Latest Contributions by TomBaker

  December 9, 2021 Directions Magazine presents: Project-Based Learning and GIS with the Esri K12 team. Register today!         ... View more

Teachers, students, geometers, (even Esri staff) are welcome to submit their pet data to The Global Pet Survey. The survey takes about 1 minute.  Even if you don't have pets, we want your data.   The survey optionally allows for a pet pic upload - and the project includes a data dashboard.   https://esriurl.com/petsurvey          All images from Unsplash.com ... View more

Maybe you’ve found a Storymap and aren’t quite sure if your (school) students would find the reading level too challenging.  Maybe you’re trying to create a Storymap for your third grades to use as an enrichment and you need to confirm your writing is on level.   Enter a new experimental tool that provides Storymap readability data in several different readability scoring frameworks, including Flesch-Kincaid grade level, Lexile estimated, Developmental Reading Assessment estimated, and Fountas & Pinnell. Just grab the Storymap id – that long list of letters and numbers in the Storymap’s URL and paste in the form. A few requirements: The Storymap should be in the new (2020+) Storymap template. The Storymap must be public. You must have the Storymap id Note that many of the scores produced are estimates.  You’ll want to consult official scoring tools for specific reading frameworks if you need a robust score. Explore the experimental tool: https://trbaker.github.io/storyMapReadability/ ... View more

https://esriurl.com/namebadge  In colleges, schools, and informal education settings around the world, students and educators are often engaged in GIS technical training.  Whether you are a university professor teaching an intro GIS class this fall, a teacher trainer, or a youth group leader, most of us lead trainings, classes, or workshops from time to time. Even if you already know the names of your learners before the training or not, documenting and visually presenting the learners’ report of their current knowledge can always be helpful. The GIS (Learner) Name Badge Generator asks learners to take a 20 item Likert-based survey and returns a graphic like the one above.  The graphic can be printed on a sticky-label and used as a name badge during the early hours (or days) of a new learning experience.  Some instructors have suggested making simple desk place cards that show a student’s badge. If you are teaching virtually, the digital name badge can be used as a profile image – or even virtual wallpaper. Digital name badges can also be submitted by learners as an assignment, indicating to you, the instructor, that learners have done some self-reflection in the process of completing the name badge survey. As of July 16, 2021, the GIS Name Badge Generator is considered experimental. You and your learners are free to use it.  If you have questions or suggestions for improvements, send an email to [email protected] https://esriurl.com/namebadge  ... View more

I've been working on a project to document the use of geospatial language in K-12 curriculum standards.  If you are interested in the first public draft of the documents, I invite you to explore the website at: https://trbaker.github.io/GIStandards    If you have comments or suggestions, I would welcome your email at trbaker (at) esri.com.     ... View more

Padlet is among the most commonly used educational technology tools - for organizing and delivering classroom content and instruction.  But are you using to facilitate your GIS instruction? Note: The free Padlet account offers users up to three free Padlets (webpages). However many districts have access to Padlet through bulk licensing. I've set out to organize some instructional material and some teacher professional developmpment content.  While each content set is effectively for direct use by educators, I use just a few of Padlet's organizing templates to add clarity to the content - in one case by organizing geographically and in one case by organizing by teacher level. Examples: Organizing teacher classroom content by geography Organizing teacher PD by skill level I have 'locked' these Padlets down, but classroom teachers may want students discussing items in a Padlet, ranking, or even adding new content.  It's all possible with Padlet. Be sure to say hi in Padlet and follow me. ... View more

We don't all see the same.  Some of us have varying degrees of visual impairment.  When thinking about the nearly 50 million students in the US K-12 system, that's also quite true. Lately, I've been tinkering with maps that produce sound to indicate what is otherwise expressed visually.  I'm using some open source 'speaking' tools that basically say whatever I can pass to it.  So in this example, when a student clicks on a biome, ArcGIS passes the biome name to a javascript tool. It's a crude first pass, but interesting I think. Thus far, this little experiment works in Chrome.   https://trbaker.github.io/edlab/hearTheMap/ If you are working on maps or map tools for those with visual impairments, include a description and URL in the comments below.  It would be great to see what others are doing to give ArcGIS a voice. Don't forget to explore the Esri Accessibility community. ... View more

Esri Higher Education listserv The Esri Higher Education listserv is open to faculty and staff of higher education learning institutions. English is the preferred language on the list – as most list members are only English speakers. Topics on the list are generally restricted to Esri products, licenses, and programs.   To join the list, send an email to [email protected]   In the body of the email, only include: subscribe highered-l   You may also unsubscribe, similar to the example above, exchanging 'subscribe' for 'unsubscribe'. Use your “.edu” email address for fastest acceptance to the list.  You will receive an automated welcome email, once you have been confirmed.   ***** A few technical notes:  - The listserv is hosted on https://Atlantis.esri.com   - An archive of past list posts is available on Atlantis, however you will need to create an account in order to access the content.     ... View more

Drone2Map is now included in the Esri Schools Mapping Bundle (Advanced)!  Want to map those beautiful images captured by your drone?  Use Drone2Map. Set-up Access and manage your Drone2Map licenses through your school’s ArcGIS Online account.   Enable the license (just as you do with ArcGIS Pro) for each student account.  Click: Organization -> Members -> (click ellipses to right of user) -> Manage Add-On Licenses -> (under Applications) -> ArcGIS Drone2Map.  While you're checking your account, make sure that any account downloading the software also has "Esri Access Enabled" using the menu under the ellipses. Download the Windows-only Drone2Map software. See the button link in the upper-right of the webpage at: https://doc.arcgis.com/en/drone2map/  Install the software. Learning the basics  In terms of guidance on learning to use it, see https://www.esri.com/training/Bookmark/P3WE7WG6T - These will say "requires maintenance," but once you have received your School Bundle, launched your ArcGIS Online Org, and made sure your login "has Esri access enabled," you'll be good to go.  https://learn.arcgis.com/en/gallery/#?p=drone2map After working through these, you should be ready to go with your own projects. ... View more

At the risk of offending many, do I dare ask, “Does a student really need a bachelor’s degree to enter the field of GIS”?  Is a bachelors, associates, or a slew of tech certs enough?  Will it be that way tomorrow – or by the time your students are job hunting? Can a CTE GIS education get a student an entry level position in GIS?   College enrollment is declining Recently, Education Week reports that 2020 college enrollment is down 6.8% in the United States.  Now before you think, “Yeah, but that’s all COVID-related” a downward trend in enrollment was expected, before COVID-19 became a pandemic.  That is to say, education experts were predicting a decline in college enrollment, largely due to cost.  The Education Week article also describes how the current trend is disproportionately affecting poor and minority students.  To be fair, COVID has at least accelerated this downward trend – that might have otherwise taken several years to be realized.  This decline doesn’t really address two other intervening challenges: the lack of undergraduate enrollment  in geography programs and the consolidation of US colleges, generally. With learning technologies advancing and tuition costs skyrocketing, college education is changing, and universities are closing. Experts have predicted a decline in the number of universities – especially those smaller, private, liberal arts colleges.    A trend toward tech training or certs We’ve witnessed the growth and specialization of GIS degree and certificate programs – face-to-face and online. We’ve seen a rapid growth of competitive virtual learning systems, arguably led by MOOCs.  Now we are seeing a tech education trend that amounts to ‘just-in-time’ learning with a program from Google and Coursera, Grow with Google.  The messaging seems to be don’t spend your time or money at college; get a tech cert and get a job now – then get another tech cert to advance.  This model seems to align well to traditional tech-based CTE preparation programs. There’s not really a “Grow with Google” (today) for GIS.  However, one could string together a proper learning plan with Esri Training, Esri Press books, and certifications. Couldn’t they?  High school CTE teachers should ask the question. Responses will vary, depending on many factors including geography and the role of the person you’re asking.  Call your local GIS offices and talk to their HR staff.   Ground truthing: A few entry-level jobs There may be an interesting, developing trend away from college-based, technology education. Tech fields seem particularly vulnerable to paradigm-shifting e-learning tools and techniques.  But what does “reality” look like today in the entry-level GIS technician/analyst/specialist job?  I sampled a over a dozen local, entry-level positions. Here’s what I found. I reviewed entry-level GIS jobs (in a Midwest city) listed by: a local water company, a national telephone company, county GIS offices, city offices, and consulting firms.  Of the organizations, one (a rural county GIS office) did not require a bachelor’s degree but still expected experience with ArcGIS.  All others required a BA/BS in GIS or a related field.  Several listings required some experience with AutoCAD and SAP.  Clearly, at this time, what appears to be a larger educational trend doesn’t seem to be aligning well with reality in GIS hiring.  Did I mention that EVERY position I saw required strong familiarity with ArcGIS, including ArcGIS Online, ArcGIS Pro, and in many cases Portal (ArcGIS Enterprise)? Here is an example of minimum required qualifications for a “Junior GIS Specialist”: DOD Secret Clearance Bachelor's Degree from accredited University or College Knowledge or Experience with the following: ESRI ArcGIS ESRI Portal for ArcGIS Operating Systems (Windows Server) Internet Information Services (IIS) Citrix Xen Desktop How many recent college graduates could meet these requirements?  Forget about the secret clearance.  Can your college graduates meet the rest of the requirements?  Now, how close can a GIS CTE student get – and can one or more technical certifications bridge the gap?  See the case of Donovan Vitale, a high school student who went directly to working for his country GIS office.   Final notes It struck me that the minimum requirements of most of the entry-level GIS jobs included knowledge of specific GIS and non-GIS technologies. It seems likely that regardless of how a college messages a degree in GIS, companies are looking for serious technical skill sets in entry-level positions.  Does this too present a vulnerability that will contribute to changes in the college GIS landscape in the coming decade?  Do CTE programs offer enough technical education while providing support for those requisite “soft skills”? Of course, this doesn’t have to be an A or B decision.  Maybe the question is, “Can a GIS CTE education be enough to make students competitive for entry level GIS positions? “   What do you think?     Photo by Mike Swigunski on Unsplash ... View more

We've been exploring and experimenting with self-grading quizzes. The samples below draw on content from the Earth Science GeoInquiry collection. As a teacher,  read through the details on the quiz description but in short, there are a few things to know.  1. These are demonstrations only. Don't expect to see a quiz for each GeoInquiry and/or at least this type of workflow.  These are experimental. 2. Teachers need to have an ArcGIS Online login/username/id to retrieve student-submitted quiz data. 3. Students need to enter the teacher's ArcGIS Online username as a part of the quiz.  Students may been signed into ArcGIS Online or may take the quiz without signing in. Examples Topography and Our Natural Heritage North American Landforms We're certainly interested in feedback from educators.  Comments on the concept, the workflow, and content are especially welcome as we continue to explore.  In the meantime, you'll find our experimental assessments on the GeoInquiry hub.       - Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash ... View more