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Explore possibilities with our new career path series for students

Our new Career Path Series is intended to give K-12 students an opportunity to explore the exciting ways GIS is used in the real world. Try the first lesson in the series to get a snapshot of what you can do with GIS in Health.

Geographic information systems (GIS) is a tool that’s used to map information, analyse large amounts of data and support good decision making. This is why it’s used across different industries in Canada and around the world.

Since K-12 students and educators across Canada have free access to ArcGIS, we thought it would be great to promote the possibilities of GIS by highlighting the exciting ways it’s used by different industries through our Career Path Series.

The first resource we created is focused on the use of GIS in Health. In this lesson, students will get a snapshot of how GIS is used to make informed decisions about our health and how these decisions can affect us at local, regional, national and global scales. The COVID-19 pandemic is the health issue covered in this lesson.

Career examples

Students can explore career examples of how GIS is used in the field of health, including a Spotlight on a professional who’s using it in their work. Videos are included that show the “day in the life” of a GIS Analyst and a Health Geographer.

Included in this lesson are videos that show how professionals use GIS in Health in their daily work.

Hands-on experience

To allow students a hands-on experience of how they can use GIS to look at a health issue, students are given a scenario and tasked to complete tutorials (Creating a COVID-19 Dashboard, Introduction to Arcade), answer questions, and include their findings in an ArcGIS StoryMap that will display important health data that will be easy to read for decision makers and the local media.

After students complete the lesson, they can continue learning about GIS by exploring other ArcGIS resources at k12.esri.ca/resourcefinder and they can try some of our upcoming lessons in the Career Path Series. These will include GIS in Crime and GIS in Wildlife Conservation. 

Check out other new resources:

Introduction to Arcade tutorial

Arcade is an easy-to-use expression-based scripting language that is used in ArcGIS to create custom visualizations and labeling expressions, perform mathematical calculations and much more. In this tutorial, you will learn how to use Arcade to create new information from real-time COVID-19 data in a web map and pop-ups.

French

Découvrir les données
Apprenez rapidement comment accéder aux données du Living Atlas dans le Map Viewer d’ArcGIS Online.

New to ArcGIS?

Educators can request an account for themselves and their students at k12.esri.ca/#access. Parents can request accounts for their children using the same link.

  • At-home learning during COVID-19 crisis and beyond
    Find out how to access ArcGIS Online so that K-12 learners can continue to ask, analyse and act on their learning from home.
  • Discover ArcGIS Online tutorial
    Learn the basics of ArcGIS Online with this quick tutorial.
  • Getting Started Path for Teachers
    Follow this beginner path to build your confidence with online mapping tools.
  • Six by Six Activity (choose your region)
    Six activities you can do in six minutes each - for ArcGIS Online beginners.
  • Getting to Know the ArcGIS StoryMaps
    Try the new ArcGIS StoryMaps builder experience.

Happy Mapping!

About the Author

Angela Alexander is a K-12 Education Specialist in the Esri Canada Education and Research group. She has over 15 years of experience working with educators across Canada. Angela focuses on producing geographic information system (GIS) and curriculum-specific resources, and conducting and creating custom workshops for educators. She manages the GIS Ambassador Program and is the Technical Chair for the annual Skills Ontario GIS competition. Angela also writes monthly posts for the Esri Canada Education and Research blog, highlighting K-12 educators and partners, new ArcGIS resources and GIS-related events.

Profile Photo of Angela Alexander