GIS in the Classroom: Using Geographic Information Systems in Social Studies and Environmental Science

Marsha Alibrandi takes us to the cutting edge of teaching social studies and environmental education using Geographic Information Systems (GIS). A computer application for urban planning, weather reporting, and geological and demographic studies, GIS has been increasingly employed by teachers to help students improve their geographical and critical thinking skills. Alibrandi presents an overview of this technology and examples of how it can transform your classroom.

Geography is everywhere and so is GIS!

GIS is just the right tool for students to explore, question, integrate, analyze, interpret, evaluate, and act on information. Alibrandi offers stories of teachers and students from the U.S. and Canada who have harnessed the power of GIS to conduct original research. Follow these students as they employ GIS to:

• conduct water quality testing where pollution and reduced flow had impacted local shellfish beds
• develop a profile of their city during the pre- and post-Civil Rights era by interviewing African American adults who had attended their school
• address community needs, including Food Bank distribution routes and site locations for child care facilities?
• solve problems in Canada, from transportation planning for the Olympics to mapping ethnic neighborhoods.

The companion interactive CD-ROM provides the GIS software, plus sample projects and activities for GIS integration, developed by the author and Shannon White, that are closely tied to the text.

Learn a new tool alongside your students. Introduce them to a technology that works equally well in other classes. Integrate their knowledge framework&mdahs;and connect their learning to greater local and global communities.

CD-ROM System Requirements

Windows/PC
Pentium Processor (233 Mhz or higher)
Windows 95 (or higher)
64 MB RAM (more recommended)
SVGA Color Display (or better)
8x CD-ROM Drive (or faster)

Macintosh
PowerPC Processor
System 8 (or higher)
64 MB RAM (more recommended)
SVGA Color Display (or better)
8x CD-ROM Drive (or faster)

MARSHA ALIBRANDI is Assistant Professor of Geography and Social Studies Teacher Education at North Carolina State University. She taught Geography and Social Studies for 15 years at Cape Cod Tech High School and has directed environmental and history projects integrating GIS. She has been teaching and advocating for geographic education since 1976.