Mapping Your State and Community

A lesson, by Joseph Kerski, entitled “Mapping Your State and Community” is on PUMAS–The Practical Uses of Math and Science – The Online Journal of Math and Science, at NASA. This is a collection of examples (“lessons” or “activities”) showing how math and science topics taught in K-12 classes can be used in interesting settings, including everyday life.

The lesson:
https://pumas.gsfc.nasa.gov/examples/index.php?id=118

Others lessons in the listing:
https://pumas.gsfc.nasa.gov/examples/index.php

“The examples are written primarily by scientists, engineers, and other content experts having practical experience with the material. They are aimed mainly at classroom teachers, and are available to all interested parties via the PUMAS web site.

Our goal is to capture, for the benefit of pre-college education, the flavor of the vast experience that working scientists have with interesting and practical uses of math and science.” The fact that this GIS lesson is on the site may help you in your ongoing work with your math and science educator colleagues.

Joseph Kerski is a Geographer and Education Industry Curriculum Development Manager at the Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc. (ESRI).

Exploring the Gulf Coast Oil Spill with AGXOnline

Exploring the Gulf Coast Oil Spill with AGXOnline
Submitted by Chris Bunin, The Virginia Geographic Alliance

http://edcommunity.esri.com/arclessons/lesson.cfm?id=536

This tutorial provides a quick and easy introduction to ArcGIS Explorer Online (AGX). Using the Gulf Oil Spill as the presentation topic, students learn to build an AGXOnline project by adding a base layer, adding content to the map (layers, points, and hyperlinks), and by capturing and editing slides into a classroom presentation.

Investigating 3 Hazards of 2010

Investigating 3 Hazards of 2010:
Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill, Eyjafjallajokull Volcano in Iceland, and the Haiti Earthquake
Submitted by Joseph Kerski

http://edcommunity.esri.com/arclessons/lesson.cfm?id=537

Investigating Three Hazards of 2010: The Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill, Eyjafjallajokull Volcano, Iceland, and the Haiti Earthquake This 30-question lesson invites exploration of three 2010 hazards using GIS as the investigative tool. Each hazard uses progressively more robust GIS tools and invites deeper exploration. (1) What is the difference between natural hazards and human-caused hazards? What are three hazards that caused much devastation and destruction in 2010, and why? Which of the three were natural hazards, and which were human-caused? What are the “gray areas” between natural and human-caused hazards? (2) What are the geographic components of hazards? How can GIS help us understand the causes and impacts of hazards? (3) What were the chief causes, impacts, location, movement, and spatial pattern of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, the Eyjafjallajokull Volcano in Iceland, and the earthquake in Haiti?

Joseph Kerski is a Geographer and Education Industry Curriculum Development Manager at the Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc. (ESRI).