Planning the Next Generation of Regional Atlases: Input From Educators

Abstract

Abstract The regional atlas is an important educational resource that needs to be updated on a periodic basis to remain current and valuable. Contemporary advances in digital cartography and digital information dissemination are offering opportunities to rethink the traditional hard-bound paper atlas when working towards a new edition. It is argued in this paper that innovative atlas work ought not be undertaken without market research, including user consultation. This paper presents the results of a user survey conducted in British Columbia, Canada, to solicit educators' attitudes towards regional atlas content and design, including educators' reactions to digital atlases. Where appropriate, results are compared to a previously conducted user survey of the general public and other interest groups including grade 10 high school pupils. We learned that high school teachers in British Columbia are not ready for a digital atlas unless it also is published in paper format. Any digital initiative must also be hardware independent. We learned further that teachers emphasize simplicity and that they value high quality and up-to-date information presented in a clear and concise manner.