Maps are a great visual tool. We all collect spatial data - holiday destinations, favourite places, areas of interest. But paper maps are limited, and the tools to plot digital maps on a computer can seem daunting.

Do you have data that you would like to show on a map but you don't know how to ? Or would you like to try a first coding project and want something simple and very visual as a starting project?

Maps are a great first project for coding or working with data. You can start to produce maps with only 7 lines of code. This beginners' course requires no previous experience and leads you line by line through the code required. It uses the popular Python language which is the most widely used language for Data Science.

In the course lessons, you will find how to:

• Access free mapping packages to allow you to draw great maps with almost no code

• Load your data from a spreadsheet to a map

• Apply map projections to shape the map to a screen

• Add a background of streets or landscape to the region

• Customise the map into what you want it to be, changing appearance, colouring and layout. You can make a detailed streetmap or an impressionistic outline map as you require