Getting to Know the K-12 Group in Education and Research

The Education and Research Group at Esri Canada includes associates who support educators in K-12. Find out who these associates are and what they do to support this industry.

Being part of the K-12 group is great because I get to work with three smart and lovely women. Our group is responsible for supporting elementary and high school educators through the development of resources, software training and conference participation. Each of us has specific roles supporting the K-12 industry. Learn more about us through our short descriptions and personal story maps and find out why you should get to know us.

The K-12 Group from left to right - Jean Tong, Ashleigh Harris, Mona Lisa (not an official member), Angela Alexander and Caroline Tiegs. Image and video created using ElfYourself.com.

Jean Tong, Manager, K-12 Teaching and Learning

Jean started working at Esri Canada in May 2007. Her main focus is supporting educators across the country in teaching with spatial technologies. In addition, she manages the K-12 staff and aides in the planning and direction of K-12 support and activities. Follow her on Twitter @jeandtong.

Jean enjoys spending time exploring the outdoors with her family. She’s become involved in triathlons with her daughter and frequents Lake Ontario on her kayak. Explore her story map about the Algonquin Park camping trip Jean and her family did a few years ago.

Caroline Tiegs, K-12 Education Resource Developer

Caroline’s been working in education since 2009. She’s responsible for creating curriculum-focused resources for K-12 educators, responding to technical questions and facilitating training workshops. In addition, she manages the K-12 listserv, which connects educators from across Canada who use spatial technologies in their teaching

Caroline enjoys travelling, nature walks with her two young boys and tracking severe storms. Her story map focuses on a memorable trip to France in 2009 when she visited Normandy and Paris and gained a lot of historic education.

Ashleigh Harris, Sales Coordinator and Marketing Liaison

Ashleigh started at Esri Canada over three years ago. Her role is to promote and increase the use of GIS in K-12 education. Much of this is done by working with provincial and school board curriculum specialists to establish training, access to software and support. Ashleigh also works closely with teachers, leading hands-on training sessions, offering online webinars and supporting the GIS in Education Grant program. Follow her on Twitter @ashleigh_lea.

Ashleigh enjoys walking, biking and kayaking around her east-end Toronto neighbourhood’s shops, parks and waterfront. In the winter, she likes to escape to the Bruce Peninsula National Park to trek through the snow and enjoy the solitude of the park in the winter. Ashleigh created her story map on her neighbourhood as a way to promote the local shops and the walkable environment.

Angela Alexander, K-12 Education Resource Developer

Angela's been working in education since 2007. She’s responsible for developing GIS-related resources that are tied to curricula across Canada. She works closely with teachers through K-12 training workshops, presentations, conference outreach and the technical support questions she receives from teachers. Angela also manages Esri Canada's Education Spotlight eNewsletter, the annual Skills Canada - Ontario GIS competition question and the Education and Research blog. Follow her on Twitter @AngeAlexander88.

Angela’s interests include travelling, the great outdoors and listening to many genres of music. At home, she enjoys singing and dancing with her dynamic six year-old son. Angela’s story map explores her 14-month Latin American backpacking trip in 2003-2004.

So now you know who we are, find out why you should contact us. Here are three reasons why you should get to know the K-12 group:

• We provide dedicated support to K-12 educators who want to use GIS in their teaching, no matter what they teach.
• We build relationships with educators through the connections we make from our outreach (conferences, training, PD days and presentations).
• We are passionate about GIS and we want to get to know the educators who use our resources and software, so we can figure out how to best help them.

If you are interested in finding out how we can help you get started with GIS, contact us at k12@esri.ca. If you are new to GIS or are currently using it in your classroom, explore our free resources at esri.ca/lessonplanner.

If you are interested to know more about the other members of the Education and Research group, read the blog post on the Higher Education associates that was released last month.