Evaluating the Electronic Wall Map. Proceedings of the 17th International Cartographic Conference 1995, pp. 654-662.

The wall map holds a revered place in the front of the classroom. Printed on a sturdy material and rolled for storage, the use of this type of map has persisted well into the computer age. The defining characteristic of wall maps is that they are specifically designed for viewing by a large group of people.

The rapid changes in the world over the past decade have made the limitations of the wall map very apparent. While these maps are made to last many years, the information that they depict goes out-of-date very quickly. While new wall maps can be purchased, their high cost precludes many institutions from doing so on a regular basis. The wall map also has all of the limitations associated with the printed map. It is a static display that cannot show movement or dynamic processes. The ability to zoom onto an area and depict it at a larger scale or quickly switching between maps is also impossible.

The electronic wall map is characterized by the use of a video projection device that displays onto a screen several meters in diagonal measure. Available in three forms, the large-screen monitor, the video projector and the overhead projection panel, these devices display material from a variety of video sources such as a computer, a laser disc player, a VCR, and video-camera presenters (VCP).

Electronic wall maps displayed from all of these video source have been tested in geography and cartography classes with up to 120 students. The laser disc player and VCR were used mainly for the display of cartographic animations. The computer was used for the display of thematic maps that were created at the time of instruction and for the display of material from CD-ROM. The VCP was used for the display of paper maps from atlases and textbooks.

It was found that the display of cartographic animations is very successful with the VCR and laser disc. The laser disc is preferred because it has higher resolution although VCR tapes in the S-Video (SVHS) format are also acceptable. The display of maps directly with the computer is best done with computer mapping programs that can update maps quickly on the screen. A choropleth mapping program was used to display black & white maps on the screen in under three seconds. While the CD-ROM is used for the display of maps in personal multimedia (as a part of encyclopedias and other reference material), their use in the classroom is problematic because of the slow access speeds. A solution is to copy the contents of the CD-ROM onto the hard-drive of the computer and display the maps from this source. However, without specialized software, the display of maps by computer in the classroom is generally too slow for normal lecture use.

The VCP, displaying material that is placed onto a lighted surface beneath a vertically-aligned video camera, proved to be the most versatile and effective version of the electronic wall map. The zoom feature of the camera allows parts of maps to be examined more closely. The ease in switching between maps was also noted. In general, only a small amount of focus adjustment was needed. The colors were also displayed accurately. The ability to point to different parts of the map was another advantage of this display device.

The electronic map will become more feasible when computers can display maps more quickly. It is possible to envision a central computer server that would store an atlas of maps and cartographic animations that can be easily selected and quickly displayed. In the meantime, the electronic wall map is best created by displaying a smaller paper map. In either case, maps need to be specifically designed for display in a large format.