Abstract
Business Course Featuring GIS Expands Indian College Students' Horizons
Track: Teaching with GIS in Higher Education
Author(s): Holly Hitzemann, Darlene Collins
College students at Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute in Albuquerque, New Mexico, used GIS to analyze economic development opportunities on pueblo and reservation lands.
After being exposed to the enterprise analysis capabilities of GIS, students defined a business opportunity for GIS analysis, used the proper GIS tools, illustrated a market area, discussed their findings, and drew conclusions regarding the viability of their selected economic development idea.
The 40-hour class used the Business Opportunity Analysis Featuring GIS and Census textbook to guide students through market area/site location analysis, demographic profiling, geocoding, map preparation, and target market advertising using BusinessMAP, Community Tapestry, and ArcGIS 9.
All students grasped the concepts and related its importance to their careers and the potential prosperity of their tribes. Future plans include offering this course in community college and business incubator curriculums statewide.
Holly Hitzemann
Holliken and Perennial Enterprises
8901 Oakland Avenue
Albuquerque, NM 87122
US
Phone: 505-856-5833
Fax: 505-241-4777
E-mail: hollyhitzemann@comcast.net
Darlene Collins
Holistic Human Performance Alliance, LLC
3054 Logan Meadows
Rio Rancho, NM 87144
US
Phone: 505-994-4582
Fax: 505-994-4582
E-mail: darlene@thehhpa.com