The Belton Journal

The Belton Journal: Thursday, November 11, 1999

Advanced technology to study advanced technology is the objective of a GIS day '99 event. Belton Junior High School announces an interactive TTVN videoconference on GIS Day, Nov. 19. With the help of Gary Coutu from Blackland Research Laboratory and other Bell County schools, classes will participate in GIS discussions and presentations on GIS and local applications. Belton students will share GIS project maps they are developing on local watershed and population growth.

Belton Junior High School teachers Connie Wood and Charlie Griggs are sponsoring the event. The students will use either BellNET or Belton ISD two-way videoconferencing equipment and technology for this exchange.

A GIS (geographic information system) is a computer-based tool for mapping and analyzing objects and events. It combines the power of a database with the visualization capabilities offered by maps. Businesses, schools, governments and organizations use GIS for a wide variety of applications, as GIS provides the power to solve complicated problems, experiment with scenarios, and present ideas. Although geographic analysis and mapping are not new, a GIS performs these same tasks better and faster than manual methods.

GIS Day is Nov. 19, the last day of Geography Awareness Week Nov. 15-19, is sponsored by the National Geographic Society, the American Association of Geographers and ESRI. Since 1987, the National Geographic Society has sponsored Geography Awareness Week to promote geographic literacy in schools, communities and organizations, with a focus on the education of children. The GIS Day celebration is a grassroots event that formalizes the practice of GIS users and vendors opening their doors to schools, businesses and the general public to showcase real-world applications.

There are currently about half a million GIS users in the world, but most of the public is unaware of this growing technology. Used to solve problems in such areas as environmental protection, pollution, health care, land use, natural resources, conservation, business efficiency, education, and social inequities, GIS provides a unifying framework for analyzing and understanding the world around us.

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