I am so excited about this training! It sounds like we have a great group of educators coming. Can’t wait to meet them and hear their ideas for incorporating GIS into their teaching!
GIS Training, Bridgeport, March 9, 2013
8:00 – 9:00– Breakfast and Registration. Please get your laptop plugged in and started up. Please connect to the wireless internet.
9:00- 10:15
ü Hopes and Fears: What are yours? For this session only
ü Getting Started with GIS
ü Why Geotechnology is Important! http://geospatialrevolution.psu.edu/
ü Why GIS? Why now? – Head to this page: http://tiny.cc/QQef2b Read through some of these careers. Share with your neighbor. Tell us why we should be teaching and teaching with GIS now!
ü Rope Activity
ü GIS Basics
10:15 – 10:30 Break
10:30-11:00
Let’s look at some simple and neat webmapping tools created by ESRI. How will you use one of these in your classroom? Head to http://tiny.cc/6Vef2b. Take a look at the Latitude – Longitude Finder, Sketch-A-Map, Elevation Profile Map Tool, Landsat Viewers, and Zipcode Lookup utilities. Which one to you like the best?
ESRI has published a number of Story Maps – a way to tell a story with a map. Check this page out, along with a few maps. Share with your neighbor and then share with the group. http://storymaps.esri.com
Quick Lesson Plan: What is a topic you teach that you could use one of these tools with next week?
11:00 – 2:30 (Lunch from 12:30 – 1:15)
Let’s Play for a Few Minutes http://storymaps.esri.com/stories/2012/treasure-hunt-cities/
Geographic Inquiry Process & Instructional Use of GIS
ü Like Scientific Method?
ü Like 5 E Lesson Plan Model? Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, Evaluate
Explore ArcGIS Online When landing on http://www.arcgis.com/, we have a couple of options – sign in with an account, or scroll to the bottom of the page to get to the link for “maps for personal use” (Home). We will scroll down and explore a bit and then create a personal account.
https://webaccounts.esri.com/cas/index.cfm
- Explore the Gallery
- Maps
- Web Maps
- Explore the Map Viewer
- Legend (Details)
- Basemap_
- Add Layer
- Measure
- Bookmark
- Scale and Zoom
- Shift and Drag
- Create an account (click Sign In)
- Username: _______________________ Password: _________________________________
- Create an Editable Layer (Adding a popup window and a data point)
- Add data collected from a GPS (This requires heading to eklose.com/GIS)
- Download data file here, right click on derocho_wind and save to your computer.
v Practice searching for data
v Use ArcGIS as a student Complete the Exploring Africa “scripted” activity
v Explore Instructional Materials at http://edcommunity.esri.com/
- ArcLessons
- Mapping Our World
- ESRI Ed Team You Tube Channel
- ESRI Training (Teaching with GIS: Introduction to Using GIS in the Classroom) http://training.esri.com
2:30 – 4:00
ü You will now create a lesson plan of your own using ArcGIS.com. The lesson plan can be access here: http://wvde.state.wv.us/socialstudies/gis.html
ü Email Completed Lesson Plan to Joey Wiseman, rjwisema@access.k12.wv.us
ü Questions? Contact Erika Klose, eklose@access.k12.wv.us
TMI GIS @ WVU
Hi folks!
You’re going to get really excited today about using GIS in your teaching. I’m positive of this! So, here are a few links to help you find some great resources to use in your classroom.
The ESRI EdCommunity page is excellent: http://edcommunity.esri.com/.
If you’ve ever used the book, Mapping Our World, Level 2, it has been been re-written for ArcGIS Online – You can find it here:http://edcommunity.esri.com/im/OWGE2.cfm. It’s a great resource!
To see what WVDE has to offer in terms of software and training, head here: http://wvde.state.wv.us/socialstudies/gis.html.
Teachers that take training in GIS through WVDE create a lesson plan for using GIS. Many of these lesson plans are available here: http://wveis.k12.wv.us/teach21/public/gis/I_menu.cfm?tsele1=3>ype=134 There are currently no Social Studies lessons here as they are currently being aligned to the new SS Standards.
Training at ETech Ohio 2013
I’m presenting two sessions today. I have a 45 minute session this AM, on teaching with ArcGIS and using geotechnologies in the classroom. Then this afternoon, I’m doing a 3 hour workshop on using ArcGIS for instruction. I’m so excited. I’m pasting the agenda for this afternoon below.
Workshop Agenda
v Hopes and Fears: What are yours? For this session only. 
v Introduction: What is GIS and why is geotechnology important in education? (Super Short .ppt)
- Why Geotechnology is Important! http://geospatialrevolution.psu.edu/
v Geo-Education Article
v ESRI Education Community Resources http://edcommunity.esri.com/
v Explore Web Mapping Tools Head to http://edcommunity.esri.com/ and follow along as we explore the WebMapping tools. Remember, click the Web Mapping link. In addition to the basic ArcGIS.com Map Viewer, there are all sorts of fun tools like the Zip Code Lookup and the Elevation Profile Map Tool.
v Explore ArcGIS Online When landing on http://www.arcgis.com/, we have a couple of options – sign in with an account, or scroll to the bottom of the page to get to the link for “maps for personal use” (Home). We will scroll down and explore a bit and then create a personal account.
- Explore the Gallery
- Maps
- Web Maps
- Explore the Map Viewer
- Legend (Details)
- Basemap
- Add Layer
- Measure
- Bookmark
- Scale and Zoom
- Create an account (click Sign In)
- Create an Editable Layer (Adding a popup window and a data point)
- Add data collected from a GPS (derocho_wind NWS Specific Wind Rpts 6/2012)
v Use ArcGIS as a student Complete the Exploring Africa “scripted” activity
v Explore Instructional Materials at http://edcommunity.esri.com/
- ArcLessons
- Mapping Our World
- ESRI Ed Team You Tube Channel
- ESRI Training (Teaching with GIS: Introduction to Using GIS in the Classroom) http://training.esri.com
v Wrap-Up
- Questions
- Contacts
Trainings approaching!
Spring is always the time for GIS training! And here comes the GIS season!
In February (2/11), I am presenting at Ohio’s Etech (Educational Technology Conference). http://schedule.etech.ohio.gov/ Ohio, like WV, now has an ESRI K-12 license. Yay for Ohio!!!!! You can see a map of the states and districts that have these licenses here: http://esriurl.com/k12schoollicenses. So I’m heading to Columbus to give a talk and then an afternoon workshop. The two sessions will be listed here: http://schedule.etech.ohio.gov/eklose.
Then on 2/17, there is a terrific training happening in Morgantown. The Mountain Institute is incorporating GIS into their long-standing Appalachian Watershed and Stream Monitors training program. I’ll be part of a contingent of instructors working to train teachers to collect, display, and analyze water quality data in an ArcGIS environment. So excited! You can see what TMI is doing here: http://www.mountain.org/map/appalachian-watershed-and-stream-monitors
In March (9 & 23) WVDE hosts its annual GIS trainings in Bridgeport. I’m excited to do the training for those two days.
Whew!
I’ve seen a few really neat GIS postings in various locations lately. The http://edcommunity.esri.com/ page has some nice blog posts. And the Geotech center http://www.geotechcenter.org/Upcoming-Events/GeoEd-2013-GeoTech-Summer-Workshop-Series has some great trainings going on this summer. I think I may be checking some of those out.
Happy GISing!
Star Lesson
I created the lesson below for use with my 7th graders. After demonstrating the methodology in my classroom with the projector, my students very quickly completed this assignment on their own. They enjoyed it and they used GIS as a tool to plan their star party!
Lesson:
Hi 7th Graders. As you know we’re working in the stars this week. If you remember from the video, each year there is something called the Texas Star Party (http://texasstarparty.org/), where amateur astronomers converge in the very dark Texas desert to set up their telescopes and watch the night skies.
Your assignment is to find a location here in WV to have your own star party. There are a few requirements. Number one, it has to be a dark area – good for star gazing. Number two, it has to be in an open field. That is sometimes hard to find around here.
We’re going to use an online map to find a location for our party.
Open the following map document: http://bit.ly/UupDH0
You’ll see an image of the Earth at Night, along with a green circle. This green circle has a radius of 100 miles and is centered on Charleston, WV. Your star party must be found within this circle. You can find more images of the Earth at night here: http://www.nightearth.com/ and more information about light pollution here: http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2008/11/light-pollution/klinkenborg-text
Click Add -> Create Editable Layer. Click Create, to add the Map Notes Layer.
Click the Pushpin and add it to mark a possible location for your “Star” party. Remember, you must be in a dark area to host your party.
Name your pushpin “Star Party” when the window appears and click “close”.
Zoom in (you zoom in and out with the scroll wheel on your mouse). The Earth at Night layer will disappear. Zoom in until you can see the terrain where your pushpin is located. You need to have your party in an open field, preferably accessible by a road. If you’re on the side of a mountain, you’ll have to move.
Click on your pushpin and make sure the edit option is selected (it’s up at the top). You can now click and drag to move your pushpin to the nearest field. After you move your pushpin, you may need to click “close” again on the dialogue box that pops up.
Next, zoom out for a minute and make sure your pushpin is still in a dark area. If moving it brought it into an illuminated area, you’ll need to move it again. When you’re sure that you are in a dark area, get your latitude and longitude coordinates.
Click the measure button, and then click the “bulls eye” shape (the bulls eye gives you your latitude and longitude). Click on or hover over your pushpin. You’ll see the latitude and longitude of your star party location in the measure window.
Write the latitude and longitude on a note card and turn in.
ESRI’s Educational User’s Conference, part 2
Sunday’s sessions started with a great discussion about what we are really teaching students when we teach them with GIS and to use GIS. We create GIS professionals who are “spatially savvy” and citizens who are “spatially aware”.
This is such a special time with the availability of GIS to all through ArcGIS Online. As Charlie Fitzpatrick said, we now have “means, motive, and opportunity”. The means is ArcGIS; the motive is the ability to use GIS in our jobs and our communities; and the opportunity is the online capacity to make GIS available to all.
WV’s statewide license implementation was featured in a panel on K12 statewide license implementation. There was much discussion about the many ways that the ArcGIS software can actually get to teachers. Also, we discussed the use of geomentors in bringing GIS to classrooms. We actually have a great number of GIS professionals who are willing and available to work alongside teachers in implementing GIS in the classroom. The GIS community is encouraging geomentors to approach teachers and schools in their own communities.
I attended a great session on using GIS in the science classroom. I saw a program, which I’ve looked at before, from Lehigh University. In a cooperative project between education and earth and environmental science, an energy curriculum was create to investigate difference forms of energy and energy sources using GIS. It’s completely available online. You can find it at http://www.ei.lehigh.edu/eli/energy. There are assessment materials there as well. E-mail me if you are interested in those. In the last year, they’ve also completed a curriculum on tectonics. http://www.ei.lehigh.edu/eli/tectonics.
Monday was the plenary sessions for the ESRI User’s Conference. It was amazing to see 15, 000 attendees in one giant room, and to see the amazing new capabilities of the ArcGIS displayed on the huge screens.
Tuesday, I attended a number of sessions on incorporating GIS across the curriculum. The goal is to infuse general education courses with geospatial thinking to add value to all curriculum areas. Critical thinking is cross – curricular and necessary for our students. GIS is a great tool for critical thinking and creating informed citizens.
I heard about some great student-led projects such as one that investigated alcohol sales vs. youth hangout locations, and trail mapping in state parks. GIS gets students involved in their own communities, applying geospatial thinking to their worlds.
In a session on GIS and History, I learned about a website called http://www.gisforhistory.org/ which has amazing lessons on historical US census data. It contains projects for students as well as lesson plans for students. The Virginia Center for Digital History contains lesson plans for K12 classrooms linked to National and VA standards (http://www.vcdh.virginia.edu/index.php?page=Outreach) which allow students to look at raw materials from the past. The National Historical Geographic Information System (https://www.nhgis.org/) provides, free census data and GIS-compatible boundary files for the United States between 1790 and 2010. Amazing data sets! Lastly, http://intimeandplace.org/, has GIS-based American history lessons.
Wednesday, my last day, I spent visiting the vendors and seeing all the amazing ways that GIS is incorporated into every industry I could ever imagine! http://www.esri.com/events/user-conference/exhibits/index.html contains a list of all the vendors at the Conference. Looking at this list, you can get an idea of all the current and potential careers in GIS. The main conference page (http://www.esri.com/events/user-conference/index.html) has links to the plenary session videos and many more information. I spent the remainder of my day going to technical sessions on ArcGIS for organizations (a new feature) and on Story Map templates, which I believe will be a great resources to use GIS to tell stories in science and social studies.
This was an amazing conference both for the lessons learned and the lessons shared as WV brings GIS to our teachers. If you have any questions on incorporating GIS into your teaching, e-mail me!
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ESRI Educational User’s Conference, Part 1.
Each year, ESRI hosts a User’s Conference, where those who use the ArcGIS software come together to share their work, their practices, and to learn new technologies. In addition, there is an Educational Users Conference, the EdUC, where Educational Users from all over the world come together to share best practices in teaching and learning with GIS. It’s an exciting place!
Today’s opening plenary session dealt with the advances in ArcGIS online, available at ArcGIS.com/home. There was great discussion about how online GIS made GIS easier, cooler, “volunteerier”, and more accessible to the community. With the online GIS, the barriers to entry, getting started with the software, are so much lower than with traditional desktop software.
Danny Edelson from National Geographic spoke about how GIS is a tool for empowering learners that will prepare them to be the next generation of spatial thinkers. He talked about great online tools that National Geographic is creating to engage student and citizen scientists. Check some out:
Field Scope: http://education.nationalgeographic.com/education/program/fieldscope/?ar_a=1&force_AR=True
Mapping Activities: http://education.nationalgeographic.com/education/mapping/?ar_a=1
Project Bud Burst:http://neoninc.org/budburst/
A major component of the morning was the discussion about creating spatially aware students and teachers! The discussion included incorporating spatial literacy courses into pre-service teaching programs. What a great idea! One of the comments that I liked best was about choosing the best curricular resource – the best choicce? - the one that works the best! We have preferences about software and using mapping tools in our classrooms – use what works for you!
We heard a great presentation about careers in GIS that included some interesting information. First of all, those who hold jobs in STEM related fields have starting salaries that are 10% higher than their non-STEM peers. Also, there is 80% lower unemployment in STEM-related fields. Yay, STEM! We heard from Richard Selby, who consults for organizations making GIS hiring decisions. He said that employers are looking for candidates who can write well, explain their thoughts, and who are self-starters.
I went to come great sessions. One from Roger and Anita Palmer of GISetc, included great information on using the templates in ArcGIS.com to customize how users look at your maps. They also showed a gallery of coordinate system maps. What a rich teaching tool! You can find it in the gallery section of the WebMapping page.
Ah inquiry! I went to a great session on Inquiry Based Projects using GIS. Megan did such a great job of making inquiry and simple – and all within the context of my favorite thing (GIS!). Inquiry – Spark interest – Develop a question – Create a plan – Investigate – Reflect and Do Analysis – and then do it all over again! GIS is a perfect tool for inquiry. If you look at the conference agenda, you’ll see that many of these inquiry based presentation were done by 4H-ers. Awesome!
We had a special treat at lunch, Juliana Rotich from USHAHIDI spoke about the amazing ways that USHAHIDI is using crowd sourcing to “crowdmap” the world. This incredible organization has created a tool that
allows near-real time information from areas where the media or government information isn’t useful, or is inaccurate. These are maps that truly make a difference! Check out their website and her presentation.
Lastly for the day, I gave a presentation on GIS and how it meets Science Standards so well. You can see the slides here: http://www.slideshare.net/eklose/e-klose-gisandstandards.
Cool links for the day -
This is an awesome tool! http://www.save-the-rain.com/SR2/
Mapping Our World is the second book in the Our World GIS Education book series (many of you have seen these books on your WV bookshelves) has been updated for ArcGIS 10 and it’s all available online! http://edcommunity.esri.com/im/OWGE2.cfm Thank you! It’s a great resource.
And I got National Geographic’d! Happy GISing, everyone!
Putnam County Technology Academy
Today, we are going to explore using the ArcGIS.com Map Viewer to investigate and display current and historical map data to use in our classrooms. We get to the ArcGIS.com Map Viewer through the ESRI Education Community Page: http://edcommunity.esri.com/, where we click on Web Mapping.
Links:
Next Generation SS Standards: http://apps.sos.wv.gov/adlaw/csr/readfile.aspx?DocId=23480&Format=PDF
Current Science Standards: http://wvde.state.wv.us/policies/csos.html
Agenda:
1. What is GIS and why are geotechnologies and digital mapping important in education? (Super Short .ppt)
Link: http://geospatialrevolution.psu.edu/
2. Let’s collect some “geospatial data.” (Shirt study)
3. Now, let’s head to the ESRI Education Community Page: http://edcommunity.esri.com/, where we click on Web Mapping.
4. Explore (in this order: Tools, Gallery Collections, Adding Points to a Map, and Adding Data).
Examples of Data & Maps
Resources:
The GIS for Social Studies Project: http://www.colorado.edu/geography/cartpro/gisedu/index.html
WVDE GIS Page: http://wvde.state.wv.us/socialstudies/gis.html
David Rumsey Historical Map Collection: http://www.davidrumsey.com/
Get Connected!
- To get information on GIS/Geotechnology training offered by WVDE, sign up for the science and social studies listservs. (Email Robin Anglin and/or Joey Wiseman).
- To get top notch Desktop GIS software to install on your computers and use with your students, email me, eklose@access.k12.wv.us.
- To start to learn more about GIS, take this free online course http://training.esri.com/gateway/index.cfm?fa=catalog.webCourseDetail&courseid=2198. It will take about 3 hours and you’ll learn volumes!
- To start using GIS in your teaching, hang out at the http://edcommunity.esri.com/ page, read the blog, . Browse through the ArcLessons listing and get some ideas.
We probably won’t get to discuss some of this information, but it’s great. Check it out!
Examples of Using Geotechnologies to Solve Problems:
- http://www.esri.com/news/arcnews/summer12articles/will-breadfruit-solve-the-world-hunger-crisis.html
- http://www.ifitweremyhome.com/disasters/