GIS, mapping, and education

GIS, geography, and mapping are topics that I feel passionate about.  My BA and MA are in geography from Kent State University.  Geographic education is often limited to simple memorization of states and their capitals.   Geography extends far beyond the location of places to encompass anything that dealing with space.  Everything has a component of space, so everything is geography - which is one of the reasons that it is my favorite field.  You are never bored when you have geography.  You can research any topic because it is all geography.  This geography rarely is seen in education beyond those who are lucky enough to take the occasional upper division geography college class.

            There are a number of articles that deal with incorporating Geographic Information Systems (GIS) into education (also sometimes known as Geographic Information Science which is more the art of it, while systems is more the program).  “A GIS consists of spatially explicit information, a database, and a computer interface that ties them together to create a visualization tool for spatial analysis.  A GIS is commonly regarded as a computer system that can capture, store, query, analyze, and display geographical information of two types, vector or raster.  GIS allows users to select different layers of information to construct a map. The map then is displayed on a computer screen and the data and information can be examined spatially. Maps could include political boundaries, rivers and streams, bedrock geology, soil coverage, topography, water quality, or census data to support multidisciplinary Earth and environmental science education” (Bodzinand Anastasio, 2006). 

That definition is very formal sounding.  So what does this all mean?  GIS, or Geographic Information Science is using data to look at something, generally space.  Space, of course, is everywhere.  The item, concept, or features are made into data that can be put into fancy computer programs.  The most common of these programs is ArcGIS by ESRI.  The applications of GIS are broad, ranging from mapping sewer breaks to field mouse habitats to areas with concentrations of urban blight.  A simply way to use GIS is just to show position.  Think about when you pull out your phone and ask Siri or other websites to tell you where the nearest grocery store is located.  Likely, you will see a map with multiple locations pin pointed.  That is a form of GIS.  However, you could take this and make it much more complicated, mapping income levels to where the grocery stores are to look for food deserts.  Pretty much anything on earth (or in space) can be mapped.

Bodzin and Anastasio (2006) wrote that “[l]ike Earth system science, use of GIS maps transcends traditional natural and social science disciplinary boundaries. GIS can be used to track how natural systems are functioning and changing in response to human activities” (p. 295).  Bodzin and Anastasio discussed in their 2006 article many of the uses of GIS in depth.  Some of the environmental issues that they included topics like sinkholes, abandoned mines, and watershed mapping.

Bodzin and Anastasio (2006) present various web-based mapping applications.  Web-based mapping is currently quite limited.  Although this is expanding, the user is often limited to what data is currently in place.  The exception is through mapping mashups, which allows the user to incorporate some information, such as points.  A points is a locations tied to a specific point, such as your family home, a specific building or tree.  A point is not an outline but rather simply a dot.  The outline of your home would be a polygon.  A road may be represented with a line.

ESRI example of point, line, and polygons

Creation of simple web-based maps on the ESRI website

Although there was a brief mention of the other applications of GIS, mainly for human or social purposes, the authors included no practical applications.  The applications presented by Bodzin and Anastasio would be more at home in a university setting.  The complexity of the mapping and problems presented would likely be too time intensive for a middle or high school class.  To create data, insert the data into a GIS program, analyze the data, and produce meaningful and clear maps requires multiple semester long courses. 

Other authors focus on the use of GIS that could be applied to multiple age and skill levels.  Pietroniro and Fichter (2007) discuss map mash-ups.  Although the term is clumsy, the concept is simple.  The authors quote Wikipedia stating “a website, or web application that combines content from one or more sources” (Wikipedia; Pietroniro and Fichter, 2007 p. 26). 

Although mapping mashups are commonplace in lower division classes in geography or cartography, the concept is simple enough to be applied to middle or high school, and possibly even elementary students.  The key requirement is access to a computer lab.  Websites, such as Google Maps are free and relatively easy to use.  The user inputs the spatial data, which can be anything from the places where the students found worms on the school campus to the locations that make them feel happy in their cities.  Common forms of mashups are real estate maps.  There are homes listed from multiple sites.  Pietroniro and Fichter (2007) discuss a website called HousingMaps.com which combines home listings from real estate websites and Craigslist.org. 

Some of the websites included in the article by Pietroniro and Fichter (2007) are no longer in existence.  This goes to show the fickle nature of the internet and changing technology.  A website that they had discussed, Frappr! is no longer in existence.  Others, such as OpenStreetMap offer free data.  The majority of the free data is Tigerline data, which are products of the U.S. Census Bureau.  This is free of restrictions, but often complicated to use for anyone who is not familiar with formatting data for a GIS program.

Goodchild (2007) wrote about volunteer geographic information (VGI).  A VGI is information that is added to the existing geographic information by volunteers.  “[t]he widespread engagement of large numbers of private citizens, often with little in the way of formal qualifications, in the creation of geographic information, a function that for centuries has been reserved to official agencies. They are largely untrained and their actions are almost always voluntary, and the results may or may not be accurate. But collectively, they represent a dramatic innovation that will certainly have profound impacts on geographic information systems (GIS) and more generally on the discipline of geography and its relationship to the general public” (Goodchild, 2007 p. 212). 

The general public can contribute to mapping and GIS in several ways.  A useful tool for learning GIS and looking at aerial images is Wikimapia.  Wikimapia is a website that allows users to create basic GIS items, to add to the greater map.  This would be an excellent tool for introducing students to simple forms of GIS.  The volunteers can add buildings by drawing polygons.  They can add roads using lines.  They can contribute to the greater knowledge with their contributions.  There is even statistics kept, which could work to motivate students to compete or allow instructors to evaluate a students work.  Wikimapia is striving to be the Wikipedia of the mapping world.

Goodchild (2007) also discusses tools like Flickr where images can be added to space.  A photograph of a building is geotagged.  Geotagging is basically when there are GPS coordinates on the image.  This can be done automatically, such as many cameras or iPhone photographs, or manually where the individual tags the location where the image was taken.  These images are available on other forms of media too.

Goodchild (2007) discusses other topics, ranging from geocoding to remote sensing.  All of these concepts are considerably more complex than some of the more basic forms of GIS presented in websites such as Flickr or Wikimapia.  He notes the decline of mapping in some areas, partly due to costs, and how websites like Wikimapia are global and could vastly improve the knowledge of areas, as well as potentially helping many individuals.  This can range from early warnings for natural disasters to military applications.

              Will GIS make it into the high school classrooms?   In the past, the answer was that GIS was limited to elite private schools (Kerski,1999).  Smith (2011) found that GIS applications was able to give a sense of purpose to students who were "not successful in conventional classroom settings) and that the program was able to "convinc[e] young citizens that they have the capacity to address the challenging environmental, social, and economic dilemmas currently facing humanity by thinking through issues and taking action within the context of their own community" (p. 59).   Demirci et al. (2013) outlines a public high school in Turkey using GIS to map sidewalk widths in their neighborhood for disabled pedestrians. 

 GIS is a tool that will likely increase in the future.  Geographic education is something that is vital to our understanding of the world, as outlined in the National Geographic video below.  Integrating GIS and other similar teaching methods can help engage students and help them find purpose in the work (Smith, 2011; Demirci et al., 2013).

         A statement by National Geographic on the

     importance of geographic education

Works Cited:

Bodzin, A. M. and Anastasio, D. (2006). Using web-based GIS for Earth and Environmental Systems Education. Journal of Geosciences Education 54: 3 p. 297-300.

Demirci, A., Karaburn, A., Ulnu, M., and Ozey, R. (2011). Using GIS based projects in learning: students help disabled pedestrians in their school districts. European Journal of Geography 2:2 p. 48-61.

Goodchild, M. F. (2007). Citizens as sensors: the world of volunteered geography. GeoJournal 69 p. 211-221.

Kerski, J. J. (1999). A nationwide analysis of implmentation of GIS in High School Education. Proceedings of the 21st Annual ESRI User Conference.

Pietroniro, E. and Fichter, D. (2007). Map Mashups and the rise of amateur cartographers and mapmakers. ACMLA Bulletin Number 127 p. 26-30.