Modeling is a key scientific practice and is usually computer-implemented, but it is challenging to teach because it seems high on presuppositions, for example, coding. This design-based research study presents a geography course offered during the 2019/20 winter semester in computer modeling, with no prior coding knowledge. It was implemented in…

Recent studies have identified an incomplete student understanding of how elastic rebound causes earthquakes. We hypothesized that realistic imaging of spatial patterns in ground motions over the course of the earthquake cycle would improve student understanding. Incorporating spatial change information in the form of both motion vectors and…

Many social enterprises aim to transition disadvantaged people into mainstream employment; they are engaged in commercial activity underpinned by a social mission. They provide training in life and work skills to develop capability, defined as ability to achieve. They are spaces apparently available not only to develop socially and economically…

A novel method to create a physicalization of Digital Earth resulted a new type of analogue and tactile geographic information system (GIS). The model was tested by students in Australia, who shared insights into how the model supported their learning about the concept of "overlay" while providing an interesting and engaging learning…

Emerging youth movements to promote issues reflected in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are celebrated as critical for the future attainment of societal aims. We explore the possibility for institutions of higher education to serve as an intentional "third space" to engender the creation and mobilization of…

Gamified Authentic Mobile Enquiry in Society (GAMES) is a GPS-supported mobile application for gamifying social enquiry learning in outdoor environments. Teachers are always the "educational innovation gatekeepers" in schools. This paper reports on a 3-year study in which the Stages of Concern model was employed as a quantitative…

Social evolution, globalization, and advances in technology are making it increasingly necessary to offer complete and comprehensive teacher training. This training should produce citizens who are concerned about the planet and its future. These values are embedded in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the breadth of which allows them to be…

This work shares a time-sensitive framework for teaching GIS to educators of all levels and disciplines. Existing relationships with teachers enabled the addition of GIS content in professional development activities. The amount of time devoted to GIS-related content varied depending on time made available for interaction with the audience.…

Complex navigation (e.g. indoor and outdoor environments) can be studied as a system-of-systems problem. The model is made up of disparate systems that can aid a user in navigating from one location to another, utilizing whatever sensor system or information is available. By using intelligent navigation sensors and techniques (e.g. RFID, Wifi,…

There have been numerous efforts aimed at improving geographic literacy in order to address societal challenges. Extension educators can use geographic information system (GIS) technology to help their clients cultivate spatial thinking skills and solve problems. Researchers can use it to model relationships and better answer questions. A program…

We investigated differences in the geographic distribution of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) over time in central North Carolina with data from the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network. Using generalized additive models and geographic information systems we produced maps of ASD risk in 2002-2004 and 2006-2008. Overall the risk…

The methods of geospatial data processing are being continually innovated, and universities that are focused on educating experts in Environmental Science should reflect this reality with an elaborate and purpose-built modernization of the education process, education content, as well as learning conditions. Geographic Information Systems (GIS)…

Places and place types, such as "small town", play a fundamental role in how people organize knowledge about the world. Although places are commonly referenced in human communication, often they are not canonically defined and many of the properties people associate with them have proved difficult to operationalize. In information…

In the academic libraries' efforts to support digital humanities and social science, GIS service plays an important role. However, there is no general service model existing about how libraries can develop GIS services to best engage with digital humanities and social science. In this study, we adopted the action research method to develop and…

Student out-migration is a well-studied topic covering more than 40 years of research. This literature has typically equated student out-migration to out-of-state enrollment and has classified all college attendance taking place in students' state of residence as in-state enrollment. This study argues that failing to capture students'…