This article describes a design partnership that investigated how to integrate Google Earth, remotely sensed satellite and aerial imagery, with other instructional resources to investigate ground cover and land use in diverse middle school classrooms. Data analysis from the implementation study revealed that students acquired skills for…

Geographic information systems (GIS) are computer-based tools for geographic data analysis and spatial visualization. They have become one of the information and communications technologies for education at all levels. This article reviews the current status of GIS in schools, analyzes the requirements of a GIS-based learning environment from…

Teaching GIS is relatively simple, a matter of helping students develop familiarity with the software. Mapping as an aid to thinking is harder to instruct. This article presents a laboratory and lecture package developed to teach the utility of mapping in a course on spatial data analysis. Following a historical review of the use of surface…

By plotting economic and population data on maps and coordinating the data on a scattergram, introductory world geography students work with the concept of spatial association, learn to identify geographic problems, and become familiar with world political units. (JR)

Three steps in urban land use analysis, fieldwork mapping, processing of data, and classification and delimitation of zones in an urban area, are described. An appendix presents a classification of buildings by function. (KM)

Reintroduces and updates the geographic profile as a visualization technique for representing and analyzing the structure of geographical information. A computer software-generated profile focuses on specific information (persons per square mile in selected cities) and represents that information spatially on a graph. (MJP)

Presents a lesson plan in which students explore ideas about rural and urban areas by examining census data and advertisements from magazines. Discusses how the students collect and record the census data and calculate percentages, representing them on circle graphs. Includes an extension activity. (CMK)

Presents a lesson for high school students in which they collect and analyze data using questions from the actual Census 2000 long form and then participate in a simulation of a local planning council meeting to consider the short- and long-term community needs. Includes the Census 2000 long form. (CMK)

Suggests basic elements of spatial education appropriate to geographic information system (GIS) course curricula. Describes the need for integration of GIS education and GIS training. Discusses hardware/software configurations, approaches to the creation of laboratory facilities, and approaches, rationales, and technical considerations in the…

Using the U.S. Bureau of the Census's National Travel Survey as the primary data source, the exercises described will help high school or college level students develop basic geographic skills, including data interpretation, map construction, and spatial analysis. They will also familiarize students with broad patterns of recreation travel. (RM)

Examines industrial relocation of firms in Worcester, Mass., from 1966-70 as an example for discovering what kinds of firms relocate and why. Intended as a sample study, the project provides an initial data base for one community as a model for students to use while obtaining data bases on other communities. (Author/DB)

Emphasizes the importance of computer instruction and statistical methods and suggests ways in which instructors of geography on the college level can alleviate student fears. Tips include discussing geography as a science, explaining the relevance of the scientific method to a specific research problem in geography, and introducing problem…