GIS in Education

Two-page information sheet summarizing the reasons, background, research, and real examples of GIS in K-12 education.

GIS in Education Bibliography

Selected research and application articles, dissertations, and theses published on GIS in education.   

Analyzing the Earth with Geographic Information Systems

Article by Joseph Kerski about GIS that originally appeared in the April 2004 edition of the National Speleological Society News.   

Fits, Starts, and Headway

Article by Kerski and Wanner detailing the Implementation of GIS in Beginning and Advanced High School Geography Courses.

ESRI K-12 Program

Lessons, tips, schools, guidelines, resources, programs, and more from ESRI. 

ArcLessons

ESRI's archive of hundreds of GIS-based lessons. 

KanGIS

Curricula, projects, networking, calendar, research, and resources from the KanGIS Project.

Mapping The Environment

Explore the environment, climate, and biomes in this series of lessons and resources from the Missouri Botanical Garden. 

Mapping Opportunities Article

Informative article from Nature magazine, Spring 2004, describing the importance of geography, spatial thinking, and GIS careers.  

What Is GIS?

Informative USGS GIS poster:  What GIS is, why it is used, and how it is used around the world in specific applications.

PDF Version of GIS Poster, Front Side 5 MB 

PDF Version of GIS Poster, Back Side 7 MB 

Lessons

Global GIS Lessons

Investigate natural hazards, biomes, resources, climate, vegetation, population, and hydrology using the spatial data from the series of USGS Global GIS CDs.

Earth Exploration Toolbook:  GIS Mapping and Analysis

GIS-Based Lesson from the TERC's EET project where students examine earthquake distributions, monitor current earthquake activity, and try to predict where the next big earthquake will occur on Earth.

Analyzing North and Central American Hurricanes - ArcView 3

Analyzing North and Central American Hurricanes - ArcView 3 Answer Key

Analyzing North and Central American Hurricanes - ArcGIS 8

Analyzing North and Central American Hurricanes - ArcGIS 8 Answer Key

GIS-Based Lesson analyzing the spatial pattern, intensity, and distribution of North Atlantic hurricanes from the years 1851 to 2001.

Locating an Internet Cafe in Houston, Texas

Locating an Internet Cafe in Houston, Texas - Answer Key

GIS-Based Lesson on locating an Internet Cafe given population characterstics, proximity to schools and universities, and roadways.  Can be replicated for other urban areas.

Earthquakes Everyday

GIS-Based Lesson on the human and physical effects of earthquakes, volcanoes, and plate boundaries around the world and near where students live.

Exploring Africa

Investigate the physical and cultural geography of Africa in this 7-part unit, including population, natural resources, natural hazards, river systems, landforms, climate, land use, and more.  GIS and Non-GIS (paper maps) version available.

Exploring The Titanic 

Learn about ocean currents, map projections, shipping, historical geography, map scale, climate, and more using this series of lessons using language arts, mathematics, history, and GIS, while investigating the 1912 voyage, sinking, rescue, aftermath, and 1985 discovery of the ship RMS Titanic.  

Exploring World Demography 

Explore population, health, and other variables around the world in an investigative mode.  

"Burn It - Pump It - Ship It" 

Investigate oil production, consumption, and reserves for the past 20 years around the world with this GIS-Based Lesson.

Investigating Flooding in Local Communities- Lesson

Investigating Flooding in Local Communities- Data (12 MB)

Investigate the impact of historical and potential modern flash floods on communities, schools, buildings, and streets by examining 1937 aerial photographs, current ground photographs, historical accounts of floods, and current streamflow in this lesson that uses a variety of media, including GIS.

Creating and Analyzing a Digital Elevation Model 

Create your own digital elevation model (DEM) from a USGS topographic map and analyze it using GIS tools, and download, format, and analyze a USGS DEM from the Internet in this lesson.

Siting Fire Towers 

Determine the optimal location for fire towers that are close to rivers, close to roads, roads, on high ground, and on flat terrain by downloading and analyzing Digital Elevation Model (DEM) and Digital Line Graph (DLG) data from the USGS in this lesson.

Registering Imagery 

Register imagery against vector data and download and analyze National Land Cover Data (NLCD) from the USGS in this lesson.

Google Earth KML File   Google Earth Screen Capture 1  Google Earth Screen Capture 2

Example KML file and two screen captures from Google Earth that illustrate an example of latitude and longitude locations that can be captured with a GPS, plotted on the Earth, and examined with local and regional terrain, features, and satellite imagery.

Jefferson County, Colorado Demography and Test Score Analysis

Lessons that invite students to explore the demography of west Denver and examine the influence of demographic variables on ACT and SAT achievement tests.

USGS Rockyweb Education

USGS Education

GIS in Education

  The mission of the U.S. Geological Survey's Education and Communications Program is to educate data users in the use and application of USGS products and services. In support of that mission, the program:   

• Instructs educators in the use of teaching with and about geographic information systems (GIS) and other geographic technologies (remote sensing, Global Positioning Systems (GPS) in the K-12, community college, and university curricula through the use of online guidelines, online courses, and hands-on training events.

• Provides spatial data to support the teaching with geospatial technologies in the curriculum. 

• Provides lessons that use geospatial technologies in the curriculum. 

• Provides guidelines as to how to use USGS and spatial data from other organizations in educational lessons. 

For information on how to use these resources in the curriculum, contact:

Joseph Kerski 

Geographer

USGS

Education Program 

jjkerski@usgs.gov

(303) 202-4315