GISAS Project Introducing GIS into European Secondary School Geography and Environmental Education

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GISAS Project Introducing GIS into European
Secondary School Geography and Environmental
Education

• Lea Houtsonen, Tino Johansson, Ilta-Kanerva
  Kankaanrinta
• National Board of Education University of
  Helsinki, Finland
• The 30th Congress of the International
  Geographical Union, Glasgow UK 19.08.2004.

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GISAS Project Introducing GIS into European
Secondary School Geography and Environmental
Education

• Description of the GISAS project
• (Geographical Information Systems
  Applications for Schools)
• 2. Activities
• 3. Teachers starting skills in ICT a
  questionnaire survey in November 2003February
  2004
• - Informants from eight countries

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The Aim of the GISAS Project

• The aim of the project is to develop pedagogical
  ways in which GIS is applied to school education
  and to both pre- and in-service teacher education

Photo Danielle Lavollée, FRA 2003.
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Background Information on the GISAS Project

• Geographic Information Systems are diffusing into
  many areas of society, such as business and
  administration
• GIS and the Internet represent new technologies
  which are considered to rise to the challenges of
  interactive planning

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Background Information on the GISAS Project

• Also individual citizens are utilizing Geographic
  Information Systems more and more.
• In the near future, GIS will be central in the
  development of positioning technology in wireless
  communication
• Certain mobile phones have an integrated Global
  Positioning System (GPS)

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The Pedagogical Background of the GISAS Project

• The need for GIS teaching in schools is justified
  by arguing that it enhances the students spatial
  thinking skills
• Motivational factor in learning GIS offers
  students a chance to explore their own
  environment by using new information technology
• Collaboration between students, teachers,
  schools and the whole community The
  environmental education perspective

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The Pedagogical Background of the GISAS Project

• In schools, desktop GIS software enables students
  to make queries, visualise, and manage spatial
  databases
• Students can ask questions, sort, and even create
  new maps
• GIS teaching enables the use of inquiry-based
  learning strategies and promotes critical
  thinking

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The Pedagogical Background of GISAS Project

• In particular, GIS can help to develop the
  ability to analyse, synthesise and evaluate
  geographic information.
• GIS with spatial intelligence includes map
  literacy, the ability to transform real life into
  a mental or visual picture.

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GISAS partners
Modified from MapInfo Professional 6.0. map
Europe.tab by Tino Johansson 2004
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Organisational structure
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Partners, schools and students participating the
project in the first phase
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Activities

• First phase
  Photo Sirkka Staff 2004.
• in-service teacher training on GIS with virtual
  materials and hands on exercises
• local GIS databases are collected at schools for
  exercises and educational materials for students
• new ICT tools are introduced into the classrooms
• existing data collection methods are incorporated
  into the project and extended with GIS
• collaborative learning in groupware environment
  and piloting with ArcView 8.3. software

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Activities

• Second phase
  Photo György Borián 2003.
• local GIS databases are updated with new
  environmental data
• exercises and materials are tested and developed
  in real classroom situations
• web-based learning environment is fully
  operational
• local data is visualised and shared virtually
  with other partners
• students are actively participating in the
  project by using the groupware environment and GIS

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Activities

• Third phase
  Photo Torbjörn Larsson 2003.
• improvement of the project outputs
• large scale use of GIS at the partner schools
• networking with new partner schools and extending
  the geographical coverage of the project
• dissemination and publication of the products
• evaluation and pedagogical development
• creating a model on how to introduce GIS into
  secondary education and in-service teacher
  training

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Local GIS databases

• Studied river and its local tributaries
• Water quality analysis points (GPS)
• Main sources of pollution
• Aquifers and soil types
• Recreational use of the river
• Land use patterns and intensity
• Urban drainage system / open
• sewers
• Habitat for different species
• Raster map of the local area

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Teachers starting skills in ICT

• Questionnaire in November 2003February 2004
• informants 20 teachers from 7 countries
• Subjects taught by the teachers
• 10 geography, science or biology
• 7 languages
• 3 mathematics, physics or chemistry
• 16 women and 4 men
• aged 2164 years, mean 48 years
• teaching experience 048 years, mean 22 years

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Teachers skills in some essential applications
of ICTs.Scale 1 poor skills, 5 excellent
skills. N 20.
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Teachers and ICTs

• Level of skills in ICTs beginners 10 teachers,
  average users 7 teachers, experts 3 teachers.
• Teachers had used ICTs during 325 years, 11
  years in average.
• Applying the Internet in education 19 teachers
  had applied it, 1 had not applied it.
• Time to apply the Internet in education 010
  years, 4 years in average.
• The Internet was mainly used for aquiring extra
  information.

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Experiences on GIS and GPS

• GIS 3 teachers had used GIS, (MapInfo)17
  teachers had not used GIS
• Intensity of GIS use
• 1 teacher a little experience,
• 1 teacher some experience,
• 1 teacher lots of experience
• GPS3 teachers had used GPS17 teachers had not
  used GPS

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The way forward

• fitting the tool for the people or fitting
  people for the tool?
• a group of very motivated teachers with many
  years of teaching experience, but not with GIS
• contacts with local GIS experts are essential
• GISAS project helps the schools to integrate
  into the Geographic Information Society
• big aims, huge challenges

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Thank you very much!
Photo Terttu Talman, FI 2004.
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Contact information

• Project manager
• Mr. Tino Johansson
• Department of Geography
• P.O.Box 64
• FI-00014 University of Helsinki
• Finland
• tel. [phone] fax [phone]
• e-mail. Tino.Johansson_at_helsinki.fi