There are undoubtedly many parallels between Australia and New Zealand in the history of geographic information system (GIS) in schools. These parallels occur in the social, institutional, professional development, and curricula areas, and each of these topics is considered in this article. In New Zealand at least, there is still a lot that needs to be done before one can assert that GIS is providing appropriate technology skills for young people in the context of their developing thinking about geographical features and their distribution. This article considers some of these matters, with the related paper on teaching with GIS in New Zealand focusing more on the curriculum frameworks and classroom approaches.