Latest Contributions by JosephKerski

In this set of three videos, I describe selected approaches to using geotechnologies in teaching, including strategies, tools, modalities (face-to-face, online, and hybrid), disciplines, themes, and scales, including demonstrations of instruction that has been most effective in schools and in higher education.  Sometimes, videos are the most effective means to convey teaching techniques, and that is why I am using them here.  Certainly "one size does not fit all", and I recognize in these videos that those seeking to assist schools and institutions of higher education with implementing spatial thinking through geotechnologies first and foremost need to listen to the needs and goals of those they are working with.   Video 1 is here https://youtu.be/l1KzgigJZDY?si=JF2anpv4phY67YzJ and includes: The Esri education team, our partnership with education, and selected approaches. Modalities – face-to-face, online, and hybrid. Real challenges educators and students face with geotechnologies and in education. Living Atlas apps. The NatGeo Esri MapMaker. Geoinquiries and other ready-to-go lessons. Video 2 is here https://youtu.be/99pIwAcs8vc?si=k3P51-qfeI1ftmg0 and includes: Field data collection. Mapping, analysis, and communication. ArcGIS Online:  Examining wildfires, population density, and other phenomena. Developing a healthy critical view of the data and methods:  Ethical discussions Expression building. Teaching mathematics, as an example, using interactive mapping.| No sign in work vs signed-in work in ArcGIS. Video 3 is here https://youtu.be/yk4b22DmAx8?si=_weFED9k49SejAYx and includes: Starting a new map in ArcGIS Online > changing basemaps > adding content.  Analyzing patterns, relationships, and trends.  Student example:  Head cut erosion study on Santo Domingo Pueblo, New Mexico. Behavioral data analysis. The action component to using geotechnologies. Action and advocacy. Why this all matters. Resources for continuing the journey. I do hope this is helpful and I look forward to your thoughts and reactions. --Joseph Kerski ... View more

I am pleased to announce a new book from some wonderful colleagues of mine entitled Geoethics for the Future, in which I and many others have written a chapter.  This book provides academics, researchers and students with insights into the ethical and societal dimensions of numerous challenges arising from human impacts on the Earth system.  It was an honor to work with the editors, Silvia Peppoloni and Giuseppe Di Capua, geologists, researchers, and technologists at the Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (Italy). The landing page for the book is here at Elsevier Publishers.  Geoethics for the Future:  New book. The book discusses philosophical, ethical, social, political, economic, legal, and theological aspects of geoscience, technological applications, and anthropogenic impacts on physical environment through the lens of geoethics, in our time of profound planetary changes.   The book bridges the geosciences, social sciences, and humanities, aiming to address the socio-ecological crisis from multiple perspectives with maximum effectiveness.  One of my favorite things about the book is that it provides an indispensable basis for discussion to guide scientists and students in considering their own responsibilities in the decisions they make working in the geosciences.   I trust that the book will be a relevant and discussion-sparking teaching tool and also a resource for researchers in the areas of technology, geotechnology, data, and societal implications of applying technology to solve problems.    Chapters are grouped under the following themes:  Grounding geoethics through philosophical analyses, defining an ethical framework for Earth system governance, empowering the geoscience society interface with geoethical perspectives, and geoethics to shape new educational models for future planetary citizens.  The chapters dive deep into fascinating and diverse topics from natural hazards to fine art, but the holistic and systemic approach unites them all. The reason why this book is needed can be summed by the editors statement, here:  Geoethics, as an ethics of responsibility (i.e., knowing how to weigh things, choices, objectives) towards the Earth system, encompasses simultaneously an environmental, social, and cultural approach, which also manifests as a pedagogical and political proposal. We recognize that this proposal for societal change may seem overly ambitious, utopian, and universalist, not unlike proposals from the past that have also led to conflicts and dehumanization.  However, we consider geoethics to be a fundamentally concrete project to educate individuals aware of their unity in diversity, and their deep belonging to the complex natural system, where emotions and reason can coexist in action.  [] Geoethics does not impose rigid prescriptions but contextualizes in space and time, respecting the diversity of each social-ecological system. The solution may vary for different issues, but it arises from and conforms to the same framework of shared values, since the roots of our human and ethical dimension are common. This book fits into the path traced by the editorial project of Di Capua and Oosterbeek (2023), which promotes geoethics as a fertile meeting ground between geosciences, humanities, and social sciences. Indeed, its chapters transcend disciplinary boundaries, explore different languages, and propose various solutions to comprehend and navigate the complexities of the modern world. The result is a vivid and dynamic panorama, brimming with innovative concepts, visions, and perspectives, poised to ignite a renewed debate on comprehending and navigating the challenges of our times. My chapter, Effective Strategies, Data, and Tools for Teaching Geoethics, takes a very applied tack:   Why should we teach about geo-ethics?  How can we do so?  What tools should we use, and when should we use those tools to teach?  I focus on how GIS, remote sensing, and GNSS can be used effectively to show how communicating about Earth issues can be done with sensitivity and thoughtfulness, with data, case studies, tools, and work with GIS software.  I also had an aim to show how the decisions we make when we map Earth phenomena and issues are laden with ethical decisions.  These decisions include the way we frame problems, the way we project data, choose symbols and colors and classification methods, the way we communicate our results through web mapping applications, and who we choose to share those results with.    My key tenet in the chapter is that ethical issues are important to consider and to how to teach them.  These issues can be taught in engaging, memorable ways throughout a semester-long course or program, rather than relegated to "Week 15" of a course.  These issues include copyright, location privacy, data provenance, and many more.  Some of these strategies are based on the work we have been investigating and documenting in the Spatial Reserves data blog. I wish to thank the editors for including my chapter as I believe the chapter offers faculty some very specific strategies and methods for introducing and diving deep into ethical issues with students, and for practitioners in the sciences to reflect how their everyday decisions affect people's thoughts and opinions, and their organization's plans.    I would love to hear your reactions to the book and how you are using it in your own instruction and research.        ... View more

I have had the honor of working with many amazing people over the years.  When I consider the trailblazers who have made a positive impact on spatial thinking through GIS technologies in education, one person who I think of is my colleague, Charlie Fitzpatrick.   As Charlie departs Esri after 32 years of service in July 2024 for his own trails, I wish to acknowledge his legacy and salute you, the community whom he has influenced, for the enduring work that you all are doing. Here I am at a geography education conference with Kylie Donia (center), and Charlie Fitzpatrick (right).  I traveled with Charlie to probably more than 100 events over the years, beginning with a 1994 Colorado Geographic Alliance institute and a 1998 intensive two-week professional development GIS institute for educators at Texas State University. I met Charlie soon after he became Manager of the Esri schools program.  As one of two founding members of the Esri education team in 1992, Charlie became one of the most knowledgeable and respected people in the world in the integration of geographic technologies and spatial thinking in geography teaching and learning.  Charlie holds a master's degree in geography from the University of Minnesota, was a practicing full time geography teacher in middle and high school for over 15 years before joining Esri, and served in leadership roles in the National Council for Geographic Education.  Charlie really understands education—the challenges, the struggles, the rewards. He has always been ready to help, listen, and share.  One of my best memories of working with Charlie was when he invited me to work for a week with him and three students at a high school in San Bernardino, preparing them to present their work to thousands of people at the Esri User Conference.  Charlie didn’t just help them with their GIS projects; he got to know them and gave them confidence so that they believed in themselves.  Charlie has done this thousands of times; and in so doing, inspired thousands of educators, hundreds of projects, and tens of thousands of students. Charlie was instrumental in the committee to create the revision for the Geography for Life standards effort, and led the effort to bring geospatial technologies to the White House STEM ConnectEd initiative in 2014, which made ArcGIS tools freely available to all K-12 public, private, and home schools in the USA.  He was a champion of many immersive professional development institutes for educators, from Texas State University in the 1990s to the T3G institutes from 2009-2019.  Chances are, many of you reading this have attended one of Charlie’s presentations.  Charlie embodies the lifelong learner, seeking new ways of teaching and learning and always being curious.  Countless students have gone into meaningful careers because of his inspiration and countless educators have had their energies and hopes renewed because of him.  Charlie made learning relevant, fun, and also gave all of us permission to be a little geeky.  He has been an advocate of hands-on learning experiences with animated, challenging, respectful instruction.  Charlie was immersed in STEM education long before the term “STEM” even existed.  He brought geo-related content knowledge, perspectives, and skills to other disciplines, and to educational policymakers.  Even more importantly, Charlie is sincere, honest, and has integrity.  Charlie truly cares about the planet, and about people.  Charlie’s typical statement was “it was a team effort”, but all teams need a leader, and I am thankful that I have been able to work with one of those leaders.  There are not many people as well respected, and well loved, as Charlie Fitzpatrick.   My sincere and heartfelt best wishes to you, Charlie, and wish you happy new trails.  To the community that Charlie has influenced, my teammates are here to support you, and we salute the innovative and impactful work that you are doing and will continue doing in the future.   ... View more

Having just returned from the 2024 Esri Education Summit and User Conference, I wish to highlight 10 takeaway lessons and impressions with the community (and in video format here). 1.  Now more than ever, GIS work is tied to the higher, more noble goals of sustainability, resilience, equity, and others, detailed in plans for building national spatial data infrastructures, university goals of learning, the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and more.  GIS tools, workflows, and maps are important, but throughout the conference I noticed a focus on "the bigger picture" that we are all a part of.  And for good reason--it is a technology that can positively impact people, communities, and the planet.  For more on this theme, visit the GIS For Good site:  https://www.esri.com/en-us/gis-for-good  2.  Uniting The World was the theme of this year's conference:  Consider all of the facets of that phrase--GIS is used across scales (local to global), organizations (nonprofits, government agencies, academia, and nonprofit organizations), countries (over 120 countries were represented at this year's UC), and disciplines (literally from A to Z - architecture, anthropology, archaeology, and astronomy--to zoology, and everything in between--planning, health, business, sociology, biology, and many many more).  3.  The notion that GIS has become a platform has really taken hold--a platform that people can depend on and build solutions upon. 4.   The action component of GIS work has never been stronger:  People are actively building and doing in the world of GIS--building data portals, applications, maps, and taking action to improve their communities with the insights that GIS brings. 5.  The energy, dedication, and work of the education community from primary-secondary to university level, after-school programs, and beyond, continues to expand and make a difference:  We had 850 educators at the Education Summit, for example, sharing their work, participating and conducting workshops, networking, and much more. 6.  The students at the Education Summit and the User Conference hailed from different levels of education (secondary, university, lifelong learners), and different places around the world, but included 4H, student assistants, young scholar award winners, the Esri YPN Young Professionals Network, and the 3 amazing and eloquent high school students on the plenary stage with their inspiring teacher, explaining not only their GIS project but the struggles and challenges and growth that they experienced along their journey. 7.  Maps are still the focus of the event:  Thousands of digital and print maps were on display for 4 days in the Map Gallery, and Jack Dangermond and others showed hundreds more during the plenary on Monday.  Why?  Because maps help communicate issues and solutions, they serve as a gathering point for people to make decisions.  They bring together people who may have different opinions at a place where discussion can begin and solutions offered. 8.  Artificial Intelligence (AI) in GIS, or GeoAI, continues to expand, at a careful and thoughtful pace.  Feature extraction and field survey generative AI workflows were just two GeoAI capabilities that attracted much interest at the event. 9.  Editing in ArcGIS Online was one of the many new tools and capabilities shown at the plenary and in technical workshops.  GIS continues to expand in depth but also is opening up new doors to others outside the GIS community who are attracted to it in part because it is easier to use than ever before, and they can use pieces of it that are appropriate to their own work and not have to "learn the whole platform." 10.  GIS is here to stay.  Despite its integration into mainstream IT flows and architecture, and despite the expanding reach of GIS into hundreds of disciplines, it is still 'special and spatial' - it has its own research base, it provides an engaging, holistic, and insightful way of looking at the whole world and everything in it--which is increasingly important to solve our world's challenges.   I have been attending the Esri UC since 1998 and the Education Summit since its inception in 2000, and they both continue to inspire and encourage me.  If you were able to attend, I hope that you have the same impression.  If you were not able to attend, I encourage you to watch the plenary recording (here: https://mediaspace.esri.com/channel/2024%2BEsri%2BUser%2BConference%2B%257C%2BPlenary/346994422) and connect with the authors of the sessions you missed.  Wish to share this with others in a different format?  https://youtu.be/IZWZagui45c?si=P-fhEX6cGDvuO32Z is a video with some fun pictures and these messages.  I look forward to hearing about your time at the Esri Education Summit and the Esri User Conference !       ... View more