Google Fusion Tables workshop I: put your data on maps

Guest Host: Tass Gioia

Speaker Bio:

Sonya is the statewide Data and Targeting Manager for the New York Civic Engagement Table, a collaboration of non-profits working for social, economic and racial equality. She does a variety of roles, including helping partners learn new skills, evaluate their programs and implement best practices in their everyday work to empower them to improve their programs through data. She graduated from Swarthmore College with a BA in Economics and Art History; in January 2012, after years volunteering in issue advocacy for the National Gay and Lesbian Taskforce, she ditched her corporate gig as an art market analyst to join the table and considers it her best decision to date.

Preparation:

• Add Google Fusion Tables to your google drive suite. Instructions are here:

http://www.google.com/drive/apps.html#fusiontables

• Download Quantum GIS / QGIS (it's free). Instructions are here:

http://hub.qgis.org/projects/quantum-gis/wiki/Download

Agenda:

• Overview of mapping concepts (shapefiles, projections, etc)

• Description of various mapping options including : QGIS, arcgis, postgis, tilemill/mapbox

• Explanation of when to use and not use Google Fusion Tables

• Exercises in mapping (heat maps, dot plots, fractal, etc)

Content:

This session is meant to introduce the why and how of Google Fusion Tables, what their limitations are and how they can be incredibly useful in creating simple maps overlaid on a google map.