Geography is all about maps, and they are something we love here at B&C Educational! They help us understand areas that are just too large to observe in full scale and support us when trying to make connections between the different elements within them.
Geographical Information Systems (GIS) are of the most recent additions to the map family and are revolutionising how many monitoring and planning investigations are undertaken. Geographical Information Systems (GIS) are information systems where data is captured, stored, managed, presented and referenced on a map.
Take this map here, for instance, which shows schools that have used B&C Educational to help them develop their geography and/or history curricula.
We have generated it using a straightforward Excel spreadsheet and a free online programme, called batchgeo.com, which schools can use too.
Once the spreadsheet has been uploaded, converting the data as a geographic distribution only takes a minute or two, which is amazing!
Click here to access an interactive version of our map here and see how powerful it is.
What GIS data could you map locally?
GIS has a whole range of applications, which you can explore with your students. Focusing purely on school, you could map:
how large your catchment area is and where the children live
the most popular route to school
the optimum route for a bus should pupils need help with transport.
… and nationally?
GIS applications are common in the modern world too. They:
help ambulances locate patients and find the quickest routes to hospital
locate customer addresses for pizza deliveries
help town planners develop settlements and transport links.
Thinking beyond your own data, can you think of other geo-referenced data and what it could help you map? B&C Educational's GIS key concentrates on just a few of the practical applications of how GIS can be used, because its scope is huge. Here's what we cover:
Tracking the spread of infection
Identifying crime hotspots, which impacts police resourcing
Predicting the severity and impact of floods
Locating wind farms in the optimal locations
Deciding where to locate a new supermarket.
It is a great unit of work, which will inspire and excite students because it brings classroom geography right into the here and now.
How to find out more about GIS?
We hope you’ve enjoyed this blog and it has given you a few ideas of how to incorporate GIS into your geography curriculum.
For more information on our GIS key, please click on the link. It is just £17.99 for the physical key or an instant download of the content, which includes all the planning and resources you need so that you can focus on what you do best – teaching!
If you have any questions, please do let us know. Email us (b-cltd@hotmail.co.uk) or phone us on 079663 79621. We’re looking forward to hearing from you!