GIS and Geographic Inquiry

"Geospatial" technologies--which include geographic information system (GIS), global positioning system (GPS), and remote sensing (RS) tools--are becoming increasingly important in our everyday lives. These technologies use "smart" maps that can display, query, and analyze geographic databases; receivers that provide location and navigation; and global-to-local imagery and tools that provide context and analysis.

As these tools become vital to helping community leaders ask and answer questions with both local and global implications, the ability to think spatially is an increasingly important skill for students. Hundreds of jobs--in such areas as planning, law enforcement, environmental management, business, public safety, health, and agriculture--now require key geographic inquiry skills.

Though GIS technology appears in the National Geography Standards, teachers in earth, environmental, biological, and general science also are incorporating geospatial technologies into their lessons. The growing use of these tools in an array of social studies and STEM subjects supports authentic, problem-based instruction, helping students tackle real social and environmental research projects in their communities.

School leaders, too, are using geospatial technologies to help with their planning and decision making. These tools can help districts make more informed decisions related to facilities planning, student transportation, school safety, and more.

With the generous financial support of ESRI, the editors of eSchool News have compiled this special collection of news stories, best practices, and other resources--all designed to help you integrate GIS and other geospatial technologies into your classrooms and district offices.--The Editors

eSchool News Articles

  • 'Augmented reality' helps kids learn
    Mon, Feb 05, 2007 Primary Topic Channel: GPS
    Researchers at Harvard, MIT, and the University of Wisconsin at Madison have developed a project that uses "augmented reality" to teach students math and literacy skills. The project involves teams of students gathering data on handheld computers to explain why aliens have landed, and in the process students "interview" virtual characters they encounter at certain GPS hot spots. The researchers say the project holds great potential for engaging students and teaching high-level skills. [ Read More ]
  • Young Americans geographically challenged
    Thu, May 04, 2006 Primary Topic Channel: Curriculum,Research
    To combat what a recent poll reveals as a striking lack of knowledge about geography among young Americans, National Geographic is leading a new multimedia campaign to boost the geographic literacy of today's students. The campaign, which includes a new web site with classroom resources for educators, comes as an awareness of the world around them is increasingly important for students to succeed in today's global economy. [ Read More ]

  •  

    Schools urged to teach 'spatial literacy'
    Wed, Apr 12, 2006 Primary Topic Channel: Curriculum
    The National Research Council, which advises the federal government on critical issues in science and technology, has issued a report calling on schools to incorporate "spatial literacy" into their curricula. Spatialthinking is an increasingly important skill for living and working in the 21st century, the council said, and geographic information system (GIS) technology can help schools teach this skill to their students. [ Read More ]

     

  •  

    Geography studies flying high in Montana schools
    Thu, Nov 01, 2001 Primary Topic Channel: School Administration ,Curriculum,Legislation,Litigation,Research
    Students in Montana soon will have free access to the same space-based tools professional foresters, engineers, and mapmakers use to explore and study the world, thanks to a geography initiative called GIS-4-Montana. [ Read More ]

     

  • Google Maps inspire creativity
    Wed, Jun 15, 2005 Primary Topic Channel: School Administration
    A new technology from internet search behemoth Google Inc. is making innovators out of some educators, who have begun envisioning practical uses for the company's new Google Maps feature to make previously unavailable graphic representations of everything from school district bus routes to geography lessons... [ Read More ]

  •  

    Students create 'biomaps' using sophisticated GIS software
    Tue, Feb 01, 2000 Primary Topic Channel: School Administration ,Curriculum,Funding
    Students at Hopkinton High School in New Hampshire are taking a hands-on approach to learning about their local flora and fauna, with the help of very sophisticated mapping software. Hpkinton geography and science students have been using high-tech geographic information system (GIS) software called ArcView to create complex, multi-dimensional maps of the environment in and around their hometown. [ Read More ]

     

  •  

    Students use computers to design real-world service projects
    Wed, Jun 01, 2005 Primary Topic Channel: Curriculum
    The term "spatial technology" refers to the function of any number of different hardware and software tools that help students engage with the physical world. In a spatial technology lab, students use technologies that teach them computer-aided design, engineering design, visualization, database design, web page design, programming, office automation, global positioning systems, and geographic information systems. [ Read More ]

     

  •  

    Teachers take summer-school lessons in geography at NASA
    Fri, Aug 10, 2001 Primary Topic Channel: School Administration ,Curriculum,Funding
    One hundred twenty geography, science, and social studies teachers from around the nation spent a week in June attending the "Mission Geography" workshop in Texas. [ Read More ]

     

  •  

    NASA school could put 'geospatial technology' on the map
    Tue, Aug 01, 2000 Primary Topic Channel: Curriculum
    The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) hopes to give a boost to an emerging technical specialty by launching a model high-tech school in rural Georgia. [ Read More ]

     

Best School Management Practices

  • Tech helps slash costs, enhance safety
    Wed, Jun 07, 2006 Primary Topic Channel: Safety & security
    With increasing budgetary and safety concerns, school transportation officials are cutting costs and increasing safety by using new software and technology that can improve: route management, safety and security, and savings on fuel and operation costs. Software can now enable school transportation officials to adjust routes and schedules onthe fly to better manage fleets to accommodate needs. Schools are alsoturning to alternative fuels to alleviate the burden of high gas prices. In addition, video cameras and other technology are increasing bus safety by monitoring behavior, as well as driving violations by adults on and around buses. [ Read More ]
  • GIS technology aids school planning
    Mon, Dec 27, 2004 Primary Topic Channel: School Administration
    Before administrators for the 8,300-student Fayetteville Public School District in Arkansas decided where to build their new K-7 school, they set out to find the perfect location--one that would benefit the greatest number of families while causing the least disruption in traffic patterns and other geographic variables. The decision proved to be an easy one, thanks to the aid of Geographic Information System (GIS) technology. [ Read More ]
  • Soaring fuel costs threaten school budgets
    Mon, Sep 12, 2005 Primary Topic Channel: School Administration ,Funding
    The fuel panic that ensued after Hurricane Katrina interrupted oil production and transportation in the Gulf Coast region has heightened concerns over rising fuel costs that already had existed before the storm. These soaring costs have put a serious strain on school budgets, prompting school leaders to examine ways they can save... [ Read More ]

  • Technology: Charlotte-Mecklenburg uses technology to match schools with donors
    Thu, Jun 01, 2000 Primary Topic Channel: Funding
    Matching potential business partners with schools that need their help has always been a challenge for large school systems. Businesses want to contribute and schools need assistance, but plugging the right resource into the need often is difficult. It's a challenge Deborah Antshel faced when she became partnerships director for North Carolina's Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS) in 1997. With the help of geographic information systems (GIS) and database software, however, the district has hit upon a unique solution. [ Read More ]

Geography & GIS Resources

  • Chart the past--and present--of geographic exploration with this site commemorating Lewis and Clark
    Wed, Nov 19, 2003 -- Commemorating 200 years since Meriwether Lewis and William Clark embarked on their pioneering expedition throughout North America, ESRI, a maker of geographic information systems (GIS) software, has developed a new web site called "Lewis and Clark 200." The site provides an introduction to modern techniques of exploration, as well as a detailed history of mapmaking--from the tools first used by the famous pair's Corps of Discovery to more recent cartographic methods such as GIS, a computer-based tool for mapping and analyzing places and events. [ Read More ]

  • National Geographic hosts fun-filled explorations
    Wed, Mar 01, 2000 Primary Topic Channel: Curriculum
    The National Geographic site is an incredibly extensive and well-thought out site for kids and educators alike. [ Read More ]

  • Chart a course for learning with this historical map collection
    Mon, May 13, 2002 Primary Topic Channel:
    A new web site now gives teachers the ability to instill a love of maps—and the history they represent—in their students, while teaching them valuable geography and cartography skills. [ Read More ]

  • Royalty-free video: Geography
    Tue, Nov 30, 2004 Primary Topic Channel: Curriculum
    Discovery Education is offering its united streaming video-on-demand service subscribers access to more than 1,000 video clips that have been copyright-cleared by their producers for editing or reproduction by teachers and students in class projects. [ Read More ]

 


Additional Resources


Geography across the curriculum

Exploring Common Ground: The Educational Promise of GIS (Downloadable Paper)
http://www.esri.com/industries/k-12/download/docs/xcg.pdf

Geographic Inquiry: Thinking Geographically (Downloadable Paper)
http://www.esri.com/industries/k-12/download/docs/geoginquiry.pdf

Learning to Think Spatially new report from the National Research Council
http://www.nap.edu/catalog/11019.html

Geography across the community

4-H GIS Program
http://www.esri.com/4-h

EAST Initiative (Multi-state program on student-centered technology education)
http://www.eastproject.org

My Community, Our Earth (Ongoing project to engage youth in sustainability issues)
http://www.aag.org/sustainable

Geography and careers

Career Voyages: Geospatial Technology
http://www.careervoyages.gov/geospatialtechnology-main.cfm

Geospatial 21 (Part of the Kidz Online Network)
http://www.geospatial21.org

Mapping out a GIS career
http://www.gis.com/careers

President’s High-Growth Job Training Initiative--Geospatial Technology
http://www.doleta.gov/BRG/Indprof/Geospatial.cfm

SPACESTARS (GIS, GPS, RS Curricula)
http://www.spacestars.org

Geography and school administration

Chicago launches online school locator
http://schoollocator.cps.k12.il.us

Detroit tackles facilities and transportation with GIS
http://www.esri.com/news/arcnews/fall05articles/earning-all.html

GIS Best Practices
http://www.esri.com/industries/k-12/user-showcase/case-studies.html

Online Mapping

Community Information Resources Center (Try interactive mapping)
http://circ.rupri.org

ESRI ArcWeb Explorer
http://www.arcwebservices.com

Geography Network
http://www.geographynetwork.com

GLOBE at Night (Special activity begins March 8, 2007)
http://www.globe.gov/GaN

National Geographic Society MapMachine
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/mapmachine

USGS National Atlas (Try the MapMaker)
http://www.nationalatlas.gov

GPS resources

Garmin: About GPS
http://www.garmin.com/aboutGPS/

NASA: GPS Applications Exchange
http://gpshome.ssc.nasa.gov/

Sam Wormley’s GPS Resources
http://www.edu-observatory.org/gps/gps.html

Trimble: About GPS
http://www.trimble.com/gps/index.html

Remote sensing resources

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center: Remote Sensing Data and Information
http://rsd.gsfc.nasa.gov/rsd/RemoteSensing.html

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center: Visualization of Remote Sensing Data
http://rsd.gsfc.nasa.gov/rsd

NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory: Shuttle Radar Topography Mission
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/srtm

NOAA Satellite’s Eye Art Gallery
http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/ol/satellite/satelliteseye/satelliteseye.html