S T E P 5 : F I N D YOU R V A R I A B L E .
To select our variable of interest, we click the drop-down menu that starts with the currently displayed variable name, “ Total:- Estimate”, on the navigation bar above our map. The resulting drop -down menu displays all table rows. You can explore all the options; in this example, we will map the number of individuals in a census block group within Patrick County who have access to a computer but do not have an internet subscription. See Figure 8 and scroll down to the row that refers to that inform ation, labeled “Total - Under 18 years-Has a computer-Without and internet subscription- Estimate.”
Figure 8: Selecting the variable displayed on the map.
Figure 9 shows our new map. The updated top bar title now informs us that this is a map of ACS data estimating the number of persons under eighteen living in households with a computer but without an internet subscription. The bottom-left legend tells us how map colors correspond to the estimated number of such persons in each census block group, with darker colors indicating a higher number of children and youth facing barriers to remote education. In this example, we can see that the eastern parts of Patrick County have no children and youth living in households with a computer but no internet access; conversely, census block groups in the west of the county have up to approximately eighty such persons. Our map is interactive and clicking on a census block group will show detailed information about it. For example, clicking on block group 1 — the block group with one of the darkest colors — shows us that forty-nine individuals under eighteen years old with a computer but no internet live in the block group. Our map can now tell us where to target our initiatives and efforts. Because we are mapping areas where school-aged children have no internet, we may think about providing them with free wireless internet access hotspots for their computers or reaching them via cell phone instead. We could also explore other ACS tables, or other
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