Development of an information system as a gisbased learning environment for geoscience and geography education

Abstract

This paper presents an information system that was developed to provide a learning environment in geoscience and geography education. This system is a student-oriented application that was designed using several programming languages and a Database Management System (DBMS). The Computer-Based Learning (CBL) tools are rapidly gaining ground in education, facilitating instructional methods and techniques. This information system incorporates features of Web Geographical Information Systems (Web GIS) to promote spatial thinking in geoscience and geography education. The students can use the system in order to understand the significance of spatial data and how this information can be illustrated in web-maps. As geoscience requires spatial thinking from learners, students can be educated in a variety of spatial representations, displaying spatial data in web maps, measuring earth distances or finding the coordinates of a location. Also, the system can improve teaching strategies, by helping students understand geoscience concepts and develop geographic and geospatial thinking skills. The structure of the system is based on the concepts of constructivism and aims at providing a learning environment to the students through GIS learning tools in geoscience and geography education. © Common Ground, Georgios N. Kouziokas, All Rights Reserved.