There is huge value. Today's youth are tomorrow's decision makers and GIS users. Developing spatial literacy is crucial to global health as well as personal academic and life success. This is described in two reports by the U.S. National Research Council:
Students currently using GIS are looking at issues from global to local scale, learning important core content in subjects including science, geography, math, and language/arts. More and more schools are incorporating GIS into career and technical preparation programs. Students and teachers tackle the same kinds of issues that adult GIS users face every day with software, data, analysis, and project management.
ESRI Press has just published four new workbooks for K-12 education in the Our World GIS Education book series. They are designed to provide a full spectrum of background and curriculum material for teachers. They include:
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