Latest Contributions by TomBaker

Five new activities for physical geography or Earth science students that use either augmented reality (AR) or virtual reality (VR) and GIS maps.    Two AR based activities include: The world’s most used minerals Rock types tell stories These activities include QR codes that can be used by students to load objects with an iPhone camera onto the real world.  The same objects can be loaded by other devices onto a webpage for rotation, zooming, and examining. Interactive formative student assessments are available on some activities. Three VR-based activities include: Topography and our natural heritage North American landforms Plate type effects on volcanoes These activities include 3D models and ArcGIS 360VR experiences (maps) that can be loaded into VR headsets like Meta Quest or HTC Vive.  Some activities also have 360° images and  interactive formative assessments.    See the collection at:  https://arcg.is/11mfGe0 Feedback welcome below or send to: tbaker at esri.com. ... View more

After a decade of using the "classic" Map Viewer, GeoInquiries using the (new) Map Viewer are being rolled out on the GeoInquiry homepage at https://esri.com/geoinquiries Aside from the change to the new map viewer, you'll also notice a few other changes: 1. Level 2 activities are not currently available for the (new) Map Viewer. 2. Some collections are still in transition (and will be for a while): Upper Elementary, American Literature, and Mathematics. 3. We have added a few new GeoInquiries to the Government and US History collections, including: ** Mass incarceration **  Historic Black Community Erasure ** Japanese American internment ** Redlining 4. We also anticipate updates to many datasets over the coming months. We'll do our best to minimize classroom disruption. You can still find the classic Map Viewer and MapMaker based GeoInquiries online. ... View more

The Esri K12 team will be at the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) conference in Denver, Colorado on June 23-26. We will be in the exhibit hall in booth 640. Events to consider: Infusing Technology into Place-Based & Community Learning https://conference.iste.org/2024/program/search/detail_session.php?id=117269888 Smashing Glass Ceilings in STEM: Fly Like A Girl Drone Academy https://conference.iste.org/2024/program/search/detail_session.php?id=117207182 Bringing Drones and Coding to the PK-12 Classroom https://conference.iste.org/2024/program/search/detail_session.php?id=117203845 Empowering the Future: Commercial Drone Pilot Training and STEM Education https://conference.iste.org/2024/program/search/detail_session.php?id=117265086 Drones & UDL: Increasing STEM Career Thinking for Middle School Girls https://conference.iste.org/2024/program/search/detail_session.php?id=117199832 ... View more

I recently created a Fantasy and Fiction Atlas for sharing maps of literature. An Atlas is a type of an ArcGIS Instant App – and really easy to create if you already have an ArcGIS Group that contains the maps or data you want to appear in the Atlas [tutorial]. An Atlas URL might look like this: https://arcgis.com/apps/instant/atlas/index.html?appid=976063d1a6274acb88f61175230118fb Look at the URL and find the question mark (?).  After the question mark you will see “appid=”. The letters and numbers that follow the appid are specific to my Atlas, The Fantasy and Fiction atlas.  Each Atlas has its own appid.   Default Atlas embedded An easy way to add my Atlas to a storymap is to add an “Embed” widget on the main stage of a storymap. To add my Atlas with no specific map pre-selected, I would just copy and paste the URL (with appid) into the Embed widget. A sample embedded atlas.   Embed a specific Atlas map in a storymap To get the URL, open your Atlas. Press "Open Map". Search for the map you want.  You will find a share button next to the map name. Press that button to copy the direct URL to the map displayed in the Atlas." A sample embedded atlas map.   Embed just the map A much more elegant approach is to put the map in the map widget. Find the map in any Atlas you want and save a copy of the map.  Share the map publicly.  Add a "Map" widget to your storymap and look in "My Content". A sample embedded map.   ... View more

As the school year begins to wane for many, teachers and schools often look to field trips. These rewards can engage kids in “some” learning during those last weeks. Unfortunately, many schools don’t have the budget or bandwidth to deliver on these exciting opportunities.  Safety, cost, logistics and a host of other reasons can also make these adventures impossible to do. This is where StoryMap Expeditions can help. A virtual landscapeStoryMap Expeditions use virtual reality to help bring a place to life.  This collection of ten storymaps can be viewed on a device or computer but even more powerful, used with a virtual reality headset like a Meta Quest.  Each storymap contains a variety of media types – such as 360 degree video, 3D models, audio, and of course interactive maps. The ten expeditions currently available are: Hawaiian Lava Tubes Yellowstone A Farm The Lincoln Memorial Yosemite USS Midway Saint Louis Zoo Union (Train) Station National WWI Memorial The Zoo Grab your VR headset (or just a web browser) and head to https://esriurl.com/expeditions . ... View more

In May of 2014, shortly after Esri announced participation in the Whitehouse’s initiative for schools, connectEd, a new type of instructional material was released by the Esri Education Team. In collaboration with Esri partners, GISetc and Maps101.com (now Mapszu) and university collaborator, The University of Minnesota's U-Spatial, Esri released over 180 GeoInquiry™ activities in ten different subject areas – all aligned to US curriculum standards. Over time, the use of the activities grew dramatically.  Today, it is not unusual to find a teacher using GIS that at least partially attributes their early work with GIS to GeoInquiries. GeoInquiries continue to hold a special place in Esri offerings.  They are intended first and foremost to help teachers teach the required content of their subject.  In other words, GeoInquiries were intended to help teachers teach better.  Secondarily, they were intended to help teachers and students learn GIS.  This “curriculum-first solution”  in contrast to previous work that might be described as a “software-first solution” lead to the growth in use of geospatial tools across schools. In 2024, we expect to serve over 1.6 million GeoInquiry maps and instructional materials to the K12 community.  As of today, we offer GeoInquiries supporting three different mapping tools:: Classic: GeoInquiries that use the classic map viewer.  (These activities will be sunsetting as the classic map viewer is retired.) New: GeoInquiries that use the “new” map viewer (the default map viewer). MapMaker/Atlas: This flavor of GeoInquiries includes AP Human Geography, Earth Science, and World Geography. Moreover, other teams have created their own state-level GeoInquiries.  See if your state has a collection. Explore or share the collections today to begin or extend your journey with GIS in the classroom. ... View more

ArcGIS Online public accounts are great – for teachers.  Most importantly, they can be quickly created and logged into with one of your existing social profiles like Google, Apple, or Facebook. As a teacher, when you move beyond using prebuilt maps in MapMaker, you may find editing an existing map is something you want to do – and probably share that new map with your students.  With a public account, you can edit save, and share the map.  Kids can load the shared map you create on their computers or devices without ever logging in. In the video below, you’ll see just how fast the process can be. In one minute, I edit an existing map, login to a new public account with my Google social credentials and can share to students. When the time arrives for students to save maps, be sure to get a no-cost ArcGIS School bundle. ... View more

Be sure to drop by Esri booth #336 at the 2024 Conference on Science Education in Denver, CO - March 20-23, 2024.   We’re also on the lookout for NSTA member presentations that include ArcGIS, like   We have two workshops sponsored by Esri.  We hope you can join us at both. Creating great stories and portfolios using ArcGIS StoryMaps Date & Time: Friday, March 22, 2024 - 4:00-5:00 PM Colorado Convention Center – Room 503 StoryMaps allow students to combine text, photos, videos, audio, and maps into a coherent story for communicating research or findings of a study. Join the Esri education team as we explore creating storymaps. StoryMaps are a part of the ArcGIS School Bundle, free for K12 instruction.   Making powerful maps with professional or  student-collected data Date & Time: Saturday, March 23, 2024 - 8:00 - 9:00 AM Colorado Convention Center – Room 503  Join Esri as we demonstrate how to build powerful maps using ArcGIS Online.  We will use scientific data from the Living Atlas and data created during the workshop using Survey123 – and map it all.  Analysis tools will be demonstrated.  ArcGIS Online is free from Esri for K12 instruction. If you have questions about Esri at NSTA 2023, please email [email protected] . ... View more

Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs exist in nearly every school district in the United States.  Their primary purpose? Prepare kids for careers. Across the country, GIS is often taught as a module in a CTE course (like AgriScience or Logistics) or even as a full stand-alone course. GIS is taught in different career clusters in different states but popular clusters include ag & natural resources, Transportation, Health, Engineering, and more. Learn more about how GIS can be used in your state or district CTE offerings. Visit https://esriurl.com/cte Learn more about ACTE’s “CTE Month” and find more resources. ... View more

ArcGIS Drone2Map Standard enables users to easily process overlapping nadir images from drones to create accurate 2D orthomosaics, digital surface models (DSMs), and digital terrain models (DTMs). These outputs, referred to as orthomapping products, integrate seamlessly into ArcGIS Online, ArcGIS Enterprise, or ArcGIS Pro and provide great value due to their timeliness, resolution, and accuracy. As of December 2023, what drone software is in the ArcGIS School bundle at no cost to school instruction? Site Scan Flight LE Video overview (non-Esri) Download for iPad or Mac OSX 11 on M1+ Drone2Map Standard (requires Microsoft Windows computer) Read about the difference between Standard and Advanced. See comparison charts between Standard and Advanced. Download from MyEsri. ArcGIS Pro (requires Microsoft Windows computer) Download from MyEsri. Basic K12 Workflow Plan and Capture data: Site Scan Flight LE Download and Process: Drone2Map Standard Advanced Processing: ArcGIS Pro Share: Drone2Map >> ArcGIS Online as service layer or map Begin your learning: Make sure that you have a login (a publisher account) in your schools ArcGIS Online organization. Your account needs to have a Publisher role or higher and must have permission to use the Drone2Map software. Download and install Drone2Map Standard. Take this “Getting started” class at Esri Academy. Your school ArcGIS Online credentials should allow you to enroll in the course at no cost. This blog is intended to help get you started. Other links from Esri Academy or the Drone2Map Resource page are also available for advancing your learning. ... View more

Discover the newly improved collection of instructional materials that will engage your human geography students and enhance your curriculum.   What are GeoInquiries? GeoInquiries are short, standards-based activities that use interactive maps and geographic data to explore topics in human geography. They are designed to be used in K12 classrooms, either as standalone lessons or as supplements to existing curriculum. They are aligned with the College Board's AP Human Geography course benchmarks. What's new in the Human Geography GeoInquiries collection? Each activity now has a storymap for teachers that organizes and presents the elements of each activity. Each activity in the  collection has been updated with new content, Mapmaker maps, a student self-check, and vocabulary that reflect the latest developments and trends in human geography. The collection covers 15 topics, ranging from population and migration to culture and religion. Why should you use GeoInquiries in your classroom? GeoInquiries are easy to use and require no installation or login. You just need a web browser and an internet connection. GeoInquiries are engaging and interactive. They allow your students to explore real-world issues and phenomena using maps and data from authoritative sources. GeoInquiries are relevant and timely. They help your students develop geographic literacy and critical thinking skills that are essential for the 21st century. How can you access the Human Geography GeoInquiries collection? You can access the collection for free at the GeoInquiries website: https://esriurl.com/geoinquiries You can explore the new storymaps, student worksheets, self-checks, and vocabulary support tools. You may also download the teacher PDF versions of the GeoInquiries and the accompanying teacher guides. Don't miss this opportunity to enrich your human geography teaching and learning with GeoInquiries. Check out the collection today and see how GeoInquiries can transform your classroom. ... View more

We are excited to announce that we will be exhibiting at the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) Annual Conference in Phoenix, Arizona, on November 30 - December 2, 2023. The ACTE conference is the premier event for career and technical educators, administrators, counselors, and industry partners, featuring hundreds of sessions on the latest trends, best practices, and research in CTE. At our booth, you will have the opportunity to see a live demo of ArcGIS, which empowers educators to create engaging, personalized, and interactive spatial learning experiences for your  students. You will also be able to chat with our team of experts, who can answer your questions and show you how ArcGIS can help you achieve your goals and challenges in CTE. Don't miss this chance to discover how ArcGIS can revolutionize your CTE curriculum and instruction. See you soon in Phoenix! ... View more