GIS in Schools

The official logo of GIS in Schools Jamaica

Geographical Information Systems (G.I.S.) is a widely used mapping, planning, management and decision-making tool that is being employed by agencies whose functions, or administrative decisions are related to, or impact on the geographic domain.

In recognition of the fact that GIS technology needs to become a part of the Jamaican educational system, the Ministry of Land and Environment has discussed with Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI)located in California, USA, the possibility of incorporating GIS in schools. ESRI is the world's leading GIS software provider and their products are the defacto standard in the GIS environment.

The Ministry of Land and Environment in association with the Ministry of Education Youth and Culture, with the assistance of the ESRI California, USA, are spearheading a multi-million dollar programme to have students of primary and secondary institutions trained and educated in GIS and the use of related software.

GIS in Education

GIS can affect the entire educational experience for students, teachers and the community. While activities may vary widely from grade to grade, the skills and principle are the same. In each setting, exploration and discovery are key, with critical thinking skills to be fostered throughout.

Early Childhood Education

In early grades, teachers can introduce students to map as models and to geography as a discipline. Students can begin to explore significant features of human and physical geography or they can use local area maps of relevance (communities, watersheds, forest, etc.) produced by local GIS users.

Early Childhood Education

In early grades, teachers can introduce students to maps as models and to geography as a discipline. Students can begin to explore significant features of human and physical geography or they can use local area maps of relevance (communities, watersheds, forest, etc.) produced by local GIS users.

Primary Schools

Students can begin examination of special topics and areas. They can study a given phenomenon over space, seeing how it relates to others. They can survey the characteristics and relationships of geographically varied traits (population, economic, physical features, etc.). This lecel also provides the best opportunity for engaging in cross-disciplinary studies.

High Schools

High school students can expand the study of topics and regions and explore geography related job markets. Students can focus on interelationships between features and factors in other places. They can survey vocations that rely on ability to gather, process, analyse, and report spatially varied data. Guidance counsellors and teachers can explore the jobs that rely on spatial data (urban planners, marketers, environmental engineers, energy and utilitycompanies, etc.) and how these workers gather, use and display their data.