Thanks to some nifty tools recently developed in the OSM community, we’ll be able to visualize our impact with OSM analytics!
Playing about with it just now, I discovered that already a noticeable amount of work has been done in 2016, partially thanks to our mapping volunteers!! Blank canvas is already turning into something resembling a map, see for yourself:
Roads before 2016:
… and now (4 months into 2016!):
Buildings around Mugumubefore 2016:
… and now (4 months into 2016!):
We hope our Mapping Party will paint that into a multitude of colours!
Which team will map the most? Vilnius? London? Dar?
Crowd2Map used to be run via EpiCollect+ platform, which allows locals to install an app on smartphones or tablets and register various resources and villages through a simple data collection form. By setting coordinates, attaching a photo and answering a few questions, each point can be registered in minutes.
The data is then sent to the central server, and all the data points can immediately be visualised on a map via the browser:
In December 2015, Janet took some donated tablets and smartphones to several schools in Tanzania and kicked-off the data collection. Several months past, we already have over 200 points!
[update 2016-04-10] We now have nearly 1500 pointson EpiCollect+!
Janet is currently travelling and doing important work on the ground in Tanzania- including mapping more essential points of interest, and interacting with our dedicated local mappers!
While there, Janet has discovered the magic of Maps.me app, which allows one to: 1) download OSM maps of the area to your phone; 2) mark points of interest (schools, dispensaries, shops etc.) directly on the map as you go; 3) upload the points directly to OpenStreetMap once you have broadband connection & log in with your OSM username.
Here’s only some of the points Janet mapped in Kibirizi yesterday, which I accessed directly from openstreetmap.org:
Therefore we encourage everyone to switch from collecting data points on EpiCollect+ to Maps.me!
1. Open the app and click the menu button at the bottom right corner.
2. Click on the + icon at the bottom.
3. Drag the map so the + location marker is exactly at the location you want to map; click Done at the top right corner.
4. Select the type of point it is (e.g. School, a type of Shop etc.).
To send the points you added to openstreetmap.org, and this is very important!
5. Click on the menu button on the main screen again; then click Settings.
6. Click on Profile.
7. If there are any “Not sent” points, click on the -> icon at the top right corner. You will have to log in with your OpenStreetMap username or register for a new one.
The points will then be sent directly to publicly accessible map, which you can check on openstreetmap.org!