Joseph J. Kerski

The Use of Virtual Globes as a Spatial Teaching Tool with Suggestions for Metadata Standards

Abstract Virtual Globe software has become extremely popular both inside and outside of educational settings. This software allows users to explore the Earth in three dimensions while streaming satellite imagery, elevation, and other data from the Internet. Virtual Globes, such as Google Earth, NASA World Wind, and ESRIs ArcGIS Explorer can be effectively used in standards-based, inquiry-driven geography lessons. With some practice, mashups (using data from more than one source to create new data) can be constructed for practically any application or area of interest. Educators who have not already begun to use these tools may wish to investigate them to help their students to think spatially by investigating processes and places on the Earths surface in a three-dimensional visualization environment.

A National Assessment of GIS in American High Schools

Geographic information systems (GIS) technology and methods have transformed decision making in universities, government, and industry by bringing digital spatial data sets and geographic analysis to the desktop computer. Some educators consider GIS to be one of the most promising means for implementing educational reform. However, GIS technology has been adopted by an estimated less than 1% of American high schools. The reasons behind the interest in GIS technology and methods, their slow implementation, their extent in the curriculum, and their effectiveness in teaching and learning are unclear. To address these concerns, this research: (1) describes the geographic and curricular extent to which GIS technology and methods are being implemented in secondary education in the United States, and (2) explains why and how GIS is being implemented. The study addresses technological, methodological, instructional, sociological, and behavioural issues surrounding the implementation of GIS technology and methods in secondary education. A survey was employed to discover (1) how secondary teachers are using GIS in their curricula, and (2) why they are using GIS in their curricula. A 33-item survey questionnaire was sent to 1528 teachers who owned Idrisi, by the Clark Labs at Clark University of Worcester, Massachusetts USA, MapInfo, by MapInfo Corporation of Chicago, Illinois USA, or ArcView, by ESRI, Incorporated, of Redlands, California USA. A total of 422 surveys were returned, yielding a 28% response rate. Nearly nine out of ten survey respondents taught in public high schools. Over half of the responses were from personnel in high schools enrolling between 500 and 1999 students with standard class sizes of 20–29 students. Teachers interested in GIS are highly educated and experienced. Over 76% have a Master’s or PhD degree. Over 60% of respondents have been teaching at least 15 years, and 45% have been teaching at least 20 years. GIS is preferred by teachers who have the educational background necessary to implement this advanced tool and who may have more time to devote to it. Survey results confirmed the research of Bednarz and Audet (1999), which found that most geographic technology training has been aimed at inservice teachers, rather than preservice teachers. Results also support findings of a survey that suggested that teachers are not being adequately trained to apply technology effectively to their teaching strategies (Milken Exchange and the International Society for Technology in Education, 1999).

International perspectives on teaching and learning with GIS in secondary schools

About the Editors.- List of Contributors.- Acknowledgements.- Foreword.- List of Illustrations.-The World at their Fingertips: A New Age for Spatial Thinking.- Australia: Inquiry Learning with GIS to Simulate Coastal Storm Inundation.- Austria: Links between Research Institutions and Secondary Schools for Geoinformation Research and Practice.- Canada: Teaching Geography and the Social Sciences through Geotechnology across a Decentralized Curriculum Landscape.- Chile: GIS and the Reduction of the Digital Divide in the Pan-American World.- China: Teacher Preparation for GIS in the National Geography Curriculum.- Colombia: Development of a Prototype Web-based GIS Application for Teaching Geography.- Denmark: Early Adoption and Continued Progress of GIS for Education.- Dominican Republic: Prospects for the Incorporation of GIS into the School Curriculum.- Finland: Diffusion of GIS in Schools from Local Innovations to the Implementation of a National Curriculum.- France: Dogmatic Innovations, Innovative Teachers, and Parallel Experimentations.- Germany: Diverse GIS Implementations within a Diverse Educational Landscape.- Ghana: Prospects for Secondary School GIS Education in a Developing Country.- Hungary: GIS in Natural Science Teacher Training .- India: Localized Introduction of GIS in Elite Urban Private Schools and Prospects for Diffusion.- Japan: GIS-enabled Field Research and a Cellular Phone GIS Application in Secondary Schools.- Lebanon: A Personal Journey from Professional Development to GIS Implementation in an English Language Classroom.- Malta: GIS and Geography Teaching in the Context of Educational Reform.- The Netherlands: Introduction and Diffusion of GIS for Geography Education, 1980s to the Present.- New Zealand: Pioneer Teachers and the Implementation of GIS in Schools.- Norway: National Curriculum Mandates and the Promise of Web-based GIS Applications.- Portugal: Experimental Science Learning, WebGIS, and the ConTIG project.- Rwanda: Socioeconomic Transformation to a Knowledge-based Economy through the Integration of GIS in Secondary Schools.- Singapore: The Information Technology Masterplan and the Expansion of GIS for Geography Education.- South Africa: Teaching Geography with GIS across Diverse Technological Contexts.- South Korea: GIS Implementation Profiles among Secondary Geography Teachers.- Spain: Institutional Initiatives for Improving Geography Teaching with GIS.- Switzerland: Introducing Geo-Sensor Technologies and Cartographic Concepts through the Map Your World Project.- Taiwan: The Seed of GIS Falls Onto Good Ground.- Turkey: GIS for Teachers and the Advancement of GIS in Geography Education.- Uganda: Educational Reform, the Rural-Urban Digital Divide, and the Prospects for GIS in Schools.- United Arab Emirates: Building Awareness of GIS in Education through Government and University Outreach.- United Kingdom: Realizing the Potential for GIS in the School Geography Curriculum.- United States of America: Rugged Terrain and Fertile Ground for GIS in Secondary Schools.- Synthesis: The Future Landscape of GIS in Secondary Education.- Bibliography.- Index.

The role of GIS in Digital Earth education

Abstract A growing number of educators worldwide have become convinced that geotechnologies – including geographic information systems (GIS), global positioning systems (GPS), and remote sensing – are key technologies to prepare students to be tomorrows decision makers. Grappling with local, regional, and global issues of the 21st century requires people who think spatially and who can use geotechnologies. Some educators teach geotechnologies as a discipline, emphasising skills. Other educators use geotechnologies as a tool to teach content, such as geography, history, environmental studies, Earth Science, biology, mathematics, economics and other disciplines. Issues such as traffic, population growth, urban sprawl, energy, water, crime, human health, biodiversity and sustainable agriculture are growing in complexity, exist at every scale and increasingly affect peoples everyday lives. Each of these issues has a spatial component. Drivers for geotechnology education include educational content standards, constructivism, the school-to-career movement, active learning, citizenship education, authentic practice and assessment, interdisciplinary education, community connections and a sustained, increasing demand for GIS professionals. Digital Earth is an ideal framework for contextualising domains of inquiry. The Digital Earth community can have a significant impact on the growth of geotechnologies in education, and conversely, the growth of geotechnologies in education and society can foster the forward movement of Earth systems concepts.

The Global Landscape of GIS in Secondary Education

This study analyzes the status of GIS in schools in thirty-three countries and proposes recommendations for advancing the implementation and effectiveness of GIS in secondary education from an international perspective. Thirty-three countries have been evaluated in the study to assess the global landscape of educational GIS by analyzing how GIS is recognized, approached, and used across the world with chief challenges, opportunities, and case studies. As the study revealed, the current global landscape of GIS remains small for secondary education; however, the convergence of citizen science, emphasis on spatial thinking, mobile devices, open data, and Web-based map services could cause a significant increase in the numbers of schools, educators, and students teaching and learning with GIS.

Maps and the geospatial revolution: teaching a massive open online course (MOOC) in geography

The massive open online course (MOOC) is a new approach for teaching online. MOOCs stand apart from traditional online classes in that they support thousands of learners through content and assessment mechanisms that can scale. A reason for their size is that MOOCs are free for anyone to take. Here we describe the design, development, and teaching of a MOOC called Maps and the Geospatial Revolution. We explore the geography of the student population, the experience of teaching a MOOC, and evaluate its impacts on learning. We conclude with several key challenges and opportunities we see for MOOCs in geography.

The World at Their Fingertips: A New Age for Spatial Thinking

This chapter provides an introduction to the volume International Perspectives on Teaching and Learning with GIS in Secondary Schools. The editors explain the genesis of the project, provide a brief history of GIS and its application to education, describe the structure of the chapters in the book, and present tables and a map that identifies key topics within the book.

Opportunities and Challenges in Using Geospatial Technologies for Education

Opportunities in using geospatial technologies as a meaningful and sustained part of education exist as never before. Most obvious are technological opportunities, centered on the evolution of GST to a web-based platform, including editable online maps that can be customized, analyzed, and shared on any device. Geospatial skills and approaches can be effectively taught in an ever-growing variety of face-to-face and online platforms such as Massively Open Online Courses (MOOCs). But equally important are opportunities in education that focus attention on inquiry, critical thinking, outdoor education, authentic assessment, STEM, technical, green, and other careers, and meaningful teaching with technology. Societal trends offer unprecedented opportunity to use GST in education. These include location analytics that are embedding a positional component in everyday electronic devices, a growing awareness of the geographic significance of key twenty-first century issues, such as biodiversity, urbanization, food, hazards, water, human health, and others, and the increasing role seen for citizen science in solving problems.

Synthesis: The Future Landscape of GIS in Secondary Education

The use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in secondary education around the world is diverse, yet is marked by common challenges and benefits. In this chapter, we identify those challenges and benefits, discuss technological, societal, and educational trends that will impact the future of GIS in education, and make recommendations that we believe can hasten the positive impact GIS can have on education and society.

United States of America: Rugged Terrain and Fertile Ground for GIS in Secondary Schools

In this chapter, we describe the status of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in the secondary schools of the USA. We emphasize the progress that has been made in recent years toward overcoming some of the barriers to infusing geospatial technologies in US schools, and focus on the emergence of GIS in career and technical education through a case study of an innovative program in Santa Rosa, California. We conclude with a discussion of the prospects for GIS in US secondary schools in the future.