you with your spatial research!

What is GIS?

GIS stands for Geographic Information System and is an umbrella term for software with which spatial data can be viewed, analyzed and visualized. Spatial data has x and y coordinates and can thus be mapped. Insight into spatial patterns and development is relevant for many scientific domains. Think of house prices (economy), age structure (social sciences), earthquakes (earth sciences), corona infections (health sciences) or archaeological finds (humanities). On the projects page you will find examples of GIS projects at the VU.

Which GIS software will I use?

There are various providers of GIS software. The most commonly used programs are ArcGIS Pro (Esri) and QGIS (open source). The VU has a campus license for ArcGIS: all VU students and employees can use ArcGIS Pro free of charge. Read more about ArcGIS Pro and QGIS on the software page.

How am I going to learn GIS?

At the VU there are many courses in which GIS is taught or used. look at the education page for more information and references to the study guide. You can also use learning materials made available by the software suppliers. Esri offers with the Esri Academy And especially Learn ArcGIS an abundance of instructional videos that match your level and interest. QGIS provides an online training manual.

Video: What is GIS?

How am I going to learn GIS?

At the VU there are many courses in which GIS is taught or used. look at the education page for more information and references to the study guide. You can also use learning materials made available by the software suppliers. Esri offers with the Esri Academy And especially Learn ArcGIS an abundance of instructional videos that match your level and interest. QGIS provides an online training manual.

Which GIS software will I use?

There are various providers of GIS software. The most commonly used programs are ArcGIS Pro (Esri) and QGIS (open source). The VU has a campus license for ArcGIS: all VU students and employees can use ArcGIS Pro free of charge. Read more about ArcGIS Pro and QGIS on the software page.

Where do I get my data from?

GIS offers a geographical interface, a digital map, on which you can add spatial data yourself, whether it comes from fieldwork, surveys or other sources. You can also import existing spatial data: a great deal of data is available online. This usually concerns open data that you can use for free, under certain conditions of use. We have some interesting data portals listed for you.

How do I present and share my results?

GIS can result in a map, printed or digital. In addition, there are now many options for presenting spatial data online in an attractive way. ArcGIS-online provides access to tools that help with that: also create a web app or story map! On the projects page GIS-related VU projects are put in the spotlight and you are cordially invited to contribute! look at the options and procedure. 

Service overview

The geoplaza Service overview gives the GIS user options and suggestions for each phase in his or her research. What software can I use for data collection? What possibilities does Geoplaza offer for the storage of spatial data, also for the longer term? Which applications are suitable for data analysis and data visualization? The Geoplaza Service Overview provides an answer to these and many other questions.

How am I going to learn GIS?

At the VU there are many courses in which GIS is taught or used. look at the education page for more information and references to the study guide. You can also use learning materials made available by the software suppliers. Esri offers with the Esri Academy And especially Learn ArcGIS an abundance of instructional videos that match your level and interest. QGIS provides an online training manual.

Which GIS software will I use?

There are various providers of GIS software. The most commonly used programs are ArcGIS Pro (Esri) and QGIS (open source). The VU has a campus license for ArcGIS: all VU students and employees can use ArcGIS Pro free of charge. Read more about ArcGIS Pro and QGIS on the software page.

Where do I get my data from?

GIS offers a geographical interface, a digital map, on which you can add spatial data yourself, whether it comes from fieldwork, surveys or other sources. You can also import existing spatial data: a great deal of data is available online. This usually concerns open data that you can use for free, under certain conditions of use. We have some interesting data portals listed for you.

How do I present and share my results?

GIS can result in a map, printed or digital. In addition, there are now many options for presenting spatial data online in an attractive way. ArcGIS-online provides access to tools that help with that: also create a web app or story map! On the projects page GIS-related VU projects are put in the spotlight and you are cordially invited to contribute! look at the options and procedure. 

Collaborate and Experiment on ArcGIS Online

Involving spatial information offers an interesting dimension for many education. Locating phenomena on the map is often a pleasant, concrete and instructive way of mastering the material. Geoplaza supports with ArcGIS Online a low-threshold digital work environment, in which students can upload diverse geographical data and multimedia. You can create groups that are only accessible to your students and thus offer a safe and protected working environment.

Collect data!

Good tooling is available with ArcGIS Survey123 and the ArcGIS Fieldapp for collecting geographic data. With ArcGIS Survey you can easily set up structured questionnaires, in which you ask participants to also enter location(s) on a digital map. What could be more fun than collecting information in the researched area yourself? With the ArcGIS Fieldapp it is possible to collect data at predetermined or newly found locations. The University Library supports education on location with iPads.

Publish spatial results

Putting the joint results of the spatial inventory online produces a nice tangible result. Use the possibilities that ArcGIS Online and ArcGIS Webapps offer for this and let students create blogs in Storymaps with their spatial results. Generate extra attention by showing the results on the projects page to place: look here for interesting examples.