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GIS is a system for storing, retrieving, displaying, analyzing, and manipulating geographic data.
GIS is important for students because:
"…(s)patial thinking must be recognized as a fundamental part of K 12 education and as an integrator and a facilitator for problem solving across the curriculum. With advances in computing technologies and the increasing availability of geospatial data, spatial thinking will play a significant role in the information-based economy of the twenty-first century."
From a description of a National Research Council Report Learning to Think Spatially: GIS as a Support System in the K-12 Curriculum supported by grants from the USGS, NASA, National Geographic Society Education Foundation, National Science Foundation, and ESRI.
Introductory information about GIS in general
GIS for your classroom
Many websites have maps already made using GIS that can be manipulated to a limited extent. A few examples are:
There are numerous and varied online applications which allow you to utilize the mapmaking capabilities of GIS without downloading software. Data and basic tools to manipulate the maps are included. Some examples are:
A listing of map indexes which allow you to find, view or create maps is available from USGS
Creating your own maps and importing your own data is possible using free downloadable software. Two options are:
More powerful and sophisticated software is available for purchase.
But there are less costly options:
Other GIS Resources
Glen Hedelson’s Powerpoint presentation from the 2006 Summer Institute about projects he has done using GIS in his classroom.
A variety of useful links when using GIS courtesy of Glen Hedelson. Many of them contain data sets, some with health data. View a list of the links (GIS Links Only) or descriptions of each link (GIS Links Complete)
A 15 minute video about GIS in the classroom, made for Teachers TV, which features Digital Worlds GIS in a secondary school with kids of around 13 years old. If you register with the Teachers TV site, you can even download the video for use in your own training events. We received permission from the creator of the video to do this. It ends up at just over 38 MB in size.
Water Study Power Point by Dara Davis and Gay Stewart
Two teachers from Rognell Heights Elementary/Middle School teach their students to use GPS, GIS and graphing calculators to monitor water quality. This project is just beginning.
John Morgan is a Towson professor who is very interested in helping teachers use GIS in the K-12 classroom. Look at his web site.
Subscribe to EdGIS
The EdGIS electronic mailing list (listserv) is a forum for discussion about the educational uses of Geographic Information Systems (GIS), mapping software, and remote-sensing. TERC maintains this list for the community of professionals interested in the health and growth of GIS use in K-16 education. TERC is a non-profit education research and development organization committed to improving mathematics and science learning and teaching.
ArcSchool Reader is a newsletter specifically for K-12 educators.
Subscribe to this and other ESRI publications at http://gis2.esri.com/newsletters/pubs_form.cfm
Public Health GIS News and Information Newsletter PDF, May 2006
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