Nunaliit — Introduction
“Nunaliit has been designed to make it relatively simple to create interactive mapping web sites based on your data and multimedia.”
Nunaliit Website
Nunaliit is a collaborative web mapping framework which uses maps as a way to connect and interact with a variety of data. Designed to be utilized by communities, the Nunaliit Atlas Framework has been used for numerous projects to geographically represent various data, including linguistic, ecological, and sociological elements. While Nunaliit was not developed as a dictionary-building tool, several communities have used the framework to add compiled wordlists to an atlas, as detailed below under Examples of Dictionaries Using Nunaliit.
The installation and maintenance process of a Nunaliit atlas requires intermediate to advanced technical skills and is described in detail on the Nunaliit GitHub wiki. However, adding information to the atlas does not require community users to have any programming knowledge. As a highly customizable framework, Nunaliit atlas creators define how data is organized, displayed, and stored. This allows users with editor privileges to create their own attributes while contributing various forms of information, including multimedia and written documents. Although Nunaliit has been designed to run on a Linux operating system, the developers have provided instructions on deploying it on other operating systems using a virtual machine. This workaround allows Nunaliit to remain free and open source. A Nunaliit website will be accessible to users running any operating system.
Nunaliit has remote data creation and editing capabilities, synchronizing online and offline data as network connectivity allows. In addition, a team of researchers and developers at the Geomatics and Cartographic Research Centre (GCRC) at Carleton University continue working towards remote, field-based contributions, including direct data collection and input into an atlas from GPS communication devices and developing a mobile app.
Highlights
- Free, mobile, and open source
- Collaborative
- Highly customizable
- Adaptable to community needs and goals
- Offline editing is available
- Atlas creators can manage user accessibility control
- Users can add any language to the atlas interface
- Developers have provided a workaround, making it deployable on most operating systems
- Supports media files, including photos, videos, and audio recordings
- Step-by-step walkthroughs available on the Nunaliit GitHub wiki
From Hayes, A. and Fraser Taylor, D. R. 2019. “Developments in the Nunaliit Cybercartographic Atlas Framework.” Modern Cartography Series, 7: 205-218. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-444-64193-9.00013-0.
- Designed on an abstract module and schema concept stored alongside, but independently of data to be rendered
- Authorized users can edit without programming knowledge
- An atlas can be kept in multiple locations simultaneously (affording online and offline editing) with data synchronized as network connectivity allows
- A mobile app which supports multiple forms of data and allows for offline data collection is under development
- Users can contribute directly to an atlas through Garmin InReach GPS communicator devices from the field
- In-browser video and audio recording and compression
Considerations
- Intermediate technical skills are required to start and maintain an atlas
- While an atlas can used to create a dictionary, this is not its primary design purpose
- Designed for a Linux operating system, users will have to follow the workaround provided on the Nunaliit Tutorial GitHub Wiki if installation on a different operating system is desired
- A virtual machine workaround is required to develop a Nunaliit website on Windows or macOS
Alternatives to Nunaliit
No other dictionary tool featured on this Knowledgebase can be used for mapping in the same ways as Nunaliit.
Mukurtu similarly can connect language data with cultural materials, which may include maps.
Examples of Dictionaries Using Nunaliit
The Inuktut Lexicon Atlas uses Nunaliit to map the communities and and dialects spoken across Inuit Nunangat (the Inuit regions in Canada), and connects users to the dialect’s word list held on the site.
The Kitikmeot Place Name Atlas was made using Nunaliit to map place names across the Kitikmeot region, attaching multimedia to posts when applicable.
Other example atlases and the variety of uses communities have found for Nunaliit can be found on the GCRC Atlases page.
Support Service
Users are asked to pose questions on the Nunaliit GitHub Repository by opening a new issue, which the Nunaliit team will label as a question. Once questions are answered, they are closed and archived.
Users interested in discussing with the larger community of Nunaliit developers and users are invited to join the Nunaliit chat channel by registering with a free Matrix homeserver.
Developer
Research and development of Nunaliit is undertaken by a team of researchers and developers at the Geomatics and Cartographic Research Centre (GCRC) at Carleton University.