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The History and Application of GIS in Educationby Tom Baker, KanCRN Systems SpecialistCase Studies GIS has already penetrated many elements of K-12 education, science education, educational psychology, and educational administration. A few examples of GIS in educational administration will be followed by curricular applications. At the forefront of examples in educational administration is the Blue Valley School District (Shawnee, Kansas). Blue Valley has created a "School Attendance Area Creation and Analysis Spatial Decision Support System" for tracking students in the district (SEDSS). This system, working in conjunction with the Johnson County Mapping Department, is designed to support the rapidly growing school boundaries, where students are assigned to attend a specific school based upon their geographic location within the school district. This system must be able to adapt quickly from year to year, redrawing school bounds as needed (Slagle, 1995; GIS eases school redistricting, 1996). Similar to the Blue Valley Schools, the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) has uses GIS to map attendance boundaries, ward boundaries, and school locations. However, the DCPS's focus is to gauge building and infrastructure deficiencies and to make suitable recommendations for immediate repair. In 1994, each of the district's 164 buildings was inspected and GIS was used to analyze the schools in greatest need of repair with the district's limited financial resources (Kilical & Kilical, 1995). The curricular advantages of GIS far outweigh the administrative applications. For example, Minnesota students are using satellite collars and GIS to track predatory patterns of a threatened species of wolf (McGarigle, 1999). Through their studies and GIS analysis of data generated by the movements of the tagged wolves, these students are learning about the interrelated nature of the ecosystem. In Chelsea, Massachusetts students are using the capabilities of GIS to help with emergency planning. Using CAMEO (Computer Aided Management of Emergency Operations), students link to other mapping applications and begin the process of mapping out hazardous materials incidences and storage locations. In this project, students are able to help their community, learn about its government and its ecosystem (McGarigle, 1998). Like the above stories, examples of GIS penetrating the traditional school curriculum abound. In most of these cases we find science education and elements of data analysis not possible without the capabilities of Geographic Information Systems. In Kingston, Ontario students use AutoDesk software to explore the many aspects of physical and biological sciences, including disease transmission and classical mechanics (Williams, 1997). At a summer research program in Ohio, students are using GIS to study watersheds. As a part of their GIS experiences, students learn about the ecology of streams, the dangers of soil erosion, and the ways that GIS can assist in the modeling of environmental variables (Watershed, 1997). In North Carolina, a statewide initiative urges science students to use GIS to explore their own research interests where "scientific visualizations" (the ability to represent science-related phenomena in a GIS) are central to their work (North Carolina, 1998). Contents:
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