Latest Contributions by JosephKerski

One of our community asked: As I continue to attempt to convince one of my local school Districts to work with me on implementing a comprehensive plan to incorporate GST as an instructional tool, I have been asked another question I do not have an answer for.  Is there any research based studies/evidence which demonstrate that GST improves academic achievement and understanding.  I wrote:  We have been for years maintaining a GIS Education research bibliography: http://education.library.esri.com/ You might want to look at the works of these authors – Donna Goldstein, Sarah Bednarz, for starters. Joseph Kerski And some of the results of the SPLINT project in the UK: http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/splint/ One of my colleagues wrote: Hi Marc, I am not aware of any direct links to show GST itself improves understanding/achievement but I usually look at it from the spatial thinking perspective (it’s not the GST itself – it’s the thinking behind it and how the material is presented to students), and there is research that shows that spatial thinking can improve academic achievement. This is an oldy but a goodie http://www.nap.edu/catalog/11019/learning-to-think-spatially-gis-as-a-support-system-in though there may be some newer research out there that others know about. Sarah Bednarz just gave a great webinar for NCGE on this concept. Maybe you can check out the archive. See also - http://www.nap.edu/catalog/9853/how-people-learn-brain-mind-experience-and-school-expanded-edition Lori Another colleague wrote: I actually did my Master’s research on this topic, and here are 2 references for you - an article co-written with Dr. Dawn Wright (for conference presentations) https://www.academia.edu/2912772/Using_Geovisualizations_in_the_Curriculum_Do_Multimedia_Tools_Enhance_Geography_Education and a longer version – research paper Using Educational Tools and Integrative Experiences via Geovisualizations that Incorporate Spatial Thinking, Real World Science and Ocean Literacy Standards in the Classroom: A Case Study Examined http://marinecoastalgis.net/michelle09 Enjoy! Michelle Michelle Kinzel, M.S., GISP kinzelm@cox.net ... View more

Abductive reasoning (also called abduction, abductive inference or retroduction) is a form of logical inference that goes from an observation to a hypothesis that accounts for the observation. It ideally seeks to find the simplest and most likely explanation. In abductive reasoning, unlike in deductive reasoning, the premises do not guarantee the conclusion. One can understand abductive reasoning as "inference to the best explanation".  The fields of law,  computer science, and artificial intelligence research have renewed interest in the subject of abduction.  Abductive reasoning can be effectively taught through spatial thinking and analysis with the use of GIS technology.  Through the overlaying, swiping, symbolizing, and classification of maps and imagery in a GIS, students are encouraged to make observations about the patterns, relationships, and trends, or -- even the lack of pattern.  They can then form a hypothesis about why the pattern exists and how it came to be.  They can then test that hypothesis against the data, by running a set of spatial statistical techniques, by testing different models, by symbolizing and classifying the data in different ways, and by examining different regions of the world at different scales, testing whether the relationship holds in all regions and scales, or just some. All of this is what I find most valuable about GIS:  It is one of those few tools that allow for inquiry, investigation, hypothesis testing, changing the variable(s) analyzed, all in a single environment.  It also, simultaneously, allows for the planning, collection, analysis, and communication of data and research with tools such as Survey123 and QuickCapture, ArcGIS Online and Pro, story maps and other web mapping applications, and operations dashboard.  Consider the example below from a GIS-based investigation:  Say after observing the map that the student's hypothesis is that the savanna regime division is generally characterized by higher population densities in East Africa.  Then, that student can investigate such questions as:  Does the savanna suffer from biodiversity loss to a greater degree than less populous ecoregions?  What are other factors that can help explain the pattern of population density in this area? At a larger scale, is population density still higher in the savanna than other ecoregions?  Why or why not?    About my note above about the "lack of pattern":  Oftentimes I notice when working with students that if there is no discernible geographic pattern, they think that their analysis or data are invalid.  Not necessarily!  When working with GIS, you are using real world data, describing real world phenomena, with all of its inherent complexities and limitations.  There may be no spatial pattern to that phenomena.  But that doesn't make the phenomena less interesting, relevant, or important.  The lack of spatial pattern should lead you to ask additional questions!  For more, see my video.  I look forward to your comments! --Joseph Kerski Examining ecoregions and population density in a GIS environment (ArcGIS Online). ... View more

This map in ArcGIS Online shows snow cover for the globe as it changes throughout the course of the year.  The patterns the map reveals is fascinating.  What is the effect of latitude on snow cover?  How does snow cover in the Northern Hemisphere compare to that in the Southern Hemisphere?  Which month had more snow on the ground than any other, in Canada, versus in Sweden?  What is the effect of elevation on snow cover?  During a specific month, which of the world's major cities had snow on the ground?  Measure the extent in square kilometers for each of the months for specific countries and graph your results. This map features NASA’s Next Generation Blue Marble imagery in a set of 12 monthly composite images of the entire earth, using 500-meter-resolution imagery from the MODIS satellite.  More information is available than just the snow cover.  These monthly images reveal other seasonal changes on the land surface, such as the greening up and dying back of vegetation in the temperate regions such as North America and Europe, and the dry and wet seasons in the tropics.  The Blue Marble Next Generation imagery was produced by Reto Stöckli, NASA Earth Observatory (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center).  The data is from 2004.  For more information about this data layer, see this description.  The data layer can be added to any map that you are analyzing in ArcGIS Online, and compared to other data layers, such as mean annual precipitation, or ecoregions.   If you prefer to show the data as a web mapping application, see this app. How might you use this map and its information in your instruction? Seasonal changes map in ArcGIS Online. ... View more

In an article in Directions Magazine, I describe five forces catapulting geography onto the world stage.  These five forces, including geo-awareness, geo-enablement, geotechnologies, citizen science, and storytelling, are transforming the audience for geography and the way geography is taught and perceived. After I describe each of these forces and why they matter, I define in the article what I consider to be the three legs of the "geoliteracy stool" - (1) content knowledge, (2) skills, and (3) the geographic perspective.  I then ask, "Is geoliteracy becoming increasingly valued?  What role can and should teaching and learning with GIS play in geoliteracy? How can the community seize the opportunity that these five forces represent to foster geoliteracy and promote the use of GIS and spatial thinking at all levels of education?" I look forward to hearing your comments. Five converging global trends that present geography with new global opportunities (Kerski, 2016). ... View more

What is a spatial citizen?  It has been defined as "An individual who has the motivation, knowledge, skills, and competencies to access and reason with geo-information in order to participate in democratic processes."  (Adapted from  I. Gryl, T. Jekel, and K. Donert, 2010).   Are we as the geospatial education community, encouraging students to become spatial citizens? Emerging research on spatial citizenship seeks to understand how the education community can best do that. But how can the geospatial education community best equip educators so that they can promote such participation?   Most researchers agree that helping students to develop geotechnology skills is only part of the solution.  Skills in spatial thinking, coping with geospatial information, communicating with that information, and developing critical thinking skills with regard to problem solving and to data are all just as important as the technical skills.  Indeed, all of these are skills we have written about in this blog.  How can educators new to the field develop competencies to teach these skills, and how can experienced educators continue to sharpen their skills? To help answer these questions, researchers Uwe Schulze, Inga Gryl, and Detlef Kanwischer developed a spatial citizenship competence model for teacher education and training.  It includes instrumental competence (such as methodological and technological skills), interpersonal competence (such as interaction and cooperation skills), and systemic competence (such as how to teach these skills most effectively).  The model contains six major dimensions:  1.  Technology and methodology.  2.  Reflection.  3. Communication.  4.  Spatial domain. 5.  Citizenship education.  6.  Implementation strategies. The authors argue that such a model shifts from focusing on subject-specific GIS content to the use of geospatial technology and spatial representations within everyday digital geomedia environments in a multifaceted, reflective way.  They go on to say that digital geomedia is a new interdisciplinary language that is spoken in a variety of subjects.  I don't think we are quite to the point where this is universally recognized throughout education and society, but there are encouraging signs. For more information, see the review we wrote about the book Learning and Teaching with Geomedia, which includes chapters about this topic, and the Spatial Citizenship website. Spatial Citizenship. ... View more

I wrote about this recently in the Spatial Reserves data blog: Data Management Tips in ArcGIS Online | GIS Education Community --Joseph Kerski ... View more

GIS and the Top 10 Technology Trends | Spatial Reserves I wrote about this and I hope it is useful. --Joseph Kerski ... View more

Like many of you, I frequently create Esri story maps and ArcGIS Online presentations for events, workshops, webinars, courses, and curricula.  Then I often want to modify those story maps and presentations for a different purpose, but yet preserve the original version so people can still access it.  The ArcGIS Online Assistant is the perfect tool for this.  It can be used for copying web mapping applications such as story maps, ArcGIS Online maps, layers, scenes, and other items from one folder to another, or between organizations, or even to the same folder within an organization.  It can also be used to view the underlying JSON for any item in ArcGIS Online or Portal, and to modify the URLs for services in web maps and registered applications. Another very helpful feature about the ArcGIS Online Assistant is that it quickly lets you scroll through all of your content your organizational account.  If you have a lot of content in your organization, saves a great deal of time over the standard method of going through each page of your standard “My Contents” zone in ArcGIS Online. Note that the copying procedure does not copy all of your data that your web mapping applications may refer to, but just the application or presentation that points to them. If you need even more functionality, look into the tools created by Geo Jobe.  In the free version of their tools, there is a tool labeled "Copy Items" that acts like the AGO Assistant tool.  Their tools also allow for a filter that can select multiple items at once.  In the Pro/Portal version of their tools, you can "Clone Items", which not only copies the selected item, but also copies and rewires all the data and content that the selected item depends on.  As noted above, the AGO Assistant does not do this, but Geo Jobe allows you to truly copy everything, including the source data. For more information, see the GeoNet discussion on this topic, and for best practices and tools related to ArcGIS Online organizations, see the ArcGIS Organization Administration Wiki on GitHub. After using the ArcGIS Online Assistant, I now have a copy of my original item in ArcGIS Online, which I can now rename and modify. ... View more

4pm Gregory Hall 161 - Fri 22 Jan 2016 - I am giving the following presentation - all are welcome! Why Data Quality Matters—Now More Than Ever Joseph J. Kerski, PhD, GISP Cloud-based data services and maps make it easy for anyone to obtain vast amounts of data in a short amount of time. In an environment where such a wide variety and volume of geospatial and other data is available, is data quality still of concern?  Join geographer and educator Joseph Kerski as he makes the case that data quality considerations matter now more than ever. Through examples such as “Be critical of the data—especially when it’s your own!”, we will explore real-world examples that illustrate the necessity of understanding the benefits but also the challenges in successfully navigating our geodata-saturated world. ... View more

Mapillary is a tool that allows anyone to create their own street level photographs, map them, and share them via web GIS technology.  The idea behind Mapillary is a simple but powerful one:  Take photos of a place of interest as you walk along using the Mapillary mobile app.  Next, upload the photos to Mapillary again using the app. They will be connected with others’ and combined into a street level photo view.  Then, explore your places and those from thousands of other users around the world. Mapillary is part of the rapidly growing crowdsourcing movement, also known as citizen science, which seeks to generate "volunteered geographic information" content from ordinary citizens.  Mapillary is therefore more than a set of tools--it is a community, with its own MeetUps and ambassadors.  Mapillary is also a new Esri partner, and through an ArcGIS integration, local governments and other organizations can understand their communities in real-time, and "the projects they’re working on that either require a quick turnaround or frequent updates, can be more streamlined."  These include managing inventory and city assets, monitoring repairs, inspecting pavement or sign quality, and assessing sites for new train tracks.   Other organizations are also using Mapillary:  For example, the Missing Maps Project is a collaboration between the American Red Cross, British Red Cross, Médecins Sans Frontières-UK (MSF-UK, or Doctors Without Borders-UK), and the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team. The project aims to map the most vulnerable places in the developing world so that NGOs and individuals can use the maps and data to better respond to crises affecting these areas. On the discovery section of Mapillary, you can take a tour through the ancient city Teotihuacán in Mexico, Astypalaia, one of the Dodecanese Islands in Greece, Pompeii, or Antarctica.  But if you create an account and join the Mapillary community, you can access the live web map and click on any of the mapped tracks. Mapillary can serve as an excellent way to help your students get outside, think spatially, use mobile apps, and use geotechnologies.  Why stop at streets?  You or your students could map trails, as I have done while hiking or biking, or  map rivers and lakes from a kayak or canoe.  There is much to be mapped, explored, studied, and enjoyed.  If you'd like extra help in mapping your campus, town, or field trip with Mapillary, send an email to Mapillary and let the team know what you have in mind.  They can help you and your students get started with ideas and tips (and bike mounts, if you need them). For about 18 months, I have been using Mapillary to map trails and streets.  I used the Mapillary app on my smartphone, generating photographs and locations as I hiked along. One of the trails that I mapped is shown below and also on the global map that everyone in the Mapillary community can access.  I have spoken with the Mapillary staff and salute their efforts. I look forward to hearing your reactions and how you use this tool. Mapillary tool for generating and sharing street level photos and maps. ... View more

Landsat Thematic Bands Web Mapping Application - my write up: Landsat Thematic Bands Web Mapping Application in ArcGIS Online | Spatial Reserves --Joseph Kerski ... View more