Smartphones are ubiquitous in high schools across the US, but students rarely learn about the complex world of elements and materials beneath their shiny exteriors. Educators can bridge the gap between the abstract concept of smartphone elements and the real-world geography of their origin and impact by integrating ArcGIS geospatial software into their curriculum. A team of researchers has been working with high school teachers to infuse geospatial concepts and technologies into their teaching. One project involved a teacher using GIS to revisit his approach to teaching the periodic table: he would have his students investigate the global origins of smartphone components. This approach equipped students with essential knowledge about the materials that power their daily lives and nurtured critical thinking skills and an awareness of the environmental and ethical dimensions of technology consumption. This paper includes a description of the project and how geospatial technology was utilized, as well as a discussion on the implications and future research in this area. 
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                            “Whose story is being told?”: Local history, cultural heritage, and digital maps.
                        
                    
    
            A critical outcome in social studies education is identity development, and an important component of this process is students establishing a sense of place in their communities, nation, and world. Using data from a southwestern city in the United States, researchers investigated the intersection of local history, identity development, and cultural heritage resources using GIS technology. The instructional unit in which students participated utilized a variety of geospatial technologies which facilitated the visualization of geographic concepts, field-based data collection of geocoded places, and creation of a digitally-mediated cultural heritage map, which allowed students to create a narrative around their cultural identity. The study followed an interpretive case study design. Based on the findings from this study, important implications emerged, which are valuable for both future research in this area, as well as for teachers who wish to replicate this pedagogical approach in their own teaching practice. The implications include the flexibility of geospatial technologies for addressing content-area concepts at all levels of the instructional unit, the potential of geospatial technologies for supporting student cultural identity development, and the value of school-university partnerships in promoting innovative teaching strategies in a high school classroom. 
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                            - Award ID(s):
- 1949393
- PAR ID:
- 10510019
- Editor(s):
- Langran, E
- Publisher / Repository:
- Assocation for the Advancement of Computing in Education
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education Conference Proceedings
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 1396-1399
- Subject(s) / Keyword(s):
- GIS, geospatial understanding, high school, cultural studies
- Format(s):
- Medium: X Size: 155KB Other: pdf
- Size(s):
- 155KB
- Location:
- New Orleans, LA
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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