So what is GIS?

Want to get an overview over the distance to any educational institution in your area? Use GIS. Want to find your friend amongst the crowds on the skiing slope? Use GIS. Are you in need of an overview of public toilets? Use… yes, you have got it.

GIS – Geographic Information System – is a collection of hardware, software and geographic data. It lets you visualize, question, analyze, interpret and understand all data including a geographical component.

By the use of crowdsourcing and GIS you can combine geographic information (where things are) with describing information (what things are). In that way you can create various scenarios and analyses – and discover new trends.

Read our article: High hopes for ‘map apps’ courses

Both open source, and paid for

With GIS, you can uncover links and reveal patterns and trends which were previously hidden. Or find details which were previously there but are now hidden. As when crowdsourcing and GIS was used under the Haitian earthquake to help aid workers finding people under the rubbles.

GIS exists both as Open Source software – for instance QGIS– and paid for programmes such as ArcGIS, MapInfo, GeoMedia and many more.

It is an everyday tool for millions of people within businesses, governments, educators, scientists, environmental and conservation organisations and natural resource groups.

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