Polish Students Use ESRI's GIS to Study Their Cultural Heritage and Natural Resources
Written by ESRI
14 February 2006
Redlands, California-ESRI announced today that the Podlasie Heritage Association (PHA) and ESRI Polska have initiated an educational project to introduce geographic information system (GIS) technology to secondary school students in the Podlasie Province of Poland.
The plan is to set up GIS clubs in the schools so students can learn how GIS can help in environmental conservation, cultural heritage preservation, and the sustainable development of their region. The students will be involved in building an integrated GIS database, which will include the cultural and natural resource information of Podlasie.
The concept of GIS clubs at secondary schools in Podlasie was conceived approximately two years ago. At that time, PHA, a user of ESRI's GIS software, had begun a project to collect information about historic buildings and place-names throughout the Podlasie region. The PHA members invited teachers and their students to join in the project. The students and teachers agreed that the study stimulated their interest in research and made other academic subjects more engaging.
The GIS club educational initiative will soon begin a pilot study project involving 13 schools in the Polish section of the Puszcza Białowieska Euroregion. This region lies between the Republics of Poland and Belarus and, according to the World Wildlife Fund, contains the only remaining primeval forest in Europe.
Students will use ESRI's ArcView 9.1 software to evaluate and record the traditional geographic names of the region. Their methodology will include the examination of existing maps and land register records, interviews with elderly residents to record the origins of local geographic place-names, and the recording of the results of their research on regional maps that they will develop.
"The most important aspect of this initiative is the interdisciplinary approach in using GIS for research. Among the participants, we can find students and teachers of such diverse subjects as geography, biology, history, linguistics, and IT technology," said Miroslaw Stepaniuk, PHA chairman and project coordinator.
ESRI Polska is a supporting partner with PHA on the project. Comments Lech Nowogrodzki, president of ESRI Polska, "We are very glad to have the opportunity to promote the use of GIS technology among secondary school students and their teachers. This educational initiative is critically important because it engages young people at an early age in the preservation of their environment and heritage."
###
About Podlasie Heritage Association
The Podlasie Heritage Association is a private organization that focuses on cultural and environmental conservation as well as the promotion of the Podlasie Province of Poland. PHA is involved in regional development and organizes successful programs specifically for villages and small towns. The members of PHA have been using GIS for many years to record natural and man-made features in Podlasie. Realizing the special role that young people will play in the future for sustainable development projects in their local communities, PHA endeavors to take an active role in public education in cooperation with local community and government authorities.
About ESRI Polska
ESRI Polska was established in 1995 and is the sole authorized representative of ESRI and ESRI products in Poland. The company provides support and technical services to ESRI software users. It offers a full range of professional services including needs assessment, consulting services, system design and engineering, application design and development, implementation, and user training. ESRI Polska collaborates with groups of experts on implementing GIS in various sectors of the economy, public administration, and science, providing flexibility and high-quality performance in the projects it develops.
About ESRI
Since 1969, ESRI has been giving customers around the world the power to think and plan geographically. The market leader in GIS, ESRI software is used in more than 300,000 organizations worldwide including each of the 200 largest cities in the United States, most national governments, more than two-thirds of Fortune 500 companies, and more than 5,000 colleges and universities. ESRI applications, running on more than one million desktops and thousands of Web and enterprise servers, provide the backbone for the world's mapping and spatial analysis. ESRI is the only vendor that provides complete technical solutions for desktop, mobile, server, and Internet platforms. Visit us at www.esri.com.
ESRI, the ESRI globe logo, GIS by ESRI, ArcView, www.esri.com, and @esri.com are trademarks, registered trademarks, or service marks of ESRI in the United States, the European Community, or certain other jurisdictions. Other companies and products mentioned herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective trademark owners.
GISuser Feature Articles
Top iPhone related GIS and Geo Tech news stories from 2009 - At the end of the year its always interesting for us to look at some of the stats and results to identify trends and more important, to see what our readers think is hot! In the "news" category it seems that iPhone related geo tech items were extremely popular.
Geo Social Location Checkin to Twitter from iPhone - With the cool SXSW event taking place Austin, TX, everyone who's anyone in social and social location seems to have rolled out updates this week, making your choice for how to check-in to your social media bookmarks even tougher to decide on!
10 Awesome GIS and Mapping apps for the iPhone - I recall last year at the ESRI UC when an iPhone was on stage showing a prototype app (think ArcPad on iPhone). It was then that I realized the iPhone platform is going to be BIG in mapping and there's a ton of opportunity for developers.
Nokia Booklet 3G, unboxing video and image gallery... Those of you in the USA who pop in to BestBuy occasionally, you may have seen a stand showing off the Nokia Booklet 3G. A sleek, 3G enabled, SIM slot (AT&T) sporting netbook.
Interesting Tweeple - 10 Geo Technology & Geo-Social Women of Twitter - given the growing love for geospatial and location-aware technologies, I’ve decided to hype 10 women that I feel make a significant contribution to the Geo-Twittersphere. If you’d like to add 10 knowledgeable and useful Twitter contacts to your Geo following list I highly suggest the following: (in no particular order)
10 Geo Social Location-Aware Apps Making Waves... With Twitter's opening of their location API to developers there's going to be a ton of third party apps that will enable Twitter users to share location-aware information via their Twitter accounts.
Signs that indicate you may be a GeoGeek (aka. GeoNerd) and some suggested Geo blogs - Chances are good that if you are a Geo Geek then you already know it and likely refer to yourself as one. However, there’s many of you out there that may be on the fence and wondering… “am I a Geo Geek?" Read on for a comprehensive list of signs you might be a GeoGeek followed up by some suggested Geoblog reading.
Real-time GPS Mapping and GIS Solution Aids Efficient Disaster Management - Saturday, February 7, 2009 will forever be known as Black Saturday in the State of Victoria, Australia. In the midst of a 10-year drought, a record breaking heat wave descended upon the state, with temperatures exceeding 45 degrees C (110-120 deg F), breaking all-time record highs in some cities - Victoria Police Use Trimble Juno SC Handhelds to Speed Assessment of Damage Caused by Bush Fires.
2010 ESRI Federal User Conference February 17-19, 2010, Washington D.C. Walter E. Washington Convention Center - The FedUC is the largest geospatial conference for federal agencies. Connect with other leaders, decision makers, and GIS professionals.
The International LiDAR Mapping Forum 2010 - Tenth Anniversary Event! ILMF 2010 will be held from March 3 - 5, 2010 at the Hyatt Regency in Denver at Colorado Convention Center.
The NAVTEQ 2010 Global LBS Challenge Awards Ceremony will be held during Ignite at O'Reilly Where 2.0. Be among the first to hear as NAVTEQ announces the winners for the North America region. Participants will be competing for a global prize pool of $10 million and growing by showcasing pre-commercial location-enabled apps using NAVTEQ map data & products. March 30, 2010, during Ignite Where, 7:30pm - 9:00pm, at the Marriott San Jose, CA
WHERE2.0 2010 - Now in its sixth year, the Where 2.0 Conference is where the grassroots and leading edge developers building location-aware technology intersect with the businesses and entrepreneurs seeking out location apps, platforms, and hardware to gain a competitive edge. For 15% use Discount Code: whr10lbs