Esri

Esri logoFor Esri®, market leader in spatial technology software (or GIS), education always has been at the core of its activities and since 1992 had a team specifically working in this field. The company has been around for over 50 years and now has millions of users all over the world who, with their work, cover many aspects related to our daily lives (public transport, electricity and water supply, public safety, etc.). Many of these users are staff and students in K-12 as well as higher education bringing spatial technology at the core of their teaching and/or research.

Esri firmly believes that students who are made aware about the spatial aspects of the world around them will eventually make them better citizens more able to cope with the many problems the world is facing (over-population, pollution, climate change, and recently, the effects of viruses like Covid-19). By introducing GIS in classes like geography, history, biology, economy, etc. they will learn that GIS is a perfect tool to combine data sets, analyze these data sets, create maps of the results and eventually perhaps taking action. It is a great tool for STEM education.

Software and Data

ArcGIS is the software developed by Esri, with ArcGIS Online being the tool most used in education. ArcGIS Online is cloud-based and is connected to a wealth of data sets which are curated by Esri (Living Atlas) or put online by its users. Survey 123 is an app for ArcGIS Online which makes it possible to collect data in the field on a smartphone, combine this with pictures and see the results instantly on a map. It makes a great product for fieldwork.

The software (ArcGIS for Schools Bundle) is freely available for schools and can be ordered via your local distributor.

Lessons, Learning Pathways

Over the years Esri, but also many teachers, have developed learning resources for use in the classroom or at home. Hundreds of lessons are online and available in many languages. The learn.arcgis.com platform contains many of these materials, but they are also available on the educational pages of the websites of our distributors. Often using local data sets, these lessons are immediately ready for use in your classroom.

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