How will GIS help my students

Using GIS, students are constantly engaging in critical thinking

• GIS can integrate knowledge from different subject areas: not only from geography, but biology, environmental studies, economics and business studies as well.
• GIS can help a student to build a rich grasp of local topics.
• GIS can encourage students to work on community-based investigations.
• Students will be using the same advanced technology as governments and business.

When using a GIS, students will address topics such as data relevance and data quality: important issues in today's information based society. In addition, students will gain experience in problem solving: analysis, the identification of relationships, and interpretation of data. GIS gives students the opportunity to think, and it empowers them to direct their own studies.

Teachers can integrate GIS into problem solving, and lead students through the process of GIS analysis:

• Think about a place or a topic
• Ask a question about it
• Make a map
• Explore the patterns that appear
• Enhance the data or modify the analysis
• Ask a new question

With a GIS, teachers can give students and opportunity and motivation for investigating issues more deeply and exploring more concretely. Students will think more creatively and analytically, and develop skills which will stay with them for life.