1 | Joseph Kerski appearing in front of a map | More than just about anything else in our modern world, maps are all around us. |
2 | An airport map | Maps are something that people are willing to look at long enough… |
3 | A route to Vail map | … to learn something from … |
4 | A bus system map | … and even prompt them to take action. |
5 | Belize students research results on a map | Maps engage, maps inform, maps inspire. |
6 | Clay tablet map | Maps have always been rich sources of data, communicating a large amount of information in a small amount of space—whether that space was—in the past, stone tablets… |
7 | UK geologic map by William Smith | .. in the dirt, on wood blocks… |
8 | Von Humboldt North American Map | … paper, film, and now, in digital form--on our tablets, laptops, phones, in our cars, on our buses, … |
9 | Map on a streetside Kiosk | in our neighborhoods. |
10 | Joseph shows paper map and slide of paper map | How many of you have lots of paper maps at home? I do. Paper maps are useful, but limited. We cannot easily update them, add information to them, or change their scale. They aren’t easily transported. |
11 | Show map on phone | Today’s digital maps are much more useful, mobile, and versatile. They are revolutionizing how we navigate our world… |
12 | Map of airport | …how we understand our world… |
13 | 3D terrain map | and how we can better enable our world for the future. |
14 | City of Rocks in New Mexico | Paper maps are still handy in the field, though, because technology can fail! |
15 | A Hurricane map | Maps don’t just tell us WHERE things are, but help us understand WHY they are where they are. Why do hurricanes occur where they do? |
16 | A flood swipe story map | Why do landslides occur more frequently along certain slopes? How high are the floodwaters down the street from my home right now? |
17 | A zebra mussels map | Why are invasive species like zebra mussels spreading in these directions? |
18 | A geo-database. | Today’s maps are not just graphics floating in cyberspace—they are tied to a powerful computer database—a geodatabase—a Geographic Information SYSTEM. |
19 | Bio-Nano-Geo Technology graphic | The US Department of Labor identified 3 fast-growing, key fields for the 21st Century: Biotechnologies, nanotechnologies, and geotechnologies. Today’s maps are part of geotechnologies. Geotechnologies include GIS (Geographic Information Systems), GPS (Global Positioning Systems), Remote Sensing, and Web Mapping. |
20 | GIS network graphic | GIS is like an elevator—it works behind the scenes -- you don’t think about it; you just use it. GIS ensures that your phone got assembled with the right parts: Supply Chain Management. GIS ensures that your package got delivered to you and millions of others today the safest, most fuel-efficient manner possible. GIS allows you to pull up an app that says that Bus F will be at your stop in Vail in 4 Minutes 30 seconds. |
21 | Plate Tectonics 1 | Let’s examine the world’s plate boundaries, volcanoes, and the last 30 days of earthquakes, asking the “whys of where” questions as we investigate. What are the reasons for this pattern? What is the relationship between earthquake locations and magnitude? |
22 | Plate Tectonics 2 | What is the relationship of earthquake locations and depth? |
23 | Plate Tectonics 3 | What is the relationship of earthquake locations to volcanoes and to plate boundaries? How many major cities are within 50 km of these earthquakes? How many occur in the oceans? Why should we care? Tsunamis? |
24 | Plate Tectonics 4 | We live in a 3D world so we have created 3D GIS tools, here, symbolizing magnitudes as cylinders. |
25 | Demographics 1 | Let’s investigate population characteristics—demographics—at scales from national to local. Median age: Blue, older. Red, younger. Why is Maine older than Texas? |
26 | Demographics 2 | Scale matters! When we enlarge the scale, we see different patterns. Why are the Great Plains older than the West? |
27 | Demographics 3 | .. and now at the census tract or neighborhood level. Why is this neighborhood in Vail older than those to the north and west? |
28 | Demographics 4 | We can add other variables including those that are crowd sourced - such as median income or commuting patterns – to plan effective services, housing, transportation. The goal? Sustainable communities. We are asking a lot of questions, aren’t we? A good map teaches you to ask a better question. |
29 | Map of TEDxVail attendees. | Let’s map where everyone attending this TED talk is from. Is this the pattern you expected? Thanks to a web GIS called ArcGIS Online, this took me all of 5 minutes to create AND share. |
30 | Discuss global challenges | What would be in your Top 10 list of serious challenges facing our world? Water quality and quantity, Natural hazards, climate, crime Energy, migration, Political instability human health, Economic inequality biodiversity loss They all have a geographic component. Hence they can be understood using GIS. We can use our “Whys of Where” investigations to solve these global problems that increasingly affect our everyday lives. |
31 | A CDC map of disease patterns | Here, the CDC is using GIS to examine the pattern of health variables not just to treat patients, but to build wellness. |
32 | GIS is becoming the language of the planet | By applying GIS to solve problems in an ever-expanding number of disciplines, maps through GIS are becoming the common language of the planet. Even in your local government! – Zoning working with assessors, transportation, parks and recreation – around a common set of mapped data. The goal? A smart city. |
33 | Web GIS platform-data-maps-but: -PEOPLE are most important component. | But data and technology are only 2 parts of it. For PEOPLE to effectively use these tools – we need a population that can: - think spatially and critically,
- that have been immersed in deep and rich field experiences,
- that can think holistically and across disciplinary boundaries.
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34 | Joseph teaching geography Class | Think of your last geography course. It may bring memories of mind numbing memorization—what are the major exports of Peru? The capital of North Dakota? Conversely, it may have sparked your interest in our world. I hope this was your experience. |
35 | Educators working with GIS. | But if geography is fundamental to understanding the world through these mapping tools, why is geography so neglected? |
36 | Students working with GIS/GPS outside. | Our high-stakes assessment-focused, subject-divided school system leaves little room for the type of problem-based learning that GIS is a part of. That’s what these Native students and I were doing on the Santo Domingo Pueblo. In a semiarid region where soil is a precious resource, they measured gully erosion rates with GIS and GPS. |
37 | Map of schools using GIS in USA. | But by working closely with faculty, students, parents, and administrators, schools are now using web-based mapping and field apps in history, geography, language arts, science, technology, engineering, and math classrooms. The education community needs your help in turning these thousands of schools using GIS mapped here into TENS of thousands of schools. |
38 | Image: A mentor with student. | Geomentoring is one way to assist a school in their use of mapping technologies. |
39 | Image: Working together | Your expertise in advocating for and modelling deep learning in schools, after-school clubs, and universities is needed. |
40 | Image – Joseph with question and map. | Maps are the WHYS of WHERE. Maps are more relevant than ever before. Will you be a champion for mapping and spatial analysis in education and society? How do I end this talk? I don’t … you do. |
