1. A Beginner’s Guide to GIS Bob Lang FRGS C
A Beginner’s Guide to GIS Bob Lang FRGS C.Geog King Edward VI Five Ways School

2. GIS: a formal definition
“A system for capturing, storing, checking, integrating, manipulating, analysing and displaying data which are spatially referenced to the Earth. This is normally considered to involve a spatially referenced computer database and appropriate applications software”
Chorley Report, 1987
“…a digital map, data located on the map, and a software application (GIS) that links the two together” Diana Freeman (2004)

3. What is Data? Location Data How Many? – What Kind? – Where?
Scale of Data
Local to Global
Data Presentation
Words, Charts, Graphs, Tables, or Maps
Estimates are that 80% of all data has a spatial component
Data from most sciences can be analyzed spatially
Slide from ESRI presentation for GIS Day
In the Dr. John Snow example, the locations of the water pumps, the cholera deaths, and the old cemetery are all spatial data. The spatial analysis that Dr. Snow performed was geographic information system (GIS) analysis without a computer. It took Dr. Snow a week to complete his analysis, by then hundreds had died and Soho was deserted; many of the people had fearfully fled. Today we can perform the same analysis in a few hours. 3

4. “Imagination is more important than knowledge.”
How can GIS aid teaching and learning
GIS is a powerful and versatile tool for decision makers
Enables core geographical issues to be investigated
Provides opportunity to explore spatial relationships
Improve students’ graphical and statistical analysis skills
Supports development of a wide range of skills
Ideal resource for coursework
Increase motivation and retention
Improve their enquiry skills
Develop their mapping skills
Appreciate how people , places and environments change over a period of time.
Experience alternative images of people., places and environments change
Improve the appearance of work
“Imagination is more important than knowledge.”

5. GIS concepts are not new!
London cholera epidemic 1854
Cholera death
Water pump
Soho +
In the London Cholera epidemic of 1854 Dr. John Snow was able to locate the source of the the outbreak by plotting the locations of fatal cases.

6. GIS is not just for Geography!
Writing about personal experiences at different locations, scales or further a field in English e.g. What is it like looking down from space and what would you see as you travelled from one place to another?
Comparing places in the past and present in History.
Shape, Space, Measure, Trigonometry in Mathematics.
Measuring Athletic events in Physical Education.
Observing the Earth from Space in Science.
Analysing voting trends in Politics.
Carrying out surveys of local areas in Citizenship
Surveying of plant species in Biology
Creating Art using mapping software

7. Jack Dangermond, President of ESRI
“The application of GIS is limited only by the imagination of those who use it.”
Jack Dangermond, President of ESRI

8. Continuum FREE EXPENSIVE COMPLICATED EASY TO USE BASIC SOPHISTICATED
Often web based
COMPLICATED
EASY TO USE
BASIC
SOPHISTICATED
Sometimes a ‘cut-down’ version 8

9. Examples of GIS packages used in Schools
ESRI’s ArcView
ESRI’s Digital Worlds
The Advisory Units Aegis 3
Microsoft MapPoint
Google Earth

10. Use of ESRI’s ArcView Geography GCSE Coursework
Analysing models of Urban land use within Bishop Stortford.
Bishop’s Stortford College

11. Use of Digital Worlds
Investigating factors controlling global biomes in Africa KEFW

12. Use of Aegis 3
Helen Young

13. Examples of Microsoft MapPoint
Chloropleth map highlighting regions of high and low car use
Highest number of car journeys made within a 2 km radius of the school than any other region.
Investigation Into School Travel Plan 2004
ASET AVCE in GIS Coursework
Aaron Jessop
Slough Grammar School

14. Use of Google Earth San Francisco : visualizing a safer city
Google Earth overlays to the rescue!
San Francisco with an overlay showing the potential for ground shaking during an earthquake. The 3D building layer is active.
Noel Jenkins

15. GIS starting points on GA and RGS websites
Geographical Association’s Spatially speaking project Geographical Association’s Think Pieces GIS project Geographical Association’s GIS starts here

16. Skills based development
Curriculum based development
Here you develop first the ideas of skills for example:
Switching on/off layers
Basic tools like zoom in/out, pan
Using tools like swipe & transparency
Adding points, lines & polygons
Viewing multiple layers
Searching by attributes
Selecting an area to search within
Adding your own data to geographically referenced locations(points, lines & polygons)
Here you would focus on curriculum opportunities as dependant upon your programmes of studies for example based upon our 7 SoW:
Map skills
My place
Connections
Microclimate
Global Cities
Why did so many people die in the Haiti EQ?

17. ISSUES Get to grips with the basic language Start small Keep it simple
Keep practising
Time
Don’t be afraid to ask for help
Think beyond geography
Make it real