The Atlas of Canada Web Mapping: The User Counts

Abstract

Imagine if…

A student searches the Internet to get information for a project on Victoria for a grade nine geography class. He uses Google to search for “Victoria” and “geography”. First on the list of search results is The Atlas of Canada. He quickly selects this and arrives at the home page of the Atlas. He sees that he can search for a place and he does so for Victoria. He finds there are many places named Victoria in Canada and is able to find the one in British Columbia for which he is looking. He then sees that he can link from the location map to combine themes with the place. The thematic material includes all the types of information he is required to put into his project. Not only can he see the maps, which he decides to use as the basis for his project, but also the background data used to make the map. He notices an audio button that he clicks on to get a description of the map and a video button, which brings up an interesting video clip. He then finds that a full description is available that also provides links to other sites that may be of interest. Everything he needs is in this one great Web site. From now on, The Atlas of Canada is where he will start all his assignments.