Using GeoNode

GeoNode is an Open Geospatial Data Sharing Platform that is widely used by Government agencies and other organizations to publish their geospatial data in an interoperable and standards compliant way. Its primary purpose is to allow users to browse and search for geospatial data and web services as well as upload, manage, and share their own geospatial data. Users can create maps with layers and other data on the web and share these maps with their colleagues or collaborators. It includes a set of social capabilities that allow users to collaborate and interact with other users.

GeoNode is also a framework for developing applications that extend its basic capabilities for a particular use case or need. You should discuss the requirements of your project with your Mentor and determine if GeoNode is a good fit for your situation and use case. If it is, you will need to learn to become a power-user of this platform, how to install, configure and manage it and then learn how to develop with it to add the capabilities needed for your project. The following sections will get you familiar with the platform and guide you through the installation and configuration process. There is a lot to learn, and your comfort level with the platform and its constituent components will grow over time. You should consult with your Mentor early and often as you make your way up the GeoNode learning curve and seek their guidance on which areas to focus on per your project’s use case. You should also join the GeoNode community and begin to participate on the mailing lists and the issue tracker.

Basic Usage

GeoNode’s interface is quite easy to learn how to use very quickly, but you should make sure you understand the full range of functions and capabilities from the user perspective. You should be familiar enough with the interface to be able to teach others how to use it without using any reference material and to be able to help answer their questions about usage. The GeoNode User Manual is your primary reference and you should become very familiar with how it is organized and presented. You may want to go through it several times or spend significant time using the platform until you feel comfortable calling yourself a GeoNode power-user. Your mentor will be able to give you a list of other GeoNode’s to check out and use to help you get familiar with how others are using and customizing GeoNode.

Goals/Objectives/Outcomes

• Understand how to search for, view and download layers from a GeoNode
• Understand how to Create an account and update your profile
• Understand how to upload layers and update their metadata
• Understand how to style a layer
• Understand how to set permissions for a layer
• Understand how to download a layer or its metadata in various formats
• Understand how to create a map with layers in a GeoNode
• Understand how to load layers from a remote service into a GeoNode and add them to a Map
• Understand how to share your map with others or
• Understand how to use your GeoNode layers in other applications via OGC Services

Reference Material

• http://geonode.org/
• http://docs.geonode.org/en/master/tutorials/users/index.html
• http://geonode.org/presentations/users.html#/

Measures of Success

• Participant has demonstrated their ability to use all the basic functions of a GeoNode by uploading and styling layers as well as creating a map from multiple layers and sharing it.
• Participant is comfortable using the GeoNode permissions system
• Participants understands the basics of how OGC based interoperability works and has loaded layers from a GeoNode into an external application