Latest Contributions by TomBaker

We are excited to invite educators to join us at NCSS 2024, where we’ll be showcasing the latest advancements in GIS technology for the classroom. This is a great opportunity to explore innovative tools designed to enhance classroom learning and support student success. Whether you're looking to integrate new digital resources into your curriculum or discover ways to improve student engagement, NCSS 2024 will provide valuable insights and hands-on experiences. MapMaker GeoInquiries StoryMaps for schools Visit us in booth #717, Hynes Convention Center, 900 Boylston Street, Boston on November 22-23. Esri Education Team members Jason Sawle and Tom Baker will be onsite to answer your questions. Exhibit hall hours: Friday, 9:00 am-6:00 pm Saturday, 8:00 am-4:00 pm Find Esri tools and materials at the Esri booth or the National Geographic Learning/Cengage booth. ... View more

Geoscience significantly influences our homes, products, roads, and transportation, offering vital insights into Earth's materials and dynamic changes impacting our lives. The 2024 theme "Earth Science Everywhere" highlights the widespread influence of geosciences across STEM disciplines and the humanities. Recognizing these connections allows individuals to appreciate how geoscience relates to their interests, communities, and future pursuits. For more, see: https://www.earthsciweek.org Below, find free resources from Esri supporting each day of Earth Science Week: Monday: Minerals See the AR based activity (reqs cell phone or tablet): The world’s most used minerals (link).  Put the mineral samples right on your desk with this map and smartphone powered classroom activity. GeoInquiry: Mining minerals (link).    A 15-minute, teacher-directed activity for exploring minerals around the world. Tuesday: earth Observation Day GeoInquiry: Remote Sensing (link). Instructional activity, interactive map, worksheets, more. Seafloor crustal age in MapMaker (link). Interactive map Wednesday: National Fossils Day Key Global Fossil Sites map (link) The All-American Lion StoryMap (link) Thursday: Geoscience for all Getting started with accessible storytelling (link) Improving accessibility with ArcGIS Online apps (video link) Friday: Geologic map day The State Geologic Map Compilation (link)   ... View more

Explore the growing collection of user-contributed place names and discover the toponymy of frightful place names around the world.  Teachers and students may contribute real place names that follow in the spirit of Halloween - providing a description of the location and image link. Add your scary place names today!  Use this resource as a GIS classroom activity around toponymy at Halloween! ... View more

Join Esri staff in Tempe AZ for the 2024 meeting of the National Council for Geographic Education.  In addition to hosting an exhibit, Esri will be leading several workshops.  At the time of this writing, the team participating includes Joseph Kerski, Kylie Donia, and Tom Baker. Esri workshops include: OCT 19 (updated date) 1:15 PM - 2:00 PM MST, Conference Room: San Pedro Explore world cultures and geography with the new National Geographic MapMaker   OCT 19 (updated date) 2:15 PM - 3:00 PM MST, Conference Room: San Pedro Introduction to using StoryMaps in your classroom Post-event slides are available here. OCT 18 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm MST, Mission Palms Conference Room: Dolores Gathering, Mapping, and communicating results of field investigations Slides, notes, and activities are available here.   See you there! ... View more

There are important changes coming to ArcGIS Online for schools this  summer.  ArcGIS Online user types have been updated to simplify access to apps and capabilities, reducing the number of add-on licenses you need to manage. In addition, the updated user types include more apps and capabilities, enabling you and your students to do more with ArcGIS. The user type updates occurred in the June 2024 release of ArcGIS Online.  Also, in preparation for the retirement of ArcGIS Community Analyst and ArcGIS GeoPlanner, these apps no longer will be delivered to new customers. This does not affect any customers who currently have access to these apps.    Details about the User Types and what they mean for Schools  There are two user type changes for K12 ArcGIS Online organizations. These changes occurred automatically and do not require action from you.  The Creator user type   now includes more apps and capabilities.  See the ArcGIS User Type Comparison matrix for a full list.    Some apps are now assigned automatically.  ArcGIS Image for ArcGIS Online is now included .    ArcGIS Pro Basic is now included  The GIS Professional Advanced user type is now   Professional Plus. See the ArcGIS User Type Comparison matrix for a full list of apps and capabilities included.   Professional Plus  includes ArcGIS Pro Advanced, and several ArcGIS Pro extensions   ArcGIS Image for ArcGIS Online is now included  ArcGIS CityEngine is now included   ArcGIS Flight and ArcGIS Web Editor and new apps that are also included     What actions ArcGIS Online Administrators should take  Because several apps are now automatically assigned, your users may now have duplicate licenses for some apps.  If so, you and your users will see a notification indicating “Some members have licenses assigned twice.” You can either un-assign the duplicate licenses or leave them assigned and continue to receive the notification.  If you currently use New Member Defaults to assign licenses, you should update your New Member Defaults to assign only those apps not included in the updated user types, for example, Business Analyst.  Most school ArcGIS Online organizations have both Creator and Professional Plus user types.  We recommend that, when  doing maintenance during summer,  administrators should switch all users to   Professional Plus.     Additional details  ArcGIS Community Analyst   Community Analyst is retiring in  December 2024.  Existing customers will continue to have access for a time. New customers will not have access.   Consider using ArcGIS Business Analyst for your mapping needs that might have previously been served by ArcGIS Community Analyst. (See the T3G webinar from May 2024 about Business Analyst, at https://t3ghub-esrit3g.hub.arcgis.com/pages/webinars.)  ArcGIS Image for ArcGIS Online   ArcGIS Image for ArcGIS Online will become available summer 2024 for both user types available in the school ArcGIS Online organizations.  Due to the raster analysis capacities, Career and Technical Education instructors should find this tool especially valuable. Learn more about ArcGIS Image for ArcGIS Online.  ArcGIS GeoPlanner  GeoPlanner is being retired (July 1 2025) and will be removed from The ArcGIS for schools  bundle.     For more information about ArcGIS Online updates that we think are notable for the Education community, see ArcGIS Online June 2024 Updates - What Should Educators Be Excited About?!?!     The Takeaway  The key things to know are:  ArcGIS Online user types updated with the June 2024 release, providing more apps and capabilities automatically  If you use New Member Defaults, you should update them  Your users may have duplicate licenses for some apps; you can unassign the duplicates or leave them until your license term expires  We recommend that schools with both Creator and Professional Plus users migrate all Creators to the Professional Plus user type    ... View more

Looking for a storymap hand-picked for use in K12 classrooms?  As the number of storymaps grows rapidly, finding the right one isn’t always the easiest.  We have begun collecting and categorizing hundreds of existing storymaps that provide a wide range of functionality and content for use by either students or teachers.  All you need to do is search by keyword and/or add filters to refine your results.  We’re pretty sure you find something close to what you’re looking for. Start exploring:  https://bit.ly/storymaps4schools --------      ... View more

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