Latest Contributions by JoleneKeen1

Calling all GeoMentors! Do you want to be featured as a spotlight GeoMentor? If so, submit your info at the link below. You'll be featured on the website and in the next GeoMentors Newsletter! bit.ly/1KvX0PQ ... View more

Read more about it here! ... View more

The December GeoMentors newsletter is out!  View the full issue online. ... View more

February 2018 GeoMentor Spotlight: Will Chong, Geospatial Analyst at Tesla Government Inc. What was your favorite class in K-12? I always enjoyed math, mainly because I was decent at it. But I was most interested in any classes that had to do with geography in any way. How did you first learn about and/or use GIS? I first learned about it during a required Intro to GIS course at Virginia Tech. I immediately was drawn to it and the processes and have been using it ever since. Name one thing you love about GIS and/or geography (I know, just one!): I love how universal it is. Everything has a spatial component in one way or another and it can be used in countless disciplines. Why did you want to volunteer as a GeoMentor? I wanted to share my experiences and have kids learn more about GIS and geography to realize how important it is. I remember when I was a kid, I looked forward to it in school but wished we spent more time on it. What kind of GeoMentor volunteer opportunity and experience are you looking for? I’ve only done one with elementary school students but would be open to helping middle and high school kids as well. If someone asked you why they should learn about GIS and/or geography, how would you respond in one sentence? GIS and geography can be used everywhere and with everything to help understand the world. Email address: wchong25@gmail.com Websites: Tesla Government Inc. - https://teslagov.com/ Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/will-chong/ Twitter username: @willchong25 Read about our latest featured GeoMentor here! If you are interested in being featured, visit here for more information. Questions? Email geomentors@aag.org . ... View more

Thurs., Feb. 8th at 8 pm (EST) Focus: The Impact of Water- both above and below ground- on the Environment Spotlight on Landslides! To Join: https://zoom.us/j/7578241037   Students and their families are welcome to join from their homes as well. Tonight, we will focus on landslides and take a closer look at the recent landslides that have occurred in California. Dr. Dalia Kirschbaum, a NASA scientist who is an expert on landslides, will explain how and why we study them from space. We will also hear from some GLOBE folks in CA about how they were impacted by the recent landslides. During our collaboration time, we will talk about some of the GLOBE protocol that can be used to predict these natural disasters and to describe their impact on the environment. Learn more about the ENSO Student Research Campaign Phase III ... View more

January 2018 GeoMentor Spotlight: Rebecca Theobald - Assistant Research Professor at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs and Coordinator at Colorado Geographic Alliance What was your favorite class in K-12? French language. I studied French for six years in junior high and high school. We not only learned to read, write, and speak, but also about culture, literature, and history. I recall that we were required to memorize the maps of Paris and of France, which came in very handy when my family lived in Paris several decades later. While I am not a fantastic linguist, I learned how important language is to understanding different parts of the world. How did you first learn about and/or use GIS? In graduate school, I examined the impact of geography on pre-collegiate school choice. Maps were an important part of how I illustrated the results of my study, but I had not yet taken a geospatial technology class so was creating maps by hand. Following my defense, when one of my committee members remarked “your maps are a bit dodgy”, I knew I needed to learn about this important tool, so I enrolled in the introductory GIS class with Babs Buttenfield the next semester. We not only learned techniques, but also the theory behind the techniques. Like a language, though, if you don’t use GIS regularly, the ability to navigate within the software is hard to maintain. Name one thing you love about GIS and/or geography: Sharing information visually enables people to understand details in a new way. I enjoy watching the “ah ha” moments take place when students or community members examine what seems to be familiar from a new perspective. Why did you want to volunteer as a GeoMentor? I want to support continued connections between academic and professional geographers and educators, as well as set an example for mentoring in Colorado as part of my work with the Colorado Geographic Alliance, which has supported professional development for K-12 teachers for thirty years. As I am not a GIS expert, I also have some credibility with individuals who might feel intimated by this amazing tool, which supports instruction, analysis, and presentation. What kind of GeoMentor volunteer opportunity and experience are you looking for? Over the past year and a half, I have been traveling throughout Colorado sharing National Geographic’s Giant State Map in elementary and secondary classrooms. At each school I inquired as to who would be the best person to speak with about geospatial technology. Sometimes it was a teacher, sometimes a librarian, and sometimes a technology teacher. I introduced them to Esri’s GeoInquiries and the Colorado Digital Atlas, with the intention of developing a community of educators who feel comfortable incorporating these resources into their classrooms, and with guiding their colleagues in the use of these tools. If someone asked you why they should learn about GIS and/or geography, how would you respond in one sentence? “The science of government it is my duty to study, more than all other sciences; the arts of legislation and administration and negotiation ought to take the place of, indeed exclude, in a manner, all other arts. I must study politics and war that my sons may have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy. My sons ought to study mathematics and philosophy, geography, natural history, naval architecture, navigation, commerce, and agriculture, in order to give their children a right to study painting, poetry, music, architecture, statuary, tapestry, and porcelain.” – John Adams, 1780 Email address: rtheobal@uccs.edu Websites: https://www.uccs.edu/geography/rebecca_theobald.html https://www.uccs.edu/~coga/ Interested in being featured? Go here for more information. We are excited to learn more about you!  Questions? Email geomentors@aag.org. ... View more

GeoMentor Case Study: Casey Finedell City/State of School, School District, or Group: Port Townsend, WA, Port Townsend School District Grade level of students you or your educator collaborator work/worked with: Jen Manning teaches middle school science. The class in which I have been volunteering is a 7th grade STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math). Subject/topic of class/group you assisted your collaborator with: Introduction to maps - from basic mapping concepts to real world examples. Discussed everything from Lat/Long and Great Circles to map generalization and visualization of demographics through chloropleth maps. Approximately how many students were engaged in GIS activities through this collaboration: There are about 20 students in this class each week How did you connect with your collaborator? I was asked to participate in an outreach program rooted in a ConnectED initiative. At a teacher training this summer, many teachers were excited by the possibilities of GIS in the classroom, but were a bit intimidated by the software. One teacher (Jen Manning) latched on to the GIS concepts and how they could enhance her classroom. Describe your collaboration process. Jen Manning and I immediately started working on what we call the "BioCollector" app. With her 8th grade class, she has been collecting biological indicator information, such as pH levels, in local aquatic environments for about five years. She had the students collecting by hand, but the possibility of collecting on a phone or iPad was very interesting to her. To help with her comfort level with the software, we decided to introduce GIS to her 7th grade class. Describe the tasks you assisted your collaborator with. For the first five sessions, we had discussions about mapping in general and GIS specifically. We focused these courses around the 5x5 exercise that ESRI put out for k12. (https://esri.app.box.com/v/ago5x5). These exercises were a great way to wade into GIS with this age level students. After we concluded our 5x5 exercise list, we moved on to creation of our very own story map. We had the students group up into teams and each student was responsible for creation of a single location in a story map. We allowed the students quite a bit of freedom with the topic of these maps, focusing more on the creation as the lesson. We used the Story Map Shortlist template as our webapp. Most students chose to pin places they have been or desire to go, but a few chose topics such as site where the Loch Ness Monster and other borderline mythical/real creatures have been spotted. This was a learning experience for both the students and the teachers. Some basic computer skills were covered such as saving an image from the internet and consuming it in a Story Map. Teachers learned how to better assess student preparedness for tasks and students pushed their comfort zone with computer skills, internet searching, and mapping. What available resources, if any, did you use or help your collaborator use to implement GIS in K-12 education? In addition to the 5x5 linked above, we did review some of the materials ESRI put out for GIS day. We did review a few local examples of the Story map that we created. One such real world example of a Story Map is: https://jeffcowa.maps.arcgis.com/apps/Shortlist/index.html?appid=dfda8e56b8be4679a3516bd3e262cc9c We will be bringing GeoInquries in during future sessions. We were made aware of this resource after we were committed to our lesson. Did you develop any new educational material or GIS activities through your collaboration? We did not document any new educational materials, but we did create this GeoForm for their collection use. We hope that this will project will see students creating many maps with the data collected. https://ptschools.maps.arcgis.com/apps/GeoForm/index.html?appid=29e75361fb204f4cb8aa8260fa5a2ab2 What did you gain from the experience? What do you think your educator collaborator and/or the students gained? This was an incredibly rewarding and reassuring experience. It was refreshing to see how quickly some of these kids stepped up and ran with these concepts. I personally gained a better understanding of student capabilities and, more importantly, my own teaching techniques. I learned how to explain topic from numerous angles to reach students with different learning styles. I also learned that some pop culture topic have fallen out of favor much quicker than I thought. FYI - Pokeman Go is sooooo last year. If your GeoMentoring engagement activities were documented through a classroom blog, school website, group’s social media post, newspaper or other media, please provide the websites of those posts. No documentation yet. We are looking to document this with a 1 minute recap video and submit to ESRI for outreach in schools. Any additional comments about your experience? As I said in my email, if GeoMentors is an organization that an individual could make a career out of, I am very interested. I feel that my career will move towards community involvement and GIS education. I am not sure of the path forward, but do know that I love being involved in this type of efforts.   Check out more case studies here!  If you're interested in submitting your GeoMentor experience for a case study, we would appreciate you doing so through this survey. The collected information will only be accessible to and used by AAG and Esri program staff and will not be further distributed or posted online unless you indicate your permission to do so. Questions? Email geomentors@aag.org. ... View more

GeoMentor Case Study: Lixin Huang City/State of School, School District, or Group: Viera, FL Grade level of students you or your educator collaborator work/worked with: Grade 8 Subject/topic of class/group you assisted your collaborator with: Brevard Public Schools Sales Surtax Approximately how many students were engaged in GIS activities through this collaboration: 1 How did you connect with your collaborator? Scheduled a regular meeting with the collaborator and communicated with the collaborator with emails. Describe your collaboration process. I scheduled a meeting with the collaborator once a month during the school semester. The project lasted a year. Before the meeting, I told the student to prepared for it, such as what the student did and any ideas the student want to bring up. During the meeting, I encouraged the student to interact with the collaborator. Describe the tasks you assisted your collaborator with. I assisted the collaborator with my expertise in GIS on how to process the data. What available resources, if any, did you use or help your collaborator use to implement GIS in K-12 education? Used ArcGIS Resources website to solve the issues we encountered. What did you gain from the experience? What do you think your educator collaborator and/or the students gained? While I was working with the student, I learned something new or enhanced my current knowledge in GIS. The student not only built the knowledge in GIS but also learned how to do a project from the beginning to the end. The educator collaborator has the project done, which provides the county residents with information on how Brevard Public Schools use the tax dollars in a intuitive way. Any additional comments about your experience? I actually worked with my son, an 8th grader, to help Brevard Public Schools to do a project on Schools Sales Surtax. I encouraged him to get involved in the whole process of the project, which includes proposing the plan, preparing for the meeting, interacting with the collaborator, and so on. I am the person who backs him up. It really comes up well. Here is the link to the project http://arcg.is/2xnCmmA. Check out more case studies here! If you're interested in submitting your GeoMentor experience for a case study, we would appreciate you doing so through  this survey . The collected information will only be accessible to and used by AAG and Esri program staff and will not be further distributed or posted online unless you indicate your permission to do so. Questions? Email geomentors@aag.org . ... View more

December 2017 GeoMentor Spotlight: Dan Seidensticker, GIS Specialist with the Madison Area Transportation Planning Board (MATPB) in Madison, Wisconsin What was your favorite class in K-12: Art  How did you first learn about and/or use GIS?: The first time I had heard of GIS was in a class I took as an undergraduate at UW-Stevens Point in 1989 where we studied the concept of spatial analysis. We did exercises where we typed grids of data into a rasters representing land use, soils, etc. and then overlaid them to do map algebra for site selection analysis. I was blown away by the possibilities this opened. Name one thing you love about GIS and/or geography: I like the challenge of solving a spatial problem using GIS and displaying the result as a map. Why did you want to volunteer as a GeoMentor? I have made visits to elementary schools where I demonstrated GIS and enjoyed seeing the excitement in the kids eyes when they saw what could be done. I’d like to think that I influenced some of them to pursue a career in GIS. What kind of GeoMentor volunteer opportunity and experience are you looking for? I had the opportunity to teach Introductory Cartography at the undergraduate level and found I like introducing people to the world of GIS and showing how it can be used for more than just making a great map. If someone asked you why they should learn about GIS and/or geography, how would you respond in one sentence? Everything in this world (and beyond) has a spatial component and GIS allows us to study their relationships. Email address: dseidensticker@cityofmadison.com Websites: Department: http://www.madisonareampo.org/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danseidensticker/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/DSeidensticker?lang=en Hobby: https://www.bestbloodymary.com/ Read about our latest featured GeoMentor here! If you are interested in being featured, visit here for more information.   Questions? Email geomentors@aag.org . ... View more

The Globe Program's 4th Webinar, "Monitoring Earth's Water from Space", will be held Thursday December 7th at 8pm EST. Find more information here: http://ow.ly/5HG530gXkpO ... View more

GeoMentor Case Study: Nathan Onwonga City/State of School, School District, or Group: Kenya, Kisii district. Grade level of students you or your educator collaborator work/worked with: Form1- Form4 Subject/topic of class/group you assisted your collaborator with: Land forming processes. Approximately how many students were engaged in GIS activities through this collaboration: 78 students. How did you connect with your collaborator? I reached out to local school. Describe your collaboration process. Regularly, daily. Describe the tasks you assisted your collaborator with. Project vision, and career-related information. I helped the collaborator on how to expect arcgis online work, I also helped learners to choose on their careers especially in geography and Gis. What available resources, if any, did you use or help your collaborator use to implement GIS in K-12 education? Esri eastern Africa website. Did you develop any new educational material or GIS activities through your collaboration? Yes, how Gis can help in conservation of water resources, to help communities and schools get enough and clean water through detection of pit latrines and sewage lines to avoid them. What did you gain from the experience? What do you think your educator collaborator and/or the students gained? New ideas geography can offer that can be spatially integrated. Any additional comments about your experience? This work requires patience since no payment is offered at some point it discourages but with heart we proceeds. Check out more case studies here! If you're interested in submitting your GeoMentor experience for a case study, we would appreciate you doing so through  this survey . The collected information will only be accessible to and used by AAG and Esri program staff and will not be further distributed or posted online unless you indicate your permission to do so. Questions? Email geomentors@aag.org . ... View more

GeoMentor Case Study: Nettie Ginocchetti   City/State of School, School District, or Group: Plains, Pennsylvania; Wilkes-Barre Area School District; SHINE After School Program of Luzerne County at Wilkes University Grade level of students you or your educator collaborator work/worked with: K-8 Subject/topic of class/group you assisted your collaborator with: Topics of discussions included ArcGIS Online, GeoInquiries, Web Maps, Story Maps, Entertain Maps, Snap2Map, the Living Atlas and the Science Channel: What on Earth Approximately how many students were engaged in GIS activities through this collaboration: 60 students How did you connect with your collaborator? We connected through a PennDOT Long Range Transportation meeting I was attending where an ambassador of PA State Senator John Yudichak was present. Senator Yudichak is a founder of the SHINE After School Program of Luzerne County. When I spoke about our GeoMentoring efforts in NEPA, Mark Grochocki, District Director suggested I contact the Executive Director of the SHINE Program to talk about GeoMentoring within the SHINE Program. Describe your collaboration process. We communicate on a weekly basis to discuss our volunteer efforts through email or texting. Establishing a weekly game plan may take a half hour of our time throughout the week. Describe the tasks you assisted your collaborator with. As Geomentors for the SHINE After School Program we lead the discussion in educating the students and teachers. Topics range from currents events by means of Esri Story Maps to adding map layers to a web map and analyzing the different layers such as Fast Food Chains, to watching videos from the Science Channel What on Earth and discussing the different uses of GIS that we saw in the video. The teachers are part of the audience and are additionally learning about the powers of GIS through the SHINE After School Program. What available resources, if any, did you use or help your collaborator use to implement GIS in K-12 education? Through our educating efforts we use: ArcGIS Story Maps Snap2Map Esri current event maps such as: http://storymaps.esri.com/stories/thanksgiving The Science Channel: What on Earth Entertain Maps Did you develop any new educational material or GIS activities through your collaboration? SHINE GIS Gallery SHINE Locations Web App 2016-2017 SHINE Story Map that documents our GeoMentoring Efforts at the Wilkes-Barre Career and Technical Center SHINE Lights On After School App Various Snap2Map Story Maps http://arcg.is/2eYnfqP http://arcg.is/2eYr3by http://arcg.is/2nW0AiE http://arcg.is/2d71w03 Presently working on a 2017-2018 Story Map highlighting our progress throughout this school year. What did you gain from the experience? What do you think your educator collaborator and/or the students gained? I have gained a tremendous amount of admiration for the education system, students and teachers. Stemming from a degree in GIS primarily in the Transportation Industry while being introduced to the Education industry has been a learning experience. The amount of collaboration and positive engagements assignments is crucial to learning and I have a gained a deeper respect for the amount of preparedness that goes into teaching and and entertaining young minds. I feel the students and educators gain a sense of a whole new world and industry that exists out there, that they may not have otherwise discovered. I would hope that our efforts of raising geoawareness introduces these young minds k-8 to the possibilities of a future career in the Geotechnologies field.  If your GeoMentoring engagement activities were documented through a classroom blog, school website, group’s social media post, newspaper or other media, please provide the websites of those posts. On GIS Day 2016 we celebrated with 60 students from the SHINE Program at the Wilkes-Barre Area Career and Technical Center located in Plains, PA with a drone demonstration by an undergrad student from King's College. SHINE GIS Gallery Gallery of our 2016-2017 SHINE GeoInspirations Any additional comments about your experience? I would like to thank Esri and the American Association of Geographers for providing this opportunity by inspiring me to make an impact on the future of learning and the endless career opportunities that await these young minds in the field of Geotechnologies. I am forever grateful for the experiences I have encountered in my first year GeoMentoring with the SHINE After School Program.   Check out more case studies here!  If you're interested in submitting your GeoMentor experience for a case study, we would appreciate you doing so through  this survey . The collected information will only be accessible to and used by AAG and Esri program staff and will not be further distributed or posted online unless you indicate your permission to do so. ... View more

GeoMentor Case Study:  Deborah Huber, GISP; Katharine Chaney, GISP; Brian Dresen, LS City/State of School, School District, or Group: Chesapeake, VA Grade level of students you or your educator collaborator work/worked with : High School Juniors and Seniors Subject/topic of class/group you assisted your collaborator with: GIS Immersion Approximately how many students were engaged in GIS activities through this collaboration: 11 students from Grassfield How did you connect with your collaborator? The initial partnership with Grassfield STEM Academy was introduced through an employee whose son attended the school. We have continued to partner with the Grassfield STEM academy each summer. Describe your collaboration process. There is an initial information night for the students where they can meet with representatives from different firms/companies. The students are then allowed to sign up for the company they are interested in. I meet with the Department Heads to see how much time they can commit to mentoring the students each summer. Then, I let Amie Beahm/Grassfield know how many students we can accept each summer. Describe the tasks you assisted your collaborator with. Clark Nexsen is a Multi-Disciplinary firm – Architecture, Civil Engineering, GIS, Transportation, Bridges, Wireless and Interiors. Each summer, Grassfield high school students enrolled in the STEM program are invited to our corporate office for a week of immersion. The STEM students meet for several hours with each department, to learn about how professionals in these fields do work their day-to-day projects. This summer, we had three groups come thru the program. The GIS Department had the students for a three-hour span. We divided our GIS information into five sections: 1. Basic Overview - What is GIS?, How many industries GIS supports, How GIS can be used to analyze data to solve problems, and How we use GIS at Clark Nexsen. Also, the components of GIS, a BASIC explanation of Map Projections, and images of GPS equipment. We then provide them with links to local colleges with Geospatial classes and programs with links to useful geospatial websites. 2. Build a Map: Finding and importing data, adding collected GPS points, adding building footprints, adding base maps, changing Symbology, and adding labels, etc. 3. GIS related Apps that are fun to use. We show how we use the what3words free app during our field work - mostly for fun and adventure/social activities in our off hours, but also to assist us in foreign countries where there is a language barrier. We demonstrate using it for marking parking garages in New York City, locating a co-worker on a beach among hundreds of people, and navigating Japanese train stations. 4. Equipment Overview: Our surveyor demonstrates some of the equipment we use in the field – Leica Disto Laser Range finders for measuring building footprints (we let the students measure the room), the Trimble GPS units (more about this later) and the ToughPads with DraftSite (a lite CAD program) and ArcGIS Desktop loaded. 5. Scavenger Hunt: We took the students to a park across the street. Half were given what3words locations to navigate and the other half use Trimble Geo7X units with external antennas (with guidance). They then located the spot they are assigned – when they found it, they received a packet of Clark Nexsen swag. It is a good way to demonstrate the precision of professional GPS equipment versus a smartphone app. Our overarching goals were to engage the students, open their awareness to GIS, and show how they are already interacting with GIS without even realizing it (navigational apps). Some of the students were unsure of the exact degree they wish to pursue, so we showed how a course or two in GIS could support most of the industries included in the STEM program. Once in college, we offer them to return to us for their internships during the summer months. Once graduated from college, some of our interns have returned to start their careers with us. What available resources, if any, did you use or help your collaborator use to implement GIS in K-12 education? None that I am aware of, but we could provide the weblink to the FREE K-12 program through ESRI. We DID provide the ESRI links to the students in the follow-up email we sent after the event. http://www.esri.com/industries/education/schools# Did you develop any new educational material or GIS activities through your collaboration? Yes, a Geo-Locational Scavenger Hunt. See details in #5 above. What did you gain from the experience? What do you think your educator collaborator and/or the students gained? Our GIS department gained a new perspective of how little the high school demographic is aware of GIS as a stand-alone technology field of study, how the Science of Where is at the forefront of so many industries, and how GIS plays a role in their daily lives. We are hoping they gained a general understanding of GIS and how it can walk lock-step with the STEM industries they are interested in pursuing. Once we met the kids, we opened the option to provide their email address so we could provide follow-up information on the colleges offering GIS programs and a sheet of helpful weblinks to Geospatial websites.  Check out more case studies here!  If you're interested in submitting your GeoMentor experience for a case study, we would appreciate you doing so through  this survey . The collected information will only be accessible to and used by AAG and Esri program staff and will not be further distributed or posted online unless you indicate your permission to do so. ... View more

November 2017 GeoMentor Spotlight: Jessica Griffin, GIS Specialist at ExteNet Systems What was your favorite class in K-12? Art How did you first learn about and/or use GIS? While earning my Masters of Science in Archaeology, a professor mentioned that GIS software was changing the field of archaeology. I wanted to know more so I took GIS classes and completed a GIS certificate. Name one thing you love about GIS and/or geography (I know, just one!): GIS software has so many applications in a myriad of fields. You can use it to study climate, biology, humans (past, present and future) and use the tools to answer questions and solve problems. The possibilities are endless. Why did you want to volunteer as a GeoMentor? I got my Bachelors in Social Science education and earned a teaching certificate. Though I didn’t become a teacher, I really enjoy helping kids learn and broaden their horizons. And I think it’s important to show girls a positive role model of women working in STEM fields. What kind of GeoMentor volunteer opportunity and experience are you looking for? I’d like to engage with teachers and kids in the classroom and talk with them about how to use the GIS tools, and encourage them to use the software to do their own research and answer their own questions about society and the world around them. If someone asked you why they should learn about GIS and/or geography, how would you respond in one sentence? Geography is a lens through which you can view any issue, and it has a huge impact on how our world is organized and how we live our lives. Email address: GriffinJessicaD@gmail.com Websites https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessica-griffin-1a810446/ https://oldmainartifacts.wordpress.com/ ( a blog about my archaeological research) Read about our latest featured GeoMentor  here ! If you are interested in being featured, visit  here  for more information. Questions? Email geomentors@aag.org . ... View more

The October GeoMentors Newsletter is now available! Prepare for GIS Day and Geography Awareness Week, meet our both of our spotlight GMs, take a shot at the monthly mentor challenge, look at some new featured resources and more! ... View more