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Welcome to the Learn GIS resource page. GIS stands for Geographic Information Systems and you can learn how to use GIS to enhance your teaching, learning, and projects - whether part of the curriculum or for a student club. GIS can help you learn about your school and improve it for better environmental protection, health, and sense of community. Explore the resources on this page and share your examples for others to learn from.
This Learn GIS Page was developed for the Youth Mapping Progress project funded by Southwest Regional Development Partnership, with Youth Eco Solutions (YES), and support from the University of Minnesota UMN-GIS K12 group. Learn more about the project.
The training is focused on the YES teams audience, but is available for use by others. Look for notes on adaptation to other groups.
About Youth Mapping Progress GIS Training
About Youth Mapping Progress GIS Training
Real-life, hands-on, youth-led environmental projects happen in real-life places, whether it is the schooolyard or out in the wider community. Geographic Information Systems or GIS, are tools to help teams understand how challenges and solutions interact with the specific places where they happen. Systems thinking tells us that everything is connected. And because all issues intersect in place, using GIS tools and methods can help show the systems that affect and are affected by specific projects – asking and answering questions like: Who affects and is affected by a particular project in a particular location? And how does a project relate to human-made infrastructure like roads, utilities, and trails as well as natural infrastructure of waterways, vegetation, weather and climate? And GIS engagement tools like story maps and surveys can integrate community values and knowledge about place into the planning.
This self-directed course gives teacher/coaches and youth a foundational set of skills to use GIS tools to support their YES projects by:
understanding the spatial and systems context of the challenge they are taking on
using maps and data to inform solutions to those challenges
using GIS Story Maps to share the story with their community
and using map surveys to learn and gain input from community members about a project
Each module length varies. Some modules have an item called “Prep.” This is not counted in the hours to complete the module. The prep items represent work that is likely to be done for the youth projects in any case, whether they use GIS or not. The modules are offered online for learning at your own pace and schedule. By request, zoom meetings are available for those interested in working through the material together with an instructor with time for questions, and discussing ideas for applying the tools.
GIS Training Resources
GIS Training Resources
Support:
During the grant, YES teams may contact Jonee Kulman Brigham by email with questions, or to request a phone call or zoom meeting for those interested in working through the material together with an instructor with time for questions, and discussing ideas for applying the tools.
YES GIS Account Administrator: Kalley Pratt (only for YES teams)
MN GIS Education Hub - Training Resource Website:
Both during and after the grant, teams may find useful resources at the MN GIS Education Hub, which is also a MN GreenStep School Resource Organization. The MN GIS Education Hub also has a supplemental resources page with Minnesota based and national resources. LINK
MN Community Atlas:
The MN Community Atlas is a student-friendly Geographic Information System (GIS) resource which can help students and teachers explore interactive maps of Minnesota as a whole, or focused on their communities. Students can compare maps to each other, print out maps, or even download the layer if they are using GIS software to make their own maps and StoryMaps, which are multimedia web applications for communicating and storytelling using maps. LINK
GIS Training Modules for Youth Mapping Progress
GIS Training Modules for Youth Mapping Progress
- Introduction “The story of Where”
Estimated Time: 1 hour(s), No log in required
Learning: GIS Introduction & Learn How to Ask Spatial Questions
Prep: Bring any questions or ideas you have to start with (optional)
Includes:
Purpose of the course
Why use maps and GIS (Geographic Information Systems) and asking spatial questions
GIS across careers; resources to explore
Explore -YES project database
Explore - GeoInquiry (using maps to learn while learning map basics)
Short reflection and feedback
- Using Maps to Explore Your Local Context - “The stories of Here”
Estimated Time: 1 hour(s), No log in required
Learning: become familiar with some existing GIS resources (including Community Atlas) and learn one method (PPR) for how to engage with those resources to provide greater understanding of a proposed YES project
Prep: bring a YES project idea with one (or more) possible location(s) for that project
Includes:
Intro to Minnesota “Atlas” resources maps (Community Atlas)
Intro to Place-based Project Research approach (PPR)
Explore two example youth environmental projects in your location using the Community Atlas and PPR.
Begin to apply this approach to the project your YES team is considering
Short reflection and feedback
TUTORIAL - Logging in to your ArcGIS Online Account
TUTORIAL - Logging in to your ArcGIS Online Account
Estimated Time: 5 minutes
This tutorial shows you how to log in to your ArcGIS Online Account
You will need to have a username and password from your program or YES coach
You will need to know how to log in for Modules 3, 4, and 5
- Making your first Story Map!
Estimated Time: 1-1.5 hours, log-in required
Learning: Learn how to make an online Story Maps to present your project within the school, or to the public. Story Maps are multimedia applications, with lots of ways to integrate maps and empower your audience to explore on their own, or even contribute to the story.
Prep 1: Bring your draft YES project description of your project in progress, think about the problem you are trying to solve, and the who, what, why, where, when, and how questions about the project. This will give you raw material that can be edited later, so that you have something to use as you build your first story map.
Prep 2: Consider how the story could be broken in to parts for individual or small groups of youth on the team to take on each part. For example, one individual or small group could take on the history of the problem, another could take on examples of how others have solved the problem, and another on who are all the people and groups that are involved in the problem and its solutions (decision makers, neighbors, funders, service clubs, etc.)
Optional: Use the template for a google docs story board template form with the questions, who’s taking them on, key points, and assets/media]
The story board is a starting point and a draft. It is very common, that building the story map will generate new ideas for telling your story, and that’s great!
Includes:
Intro to Story Maps - what they are, what they can do
Use examples including Prairie Woods example from Fall SummitTour of Story Map elements, options, and menus
Build a story map using a variety of the tools, and drawing from the story material gathered in the prep phase.
Short reflection and feedback
- Making a Web Map
Estimated Time: 1-1.5 hours, log in required
Learning: There is a wealth of spatial data in maps available to you to use to make your own custom map that supports your project and learning goals.
Prep: Bring ideas for for how your YES project fits into a larger context of place. For example, if your project is a rain garden, what is upstream and what is downstream of that rain garden. Come with questions, you don't heed to have the answers yet. Explore the MN Community Atlas, zooming in to your location to get ideas of the many types of maps that might provide context for your project.
Includes:
Why web maps? The advantages to using and making data-rich, interactive web maps versus maps (like pdfs or jpg maps) that are more for illustration, or only capture one view of data at one scale?
Tour of Map Viewer tools and menus
Exercise: finding and pulling in Living Atlas layers to create your own, custom, interactive online map
Short reflection and feedback
- Making a Data Collection Survey that Makes a Map
Estimated Time: 1-1.5 hours, log in required
Learn: Take the next step to create your own, original map data and contribute your research to better understanding and improving your community.
Prep: Think of what kind of new map data could be helpful for your project. For example, are you interested in your community's opinions on where there are missing trash receptacles in the community? Or are you interested in going out to survey where you find various types of stormwater pollutants on the school grounds or neighborhood?
Includes:
Demo: try out an example survey and watch the map update in real time.
Why using a survey to create your own map gives you more power over your project and its impact.
How to design a survey to meet your goals for analyzing your data.
Learn the basics of Survey 123 and how to import the data into a map.
Exercise - build your first survey to make a map.
Short reflection and feedback
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