High-tech maps: how to get here from there. (Social Studies & Science).Districts are using it to manage student population shifts. Cities are using it for economic development planning. Parks are using it to manage natural resources. Corporations are using it to refine sales efforts. The "it" is GIS (1) (Geographic Information System) An information system that deals with spatial information. Often called "mapping software," it links attributes and characteristics of an area to its geographic location. , or geographic information system geographic information system (GIS) Computerized system that relates and displays data collected from a geographic entity in the form of a map. The ability of GIS to overlay existing data with new information and display it in colour on a computer screen is used primarily to technology, which maps the "big picture" as it coordinates the work of an organization around a shared geographic database. And now GIS is increasingly being used as a tool to help students understand their world and identify and solve problems within their communities. The Schools and Libraries division of St. Paul St. Paul as a missionary he fearlessly confronts the “perils of waters, of robbers, in the city, in the wilderness.” [N.T.: II Cor. 11:26] See : Bravery , Minn.-based Environmental Systems Research Institute has been a major source for educators looking to bring GIS to the classroom. K-12 Education Co-Manager Charlie Fitzpatrick says that when he came to ESRI (Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc., Redlands, CA, www.esri.com) The world's leading developer of geographic information systems (GIS) software, including programs that plot ZIP codes and addresses, demographic information and detailed, color-coded data. in 1992, "There were no more than a literal In programming, any data typed in by the programmer that remains unchanged when translated into machine language. Examples are a constant value used for calculation purposes as well as text messages displayed on screen. In the following lines of code, the literals are 1 and VALUE IS ONE. handful of users of GIS in K-12 education around the country." Now, he explains, the technology is used by at least thousands of educators. A former junior high school social studies teacher, Fitzpatrick says that, surprisingly, science teachers are most actively engaged in using GIS, probably because they tend to be more tech-savvy. But GIS is a natural fit for social studies--within both geography and history. Students and teachers can watch a region's changes over time. Math and language arts language arts pl.n. The subjects, including reading, spelling, and composition, aimed at developing reading and writing skills, usually taught in elementary and secondary school. teachers are also exploring GIS applications. Because GIS offers the power to link databases to maps, a variety of classroom projects are possible. A few that schools have shared on ESRI's Web site include helping a local museum identify houses built prior to 1901, a study of car accidents involving deer deer, ruminant mammal of the family Cervidae, found in most parts of the world except Australia. Antlers, solid bony outgrowths of the skull, develop in the males of most species and are shed and renewed annually. on a treacherous highway stretch, and an exploration of approaches to population growth and change in a metropolitan area. The Web site also includes links to curriculum projects, guides to getting started with GIS, and information on software (ESRI's ArcVoyager Special Edition is free) used to bring GIS to schools. * www.esri.com/k-12 |
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