Abstract
The Geospatial Semester
Track: Teaching with GIS in Schools
Author
The Geospatial Semester at James Madison University is an innovative attempt to engage high school seniors with geospatial tools and have them pursue locally-based projects as they earn college credit. Too often, the senior year of high school (especially the spring semester) is not a time of academic engagement. In the Geospatial Semester, we have created a dual-enrollment program that allows students to earn college credit as they learn about GIS, GPS, and remote sensing and pursuer locally based projects using these tools. In high schools spanning Virginia, we have students developing community evacuation plans, working with conservation groups, mapping invasive species and much more.
In this session, we’ll describe the Geospatial Semester and give examples of student work. We’ll also discuss the successes and challenges of bring this opportunity to high schools.
Bob Kolvoord
James Madison University
MSC 4102
Harrisonburg, Virginia 22807
United States
Phone: 540-568-2752
E-mail: kolvoora@jmu.edu
Kathryn Keranen
James Madison University
9100 Weant Dr
Great Falls, Virginia 22066
United States
Phone: 703-759-3460
E-mail: kkeranen2@cox.net