Success Stories
Incorporating geographic information system (GIS) technology in K–12 education has been a goal of the West Virginia Department of Education since establishing a statewide education contract with Esri in 2009. Investment in teachers and teacher training was an early focus and led to successes in developing a core group of GIS-savvy educators.
The goal of the West Virginia Department of Education (WVDE) has always been to move from this core group of GIS-savvy educators to a statewide implementation of GIS as a tool for teaching and student engagement. WVDE has kept pace with improvements to Esri software and used each improvement to reach more and more educators. The success of the West Virginia Department of Education's initiative is due to a strong commitment to educator training and support, believing that these are the keys to student success with GIS.
Each red dot represents a school in West Virgina that has an ArcGIS Schools Mapping Software Bundle.
User: West Virginia Department of Education
Challenge: Implement GIS as a teaching tool across from a core group of educators to a statewide education initiative.
Solution: ArcGIS Online was used for instruction and project creation. ArcGIS Pro was used for administrative purposes.
Result: Standards were created for a GIS course, and online GIS classes were developed for teachers. Professional development was made available along with one-on-one support and teaching materials. An organizational account with single sign-on was made available for all students and teachers in West Virginia.
The challenges surrounding a statewide implementation of GIS in education are many, but solutions are possible. Broadening the reach was solved in a number of ways. Creating standards for a course in GIS that can count as a third high school science credit led to a number of schools wanting to offer the GIS course. Developing an online GIS course for teachers created a way for them to learn enough about GIS to start working with students. To assist them in teaching GIS, teachers received reinforcement through professional development, LISTSERV postings, one-on-one support, and state-created teaching materials—all of which broke down barriers to GIS implementation. Lastly, setting up an organizational account for all West Virginia (WV) public school students and teachers, via single sign-on access, has enabled GIS across the state.
The challenges surrounding a statewide implementation of GIS in education are many, but solutions are possible. Broadening the reach was solved in a number of ways. Creating standards for a course in GIS that can count as a third high school science credit led to a number of schools wanting to offer the GIS course. Developing an online GIS course for teachers created a way for them to learn enough about GIS to start working with students. To assist them in teaching GIS, teachers received reinforcement through professional development, LISTSERV postings, one-on-one support, and state-created teaching materials—all of which broke down barriers to GIS implementation. Lastly, setting up an organizational account for all West Virginia (WV) public school students and teachers, via single sign-on access, has enabled GIS across the state.
The WVDE educators and students now use ArcGIS Online for instruction and project creation. ArcGIS Pro is being used for administrative purposes and to create data layers for instruction. This initiative was run through the WVDE Division of Teaching and Learning, Office of Middle and Secondary Education, led by Executive Director Joey Wiseman. Since 2010, Erika Klose, a geologist and middle school science teacher, began facilitating and coordinating GIS professional development for WV educators.
Both Klose and Wiseman worked to provide training, access, and teaching resources for WV educators in all content areas, including career and technical education (CTE). Klose is now the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) coordinator for the WVDE, and she continues to provide GIS training, direct support, and resource development for all WV teachers while championing GIS in education throughout the state.
The WVDE received the Special Achievement in GIS Award at the 2019 Esri User Conference. Klose accepted the award on behalf of the department and met and took photos with Jack Dangermond, founder and president of Esri.
Erika Klose accepting a SAG Award from Jack Dangermond at the 2019 Esri User Conference.
GIS puts the content that we teach our students into context. It allows our students to make connections between what they learn in school, and their own communities.
The ArcGIS for Schools Bundle is available at no cost for instructional use to individual US K–12 schools, school districts, and states direct from Esri.