Abstract

GIS in Schools - Experiences and Progresses in Germany
Track: Teaching with GIS in Schools
Author(s): Dirk Schaefer

Geographic information systems have become an important part of daily life in Germany, but their significance in schools still remains weak. The biggest barriers to the introduction of GIS in schools remain their costs and the necessary hardware, and data. Besides, it takes a long time to learn GIS.

However, in the last five years a remarkable progress in deployment of new media took place in schools in Germany due to a governmental initiative. GIS are slowly but steadily becoming an integral part in teaching geography.

Different examples from German schools are presented, showing scalable GIS solutions for a didactically appropriate introduction and use of GIS in schools. The examples cover different GIS technologies including (1) ArcView, (2) ArcGIS Server, and (3) WebGIS services. The main topic are the bilingual WebGIS services developed by the author (http://www.webgis-schule.de), which can be used for a straightforward introduction of GIS in schools.

Dirk Schaefer
Ruhr-University Bochum
Universitaetsstraße 150
Bochum , Northrine-Westfalia 44801
Germany
Phone: +49-234-23358
Fax: +49-234-14180
E-mail: Dirk.Schaefer@rub.de