Using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in the K-12 classroom is a central component of UT-Austin's GK-12 program. On January 22, 2005, the Environmental Science Institute (ESI)’s GK-12 Program hosted a workshop to provide Austin-area K-12 Teachers an introduction to GIS. Many useful resources were developed in this workshop and are available on this website.

GIS is a powerful tool for analyzing a broad array of spatial information and is widely used in government, the private sector, and cademia. Although GIS is promoted for K-12 use as well, there are substantial barriers that limit its application in the classroom. These barriers include the computer requirements for GIS software, lack of training, and lack of access to existing data relevant to K-12 subject matter. To address these barriers, this workshop introduced GIS to K-12 teachers and focused on how they can most effectively use GIS in their classrooms and school computer labs given limited available resources. The workshop stressed the use of Austin-area data freely available on the internet and covered advantages and disadvantages of utilizing various GIS options such as buying software licenses, using free GIS viewers that are less hardware intensive, and using online GIS programs that require no downloads.

Outcomes of the GIS Workshop
Participants became familiar with

• The basic concepts of GIS
• Examples of how GIS is used in the natural and social sciences, both at the university and K-12 level
• The wide range of free local GIS data that is available online, including city, state, and national data clearinghouses
• How to find, access, and download data sets
• How to use data sets in ArcGIS, a GIS software program that is available for purchase from ESRI, Inc.
• How to use data sets in ArcExplorer, a free GIS data viewer that can be downloaded and installed on a local computer at no cost
• How to freely view, query, and print local, state, and national data sets online without downloading any data or programs

Teachers received a CD containing all the written workshop materials, including tutorials, tutorial GIS data sets, a free GIS data viewer, a guide for finding data, and a guide for getting additional GIS information and help. Most of the workshop materials can be found in the side menu at the top left corner of this page.

Instructor: Barbara Parmenter, GK-12 Co-Principal Investigator
Community and Regional Planning, UT School of Architecture

Facilitators: Veronica Chapa (GK-12 Fellow) and Jessica Gordon (GK-12 Program Coordinator)