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4 Steps to planning your GIS Day event today

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Author Angela Alexander

GIS Day is an annual event that’s celebrated all over the world. It’s a special day to promote the importance of spatial technology. This year, it will be held on Wednesday, November 15. Find out how you can plan and make the most of GIS Day with resources and support from the K-12 group at Esri Canada.

What will you be doing for GIS Day? This annual event is an opportunity to promote the importance of maps, spatial thinking and GIS technology. This year, it will be held on Wednesday, November 15.  With a couple of months to go, now’s a perfect time to plan a GIS Day event at your school. Here are 4 steps that will help you make it an amazing GIS Day! 

2016 GIS Day workshop at Nepean High School - Ottawa, Ontario.

  1. Think about the GIS Day event you want to host. Will it be a presentation or a workshop? How many classes will be involved?
    1. Be inspired! Check out some of the 2016 GIS Day events that happened in Canada
    2. Use the What is GIS presentation to introduce the subject to your students
    3. Use the Six by Six activity (by province) for your workshop
      1. Sign up for an ArcGIS Online account for you and your students if you plan to do a hands-on activity during the event
  2. Request to be connected to a GIS Ambassador in your area
    1. Read about GIS Ambassador Joann Fox’s work with a local schoolExplore the new Children’s Map of Canada app with your elementary students!
  3. Check out the Esri Canada resources available to use for your event. There are resources for students in all grades
    1. Explore the new Children’s Map of Canada for elementary school kids
    2. Explore the activities that can be used for your workshop
      1. Exploring the Geography of Canada
      2. Exploring Canada’s Natural Resources
  4. Register your event, be added to the global GIS Day events map and get GIS Day stickers
    1. Your event doesn’t have to take place on November 15th – the official GIS Day

Happy GIS Day 2017! We would love to hear from you. Share your GIS Day stories and pictures with us. If you have any questions about GIS Day or about our resources, feel free to contact us at k12@esri.ca.

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.

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