A Manifesto on Mobile Computing in Geographic Education*

Abstract

Mobile, location-aware computing technology is widely available. In this article we sketch out a manifesto on mobile computing in geographic education (MoGeo) for consideration and debate within the geographic community. At the core of our argument is the idea that emerging mobile computing technologies will allow teachers to bring the classroom and pedagogic materials into the field, and that the resulting in situ educational experience will enhance learning by contextualizing the complex and abstract concepts that we teach. We provide a set of key principles that can guide the development of field experiences for students using these new technologies.     

Teaching GIS in Geography*

Although numerous courses in geographic information systems (GIS) have been introduced into the geography curriculum over the past few years, there has been remarkably little debate over the issues involved. This paper first discusses the arguments for geography as an appropriate disciplinary setting for GIS teaching at the undergraduate level. This is followed by a discussion of the nature of GIS courses and their appropriate place in the undergraduate geography curriculum. The final section of the paper describes the NCGIA Core Curriculum project and examines its significance in this broader context.     

Constructing a Dialogue: Geographic Education and Geographic Research

Geographic researchers and those who specialize in educational issues have paid insufficient attention to one another. Many theoreticians are openly contemptuous of those who study education; many who focus on pedagogy are unnecessarily defensive. This essay calls for a program of sustained intercourse that is explicitly mutually transformative in nature. It reviews what each perspective offers the other. A change in attitude among those who emphasize geographic research is needed that takes pedagogy far more seriously than it has hitherto. Conversely, geographers whose professional interest is in education would benefit from including new conceptual material such as social theory and political economy in pedagogic works. The results of such an intersection would be to inject new energy into the field, including secondary schools, widen geography's audience, and enhance its popular reputation.     

The Pedagogical Benefits of Participatory GIS for Geographic Education

In this article, participatory GIS (PGIS) is explored and established as a powerful platform for geographic education. PGIS pedagogy can help educators meet diverse learning objectives pertaining to: (1) local knowledge and place-based thinking; (2) community engagement; (3) field mapping with geospatial technologies; (4) mixed-methods research; and (5) fostering of critical reflexivity in students. The discussion is supported with insights from multiple student-facilitated PGIS projects organized in rural Tanzania. There also is a thorough discussion of the challenges and caveats associated with involving students in PGIS projects, and a call for new research for assessing and advancing PGIS pedagogy.     

Structured College Internships in Geographic Education

Abstract

An internship is academic credit awarded to students for supervised work obtained outside the standard classroom environment. The goal here is to present the format of a structured internship program and the tangible and intangible benefits to students, faculty, and the employing agencies. We define a structured internship as a university program that links classroom activities to the work outside the classroom. Classroom activities can include papers with internship objectives, resume and cover letter writing, journals of daily work tasks and oral presentations of work experiences. Students benefit from job-specific skills and career guidance as well as skills that are transferable to other jobs such as communication, office management, and problem solving. Faculty benefit through linkages to the non-academic work community. The employing agencies can complete small tasks, meet people who are possibly future employees, and better anticipate the skills of future employees.     

Geographic Education and Careers in Geography

Abstract

Disciplinary concern with career options and opportunities has fluctuated over the years. Not surprisingly, geography continues to be incorrectly stereotyped as a field of study offering limited employment prospects. While geographic education has long focused on content, it must also embrace the importance of educating instructors, students, and career counselors concerning how the field opens doors to viable careers. This article presents a program that can be implemented by college and university departments to raise awareness and disseminate information about career opportunities in geography. The program emphasizes an integrated approach that includes partnerships with alumni, campus placement offices, and employers.     

地理表达研究进展

地理表达是地理学的一个基本问题,也是地理信息科学研究面临的一个重大挑战.从地理表达机理、内容和形式的角度,对近期地理表达研究进行了总结.本质上,地理表达是一个空间认知、信息转换与信息传输的交互过程.地理表达内容涉及地理实体及其空间关系、不确定性、地理动态及地理本体等方面.地理表达形式经历了从自然语言、地图到GIS的演变...     

Evaluating the Geographic in GIS

Despite several decades of discussion and debate around the role of GIS in the discipline of Geography, it would be a stretch to argue that GIS has not irreversibly altered the discipline, both in the scope of research and teaching as well as in the wider imagination of a general public. However, it remains a challenge to incorporate the range of geographic knowledge, born of a diversity of modalities, into operational insights and analytical pre‐conditions in a GIS. To be certain, some irreconcilability between GIS and geographical inquiry is to be expected, epistemologically speaking. In what follows, we consider what might be meant by a shift to geographic analysis as scholars from disciplines in the humanities and social sciences turn to GIS as a method of observation, interpretation, analysis, and representation. In this context, we engage in a thought experiment and offer some commentary, fixing the notion of information system, while opening the geographic in GIS to more variable understanding. The point is to pursue greater development of GIS theory and method, encompassing, while not reducing, scientific, social scientific, and humanities research.     

Geographic EducationResearch and the Changing Institutional Structure of American Education

Professional geographers are paying increasing attention to the development of a research agenda concerning geographic education. In doing so, it is essential that geographers pay close attention to fundamental changes in the structure of education itself. Traditional educational methods and procedures associated with industrial society are being replaced by new and innovative modes of education that are linked to post-industrial social organization. This article explores the implications of these changes for understanding the teaching and learning of geography in the future.     

Geographic EducationResearch and the Changing Institutional Structure of American Education

Professional geographers are paying increasing attention to the development of a research agenda concerning geographic education. In doing so, it is essential that geographers pay close attention to fundamental changes in the structure of education itself. Traditional educational methods and procedures associated with industrial society are being replaced by new and innovative modes of education that are linked to post-industrial social organization. This article explores the implications of these changes for understanding the teaching and learning of geography in the future.     

Co-Mingling Geographic Education with Social Studies Methods

Abstract

Most preservice teachers complete their social science course requirements in isolation from their social studies methods course. This paper reports the unique co-mingling of one interdisciplinary social science course (emphasizing geographic and environmental education) with the social studies methods for a cohort of undergraduate preservice teachers. Integrating parts of their curricula, instruction, assignments, and assessments through a co-mentoring process and action research project connected professors and preservice teachers with children and their environments. A review of the professors' process accompanied by a summary of preservice teachers' projects and reactions describes the classroom experiences and pedagogical outcomes experienced by each group.     

Bridging High School and Introductory Undergraduate Courses in Geographic Information Science and Technology

This article presents the findings of a study to determine the degree of consistency in what is taught and learned in high school and college-level introductory courses in geographic information science and technology (GIS&T). A content analysis identified sixteen topics that are generally representative of the knowledge, skills, and abilities developed in introductory undergraduate courses. The findings were used to propose a standard college-level survey course in GIS&T that could inform future efforts to introduce more academically rigorous GIS&T coursework in high schools, such as through the Advanced Placement Program.     

Reflecting on Role Play in Geographic Education: The Case of the Banana War

Abstract

Debates over the nature and extent of globalization raise many issues to be addressed in a geographic education. In this paper, I briefly review case method instruction and role-play as teaching strategies suitable for material on globalization and other geographic subject matter, and then sketch an overview of an undergraduate geography role-play that treats themes of globalization and agricultural trade. The role-play revolves around a real-world trade dispute, referred to as the Banana War, that was waged between the United States and the European Union during much of the 1990s over who could sell how many bananas to Europe. I conclude the paper by reflecting on the contributions of, limitations to and possibilities for case method instruction and role-play in geographic education.     

Geographic Information Technologies and the History of a Shoreline: The Case of Chapter 91 in New Bedford,Massachusetts*

This article discusses the use of geographic information technologies to assist researchers in the exploration of historical databases. The case study is a pilot project in which we used geographic information systems (GIS) and global positioning systems (GPS) to study the history of the Public Waterfront Act (the “Chapter 91” program), a policy designed to balance private property rights, public interest, and environmental protection in the Massachusetts tidelands. The issues discussed range from the role of GIS in society and its limitations as a representational tool to the ability of current GIS to deal with historical data and to manage temporal attributes.     

A Pedagogic Framework to Link GIS to the Intellectual Core of Geography

Abstract

This paper aims to develop a new pedagogic framework for teaching GIS at the college and university level using Berry's geographic matrix. By synthesizing different schools of thought, this paper argues that GIS education essentially involves two aspects—how to teach about GIS and how to teach with GIS. Berry's geographic matrix can be used to tie these dual aspects of GIS education together neatly. As an abstract representation of geographical phenomena, the geographic matrix embeds all three entities of GIS—location, attribute, time—and thus can help GIS instructors teach about GIS. As a synthesis of geographical approaches, the geographic matrix can assist GIS instructors teach with GIS. This paper demonstrates that GIS is actually an implementation of Berry's geographic matrix. Furthermore, the 10 approaches to geographical analysis, originally proposed by Berry for the geographic matrix, can be executed routinely in a GIS environment. By incorporating Berry's geographic matrix into GIS education, teachers can enable students to surpass technical issues and to appreciate the conceptual and functional linkages between GIS and geography's intellectual core.     

Social Attitudes Predict Biases in Geographic Knowledge*

Three principal components were found to underlie Texas university students' experiences with and attitudes toward Canada, the United States, and Mexico: diversity orientation, Mexican experiences, and Canadian experiences. Diversity orientation included positive attitudes toward Hispanics, Canadians, minorities, interethnic friendships, and dating and was negatively correlated with natio‐centrism (e.g., believing U.S. citizens receive the world's best education). Diversity orientation and natio‐centrism were not related to experiences with Mexico or Canada. Students estimated the locations of Canadian cities too far north and Mexican cities too far south. Biased estimates for Mexican cities were negatively correlated with diversity orientation, not experience with Mexico.     

地理信息系统学科中几个基本问题探讨

地理信息科学(GISci)尚不成熟,但中国地理信息系统(GIS)高等教育发展快速,因此GIS学科发展面临许多问题和挑战。尝试从哲学本体论、认识论和方法论角度探讨GIS学科中的几个基本问题:现实世界、概念世界、数字世界、空间认知、空间表达、空间分析与研究方法,同时从社会实践角度总结了GIS应用中的组织、管理与社会问题。1)系统总结地理空间、空间认知与信息表达的关系以及地理信息的基本特征;2)回顾GIS的概念与内涵演变,论证GIS概念的多样性与同一性,分析了几个代表性的GIS研究方向;3)在回顾地理学研究范式转变的基础上,探讨空间分析、知识产生过程以及基于GIS的地理学研究范式;4)辨析GIS与组织管理间的关系、GIS与社会间的互动关系,特别强调发展中国家GIS应用面临的问题。建议围绕“空间认知与表达”、“GIS方法论”、“GIS、组织与社会”进行跨学科研究,完善GIS学科体系。     

美国大学区域地理教育的发展与变迁--以亚洲地理教育为例

区域地理是地理学教育与研究的一个重要组成。在当今经济与环境的全球化过程中,对区域地理课程的需求有了明显上升。区域地理教育的重要性也引起了方面的重视。美国大学区域地理教育的发展与变迁主要受两方面的影响：一是地理教育在国民教育中的地位;二是某个区域在国际事务中的重要性以及与美国的关系。在过去３０年中,随着近年来亚洲经济的高速发展和它在国际中的地位日益提高,以及亚洲与美国贸易额的的迅速增长,亚洲地理课在     

Using the Internet to Integrate Thematic and Regional Approaches in Geographic Education

Geographers have long debated the superiority of regional versus thematic approaches to geographical analysis and geographic education. While most acknowledge that these two approaches are complementary, the task of implementing both approaches in a single introductory course remains challenging. “Global Change, Local Places,” an Internet–based course offered at Florida State University, attempts to fuse thematic and regional approaches using methodological and pedagogical techniques that emphasize student–centered learning and Internet technologies. Results of a student survey and analysis of student assignments suggest that this format was successful. Students expressed a high level of satisfaction with course content, and, although attainment of skills and knowledge was particularly hard to measure given the structure and goals of the course, students appear to have gained country–specific knowledge as well as skills in critical analysis using thematic concepts.     

Global Landscapes: Teaching Globalization through Responsive Mobile Map Design

This article reports on the design and evaluation of Global Madison, a mobile map designed to support teaching and learning about globalization using Madison, Wisconsin, as a situated classroom. Our experience of place increasingly is mediated by mobile devices, opening new opportunities and challenges for research, industry, and education. Despite this rising popularity, few guidelines exist for creating and using mobile maps. Following tenets of user-centered design studies, we conducted two mixed-method evaluations of Global Madison to improve the tool and generate design insights that are potentially transferable to similar mobile mapping contexts: 244 students participated in an online survey after completing the tour and eighteen students were observed in the field. The evaluations generated new design considerations for mobile maps supporting situated learning, include: focus on critical issues that might leave students stranded, append location-based services with traditional mapping, enforce cognitive association between map and landscape, supply a consistent feed of information for new learners, encourage collaborative learning in the landscape, and promote student safety above all else.