A key new capacity in ArcGIS Desktop 9.3.1 is the ability to generate "layer packages." These are sets of data plus the classification and symbolization scheme, exported out from ArcMap, and able to be drawn as the creator saved them. Instead of a folder with a bunch of distinct files, it's a single ".lpk" file, stored using standard file compression. Users of ArcGIS Desktop 9.3.1 can extract and use the contents automatically. Users of previous versions of ArcGIS Desktop can access the contents via standard file unzipping tools. And users of the upcoming ArcGIS Explorer 900 will be able to just draw it on the fly (no unzipping needed) with the classification and symbolization used in ArcMap!

To test this as a powerful tool for setting up instruction, I added a US counties shapefile into ArcMap six times. I set the top layer as hollow polygons with borders, and used different classification and symbolization schemes for the next five layers. I merged the bottom two layers into a "group layer", merged the next three into another "group layer", and left the top border layer by itself. Then I grouped the two "group layers" plus the border layer into a single group layer called "counties" …

and exported the "counties" as a "layer package" …

which looked like this when I unzipped "counties.lpk" to see the contents …

and looked like this when added into ArcGIS Explorer 900 (BETA).

Users of ArcMap 9.3.1 will be able to share layer packages on the new ArcGIS Online (coming soon), making it easier than ever for educators to prepare and share instructional content! Check out all the links, read up, and look for a lot of attention to this at the ESRI Education User Conference and International User Conference this summer!

- Charlie Fitzpatrick, ESRI Education Manager