Free Virtual Educator Workshop November 14

The Citizen Science GIS Teacher Academy: An Interactive Workshop for Florida Teachers (2nd-8th grades and pre-service teachers) is back again! This time in a virtual space due to COVID-19.

Saturday November 14, 2020 from 9:00 am -12:30 pm virtually @ University of Central Florida

Maps, apps, and drones for teachers! Geospatial technologies (geographic information systems, mapping, GPS, location-based services on phones and tablets, and drones) are powerful tools for youth, teachers and community engagement. In this free teacher workshop, we will provide an overview of some of the ways student learning and engagement can occur with these technologies, and we will challenge teachers to brainstorm creative uses of these technologies in their own classrooms. This is not your standard teacher workshop. 

“The Citizen Science GIS Teacher Academy should be an incredible day to learn and collaborate with other teachers as we work together to showcase the power of geospatial technologies in society and along the coast of Florida as well,” said Dr. Timothy L. Hawthorne, associate professor of GIS and workshop facilitator. 

We’ll keep the lecturing to a minimum and focus on interactive activities teachers can do with their students.  This will include working with online and mobile mapping applications that can be done virtually!!!

“We are thrilled to host this interactive (and virtual) hands-on teacher workshop.  Teachers can expect to have fun while engaging with technologies their students probably already use on a daily basis, but don’t even realize they are using!  GIS, mobile mapping apps, and location-based services play a huge role in our daily lives –from traffic apps like Waze or Google Maps to finding nearby restaurants on Google or Tripadvisor.  And drones are everywhere right now. We’ll fly them in this workshop.” said Hawthorne.

Participating teachers will take home a series of lesson plans to share in their classrooms. And if they agree to support a future school visit (virtual or in-person) with the Citizen Science GIS team, they will receive a free mini-drone to keep for their classroom. Participating teachers will also brainstorm ideas and lessons for the GeoBus at UCF program, set to launch in 2021-2022.

Apply now to this free workshop by filling out the Google Form at: https://forms.gle/xV4ZbS7xiEeYDbac8

Priority Application Deadline: October 16, 2020. Share with your fellow teachers on social media with #citizensciencegis and #geobus.

Questions: Contact Dr. Timothy Hawthorne, Associate Professor of GIS, University of Central Florida at timothy.hawthorne@ucf.edu