GIS Data and Materials Help Students Learn About Olympic Countries

GIS Data and Materials Help Students Learn About Olympic Countries
CountryWatch.com and ESRI Develop Free, Downloadable Lesson Plan

With the start of the Olympics, ESRI (US) and CountryWatch.com announced the availability of new K-12 classroom materials for free download on the Web. Containing GIS data, a sample of CountryWatch.com's data, and instructional materials, the lesson package provides students sociodemographic snapshots of the many countries participating in the 2000 Olympic Games.

"Through our combined efforts, we are offering teachers and students an opportunity to explore countries and information about them in ways they have not been able to in the past," said George Dailey, ESRI K-12 education specialist. "ESRI's GIS tools provide a wonderful interactive approach to visualizing and analyzing the data. CountryWatch.com's data sample, its forthcoming full country GIS databases, and its country-specific Web site provide the fuel."

"We are ready to help students around the world learn about who is going for the gold with GIS data, a lesson, and a Web site filled with country information," says Charlie Fitzpatrick, ESRI K-12 education manager. "CountryWatch.com is a leading information provider for schools, universities, and libraries, as well as private businesses and organizations. Any person or enterprise that needs up-to-date information on countries around the world can benefit from what CountryWatch.com provides. We're excited by our relationship and what it means for joint efforts to educate children."

ESRI's Schools and Libraries Program staff, in collaboration with CountryWatch.com, have developed the Olympic GIS teaching package for free download from ESRI's ArcLessons Web site (www.esri.com/arclessons , keyword search: Olympics). The materials, written for use with ESRI's ArcVoyager software, can also be used with ArcExplorer and ArcView GIS. ESRI also makes available free ArcVoyager GIS software to use with the package. A CD containing it and other educational resources can be ordered from www.esri.com/industries/k-12/k-12form.html

For this ArcLesson package, CountryWatch.com, a new ESRI business partner program member, has selected a sample from the hundreds of country-level data sets they are compiling and updating from numerous domestic and international sources. CountryWatch.com is also providing free access to portions of its international Web-based service.

"Besides giving free access to a large amount of country-specific statistical and text-based information at our site, we are giving users a full look at our information offerings by making the Australian Country Review and Country Wire our free sample during the Olympics," Kelly says. As CountryWatch.com and ESRI move this relationship forward, the combination of data and GIS will be useful to many people, not just educators. "CountryWatch.com has a unique data service. Our databases and Web-based products are useful to libraries, business researchers, and international development executives…basically anyone needing to better understand the international arena," says Kelly.

Likewise, ESRI's ArcLessons site covers more than just the Olympics. "The ArcLessons site is growing and currently holds some 50 lesson packages. Teachers can leave materials to share with colleagues. They can also pick up new lessons such as the Olympic package or the new Election 2000 package, which also is available at the site," said Dailey.

More educational materials are available from ESRI's main Schools and Libraries Web site (www.esri.com/k-12)