GIS: Your Spatial "Swiss Army Knife"

Educators need a multi-functional tool that can help teach, repair and assist exploration...a "swiss army knife" kind of educational gadget that can allow students to explore, yet gives teachers the necessary substance in required curriculum and high-stakes testing environments. And, hey... it's just fun (always an appealing characteristic to wrangly middle schoolers)!
I often read articles and papers on learning, standards and other hot education topics.  This article caught my eye today and I was thinking...GIS...a great tool to teach content while engaging students...and did I mention a tool they will most likely use in a future job! http://www.edutopia.org/blog/student-engagement-stories-heather-wolpert-gawron 

For those of you who need a little fuel for the GIS fire in your camp, this article along with all the great resources we have in our community will have you making smores in no time!  You're not alone and there are excellent resources to get you started.

Resources

• Esri Education Community http://edcommunity.esri.com
• Map Portals 
• http://www.barbareeduke.com/mymaps
• http://www.gisetc.com/20minGIS/
• http://storymaps.esri.com 
• STEM GIS lessons
• http://www.isat.jmu.edu/stem/curriculum.html
• Books and Curriculum 
• Buy teacher-created materials and Esri books: http://www.gisetc.com/shop
• Free resources: http://www.barbareeduke.com/downloads/downloads.htm


• Free GIS lessons: http://www.esri.com/arclessons


• Institutes and Conferences 
• You will find GIS sessions regularly on the ISTE and state affiliate conference programs.  Also, find GIS sessions at these conferences- NCGE, AAG, SITE, NCSS, NSTA- and more!
• For four years, Esri has held a week-long summer institute for 30 educators who want to help others engage GIS. For summer 2013, they aim to "kick it up a notch." They're seeking 100 educators or influencers of education who want to help educators learn to use ArcGIS Online. With web-based mapping now increasingly rich and robust, yet still easy to be successful with, it's time to get more people engaged. This is a great opportunity for state-wide licenses!
  
  
  GIS experience is useful but not required for participation. What IS required is a mindset favoring problem-based learning and an interest in helping other educators engage ArcGIS Online. It's a perfect opportunity for curriculum coordinators, PD providers, and content specialists as well as the in-the-trenches educators. They would love to see multiple applications from any state with a state-wide license.
  
  
  See http://esriurl.com/funwithgis130 and http://esriurl.com/t3g. Or see T3G in operation at http://esriurl.com/t3gvideos.