Abstract


No Paper
Integrating GPS with GIS Education Model for Alternative High Schools
Track: Teaching with GIS in Schools
Author(s): Helenmary Hotz, Jun Zhu

Global Positioning System (GPS) is a technology familiar to most high school students. GPS and GIS are integrated to enhance the education model developed for an underserved high school population to create a GIS workforce. The City of Boston is implementing an enterprise GIS initiative, which requires an educated and technically trained workforce to meet its needs. This model, designed for deployment at University High School (UHS), Boston, Massachusetts will extend the students competence in geospatial information technology. UHS is an alternative high school serving students, who are over-age, struggling academically and at-risk in traditional school systems. 'Mapping Our World: GIS lessons for educators' and 'Integrating GIS and the Global Positioning System' were used in curriculum design. GPS units are provided through Location in Education program, sponsored by Geospatial Information and Technology Association, a worldwide, not-for-profit organization that promotes the use of geospatial information technologies for asset and infrastructure management.

Helenmary Hotz
University of Masschusetts Boston
EEOS Dept.
100 Morrissey Blvd
Boston , Massachusetts 02125-3393
United States
Phone: 617-287-5289
E-mail: helenmary.hotz@umb.edu

Jun Zhu
University of Massachusetts Boston
Environmental, Earth and Ocean Sciences Department
100 Morrissey Blvd
Boston , Massachusetts 02125-3393
United States
Phone: 617-287-7473
E-mail: jun.zhu@umb.edu