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Department of Geography celebrates GIS Day By Dana Bauer
	Two days of ArcView GIS software training were lots of fun for a group of sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders from James Buchanan Middle School in Mercersburg, Pa.   “They’re loving it,” Michelle Martin, science teacher at James Buchanan and adviser for the school’s GIS club, said.   She brought her crew of six students to University Park to receive free geographic information systems (GIS) software training as part of the Department of Geography’s GIS Day events. Twenty-eight middle and high school teachers and students from across Pennsylvania participated in two two-day GIS training sessions during Geography Awareness Week. Pennsylvania’s General Assembly proclaimed Nov. 14, 2001, as Pennsylvania GIS Day, stating, “an understanding of geographical concepts is crucial to maintaining the health and security of the citizens of this Commonwealth.”   “The software company ESRI Inc. sponsors GIS Day events at universities nationwide,” David DiBiase, director of Penn State’s Gould Center for Geography Education and Outreach, said. “Usually it’s an open house, but we decided to do a bit more.”   Beth Fletcher King and Jim Detwiler, Penn State geography instructors and authorized ESRI trainers, guided the students and teachers through eight introductory lessons in one of the Department of Geography’s GIS computer labs.   “We were able to provide the training, and ESRI, the maker of ArcView GIS software, provided the training books,” DiBiase said. He noted the instruction and books normally cost about $700.   “We weren’t able to give them the software,” he added, “but usually an enterprising teacher can find a way to get it for free or at a discount.”   Martin, for example, received a grant through Shippensburg University that allowed her to purchase a version of ArcView GIS software, a laptop computer, a GPS unit, a digital camera and a scanner. The students in her GIS club plan to download aerial views of their middle school campus and map all the trees that were planted over the past 10 years during the school’s annual Arbor Day celebration. Her students will locate the trees using the GPS unit, identify the trees and record their height and diameter and the type of soil in which they were planted. They will then store and map the data using ArcView.   Teacher Jovanna Porter and a group of her students from Smethport High School in McKean County, Pa., planned to use the training to map illegal garbage dump sites in McKean County and present the information to county government.   “Kids might be aware of dumps sites, and they may see that there’s a pattern to them. But by mapping the dumps and presenting the map to a county government, they’re actually doing something about it. They’re making a difference in their world,” DiBiase said.   “GIS is an instrument by which people can do certain kinds of geography,” he added. “GIS Day is about both awareness of and active participation in geography.”   The GIS Day events will become a permanent part of Penn State’s celebration of Geography Awareness Week, DiBiase said.