Geospatial Technology Education: Current Needs and Future Potential

Kevin Mickey, The Polis Center at IUPUI Kathy Kozenski, GENI Larry Biehl, Purdue University Presenters

Coordination of Indiana GIS through dissemination of data and data products, education and outreach, adoption of standards, and building partnerships Session Goals Review recent accomplishments of the IGIC education program Discuss current trends and challenges in geospatial education and training Develop a vision for the future of GIS practitioner education in Indiana Explore opportunities for building geography and GIS into the K-12 and higher education programs in Indiana

Coordination of Indiana GIS through dissemination of data and data products, education and outreach, adoption of standards, and building partnerships Audience Survey Raise your hand if…  you have attended an IGIC education event (webinar, seminar, etc) in the last year  you have attended another GIS education event in the last six months  you have taught a GIS workshop, webinar, or seminar in the last year  …you think that education is a good idea

IGIC Education What have we accomplished? 2010 to present

Coordination of Indiana GIS through dissemination of data and data products, education and outreach, adoption of standards, and building partnerships IGIC mission Training AND Education

Coordination of Indiana GIS through dissemination of data and data products, education and outreach, adoption of standards, and building partnerships Training vs Education Training The acquisition of knowledge, skills and competencies as a result of the teaching of things that relate to specific useful competencies. Examples  Learning the steps to create a database.  Learning the steps to make a map.

Coordination of Indiana GIS through dissemination of data and data products, education and outreach, adoption of standards, and building partnerships Training vs Education Education Has a formative effect on the mind, character or physical ability of an individual. Involves helping someone learn how to go beyond merely performing a task to thinking through how best to perform a task in order to solve problems. Examples  Learning how to design an efficient database.  Learning how to make the most effective map for solving a problem.

Coordination of Indiana GIS through dissemination of data and data products, education and outreach, adoption of standards, and building partnerships Stakeholder Groups Technical Experts Beneficiaries Expert Resources

Coordination of Indiana GIS through dissemination of data and data products, education and outreach, adoption of standards, and building partnerships Stakeholder Groups Current IGIC members Potential IGIC members Decision Makers K-12 students and teachers Post secondary education Others??

Coordination of Indiana GIS through dissemination of data and data products, education and outreach, adoption of standards, and building partnerships Methods Past and Current Webinars and Seminars Road shows State Fair / BSA collaboration Conference Future? Virtual instructor led software courses Social media (YouTube) Etc?

Coordination of Indiana GIS through dissemination of data and data products, education and outreach, adoption of standards, and building partnerships IGIC Education Statistics 2010  9 events  177 registrants 138 unique participants events 143 registrants 103 unique participants 2012  3 events (to date)  59 registrants 53 unique participants

Coordination of Indiana GIS through dissemination of data and data products, education and outreach, adoption of standards, and building partnerships IGIC Education Statistics 2010  342 IGIC Members  40% attended a training event 2011  349 IGIC Members  30% attended a training event 2012  283 IGIC Members  19% have attended a training event to date

Coordination of Indiana GIS through dissemination of data and data products, education and outreach, adoption of standards, and building partnerships Events 2012  USGS Historical Map Collection  Building an Operational Flex Viewer 2011  Grants 101  GIS in the Cloud  Using New Census Data: A GIS-Centric Webinar  Introduction to GIS

Coordination of Indiana GIS through dissemination of data and data products, education and outreach, adoption of standards, and building partnerships Events 2011  Local Historical Imagery Project  GIS and NIMS: Emergency Solutions for Communities  GIS for Constituent Engagement 2010  Introduction to Remote Sensing for GIS Applications  Indiana Property Data: New Ways to Obtain Data

Coordination of Indiana GIS through dissemination of data and data products, education and outreach, adoption of standards, and building partnerships Events 2010  Census 2010 and GIS: Where, When and What Can We Expect  GIS and Stormwater Management  Using GPS for GIS Data Maintenance – hands- on!  Leveraging a Common Operating Picture: Adobe Flex 101

Coordination of Indiana GIS through dissemination of data and data products, education and outreach, adoption of standards, and building partnerships Did you see a seminar listed that you were interested in but that you did not attend? Reason Did not know about the event? Date/Time not convenient?

Coordination of Indiana GIS through dissemination of data and data products, education and outreach, adoption of standards, and building partnerships Challenges Choosing the right topics to meet the needs of the audience Recognizing fiscal and time constraints that prevent people from attending training Educating management about the value of training and education Getting the word out!

Coordination of Indiana GIS through dissemination of data and data products, education and outreach, adoption of standards, and building partnerships

What issue(s) have prevented you (or others in your organization) from attending an IGIC educational offering?

What is your preferred way of receiving training? 1. Webinars 2. Seminars 3. YouTube 4. Other

What is the ideal length of a training session? 1. 1 hour 2. Up to a half day 3. 1 day 4. Multiple consecutive days

- Short term - What topics should IGIC webinars and seminars address in 2012?

- Long term - What recommendations do you have for how IGIC should support education in Indiana?

K-12 GIS Education Educating the leaders of tomorrow today

Coordination of Indiana GIS through dissemination of data and data products, education and outreach, adoption of standards, and building partnerships Geographic Literacy Purpose: … we should aspire to having all Americans be able to conduct basic geographic analysis in order to make sound personal, political, and professional decisions… Historically:  Established a national network of state "geography alliances," which are university-based organizations that advocate for geography education: provide professional development for educators, create innovative resources, maintain communication about local, state, & national happenings, outreach to communities, engage informal educators…

Coordination of Indiana GIS through dissemination of data and data products, education and outreach, adoption of standards, and building partnerships Geographic Literacy Historically (continued):  Alliances have had an impressive impact on educators and students in numbers, but in terms of percentages – just a drop in the bucket  We do have a powerful foundation for educational reform, but lack resources (capacity, climate)

Coordination of Indiana GIS through dissemination of data and data products, education and outreach, adoption of standards, and building partnerships Geographic Literacy Goals - Approach universal geographic literacy.  achieve 80 percent rates of geographic literacy in all 50 states by 2025, where geographic literacy is defined as the ability of students to apply geographic skills and understanding in their personal and civic lives.  achieve 50 percent geographic fluency in all 50 states at the same time. Geographic fluency is a higher standard, which we define as preparation sufficient for successful postsecondary study in subjects that require geographic skills and understanding (e.g., international affairs or environmental science).

Coordination of Indiana GIS through dissemination of data and data products, education and outreach, adoption of standards, and building partnerships Geographic Literacy  Will be able to achieve Goals through  Create a combination of top-down policy and bottom-up consumer demand for geographic literacy.  Obtain sufficient resources in the form of federal, state, and philanthropic funding to mount a large-scale reform effort.  Create and implement plans for large-scale educational reform at the state and local levels.

Coordination of Indiana GIS through dissemination of data and data products, education and outreach, adoption of standards, and building partnerships Geographic Literacy Rationale: Knowing geography facts does little good if you can't do something with those facts. People don't need to know geography, they need to be able to do geography. Doing geography is what geographic literacy is all about. The problem facing American society right now is that most people don't even know what it means to do geography. So who does know what it means to do geography and understand why it is so important? YOU do! For a copy of the full article by Danny Edelson, visit the ESRI ArcNews GeoLearning Newsletter at

Coordination of Indiana GIS through dissemination of data and data products, education and outreach, adoption of standards, and building partnerships GENI has created a solid foundation for moving geographic literacy forward in the state of Indiana. THANKS to IGIC and other collaborative geography- based organizations!!! Especially, THANKS to YOU!! Creating a long-range Geographic Literacy Timeline (very flexible, provides common goals):  IndianaView Project (partnership with IndianaView, IGIC, and GENI – THANKS Larry!)  Short videos for general citizenry regarding Geography: what is it? terminology, career possibilities, field work…  Webinars – create 2-3 in next year targeting grades 6-12 educators (formal & informal, in-service & pre-service, home-school…)  Your ideas: IGIC, ISPC, INView, GIO…

Coordination of Indiana GIS through dissemination of data and data products, education and outreach, adoption of standards, and building partnerships short videos 2 geospatial technology webinars Geography book blog Create giant traveling map of Indiana for IPS short videos – 2 for GTM IN 2 geospatial technology webinars IndianaView interactives for (IN) high school students 2 additional GTM IN lessons utilizing remote sensing Geography book blog Create giant traveling map for two other communities short videos 2 geospatial technology webinars (or whatever technology provides) IndianaView Project (beyond initial year) Geography book blog Create giant traveling map for two other communities short videos 2 geospatial technology webinars (or whatever technology provides) IndianaView Project year 3 hopefully Geography book blog Create giant traveling map for two other communities short videos 2 geospatial technology webinars IndianaView Project year 4 Geography book blog Create giant traveling map for two other communities Joint national professional conference (NCGE / URISA)

Coordination of Indiana GIS through dissemination of data and data products, education and outreach, adoption of standards, and building partnerships Do you have suggestions for activities?

Coordination of Indiana GIS through dissemination of data and data products, education and outreach, adoption of standards, and building partnerships How would you like to be involved?

Thank you for your input! Enjoy the rest of the conference!