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Joseph
Kerski in the office in front of one of his favorite things--a map!
At
the largest GIS conference in the world--the ESRI User Conference, California.
Joseph
Kerski, left, with some of the 900 wonderful students on GIS Day, Colorado.
Joseph
Kerski with Jack Dangermond, George Dailey, and Esther Worker (ESRI), California.
At
the National Interpretive Association conference, Virginia.
Geography
Education--it's essential!
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Joseph Kerski serves as Education Industry Curriculum
Development Manager for ESRI. For
the past 15 years, (see curriculum vita),
he has been involved with education in the following roles:
(1) Creating
curriculum involving geography, science, history, and mathematics, with a
common base of geotechnologies (Geographic Information Systems (GIS),
Global Positioning Systems (GPS), Remote Sensing, webmapping services, and
Virtual Globes); for example, writing inquiry-based units on hazards,
population, environmental studies, water resources, mineral resources,
climate, and more;
2) Supporting
the implementation of GIS at all levels of society through the provision of
technical support, educational support, materials support, and through
publishing articles, web resources, books, and through teaching and
training.
(3) Nurturing
educational partnerships. These include partnerships with the National
Indian Education Association, Sinte Gleska University on the Rosebud Sioux
Reservation in South Dakota, the National Council for Geographic Education,
the New Zealand Geographic Society, the International Geographic Union, the
Geographical Association, the Association of American Geographers, ESRI,
the Missouri Botanical Garden, Texas State University, the GLOBE project,
the DLESE project, the Community Mapping Program, the University of
Texas-El Paso, TERC, North Carolina State University, state geographic
alliances, and others as listed on http://rockyweb.cr.usgs.gov/public/outreach/partners.html.
(4) Conducting
40 workshops and presenting at 20 conferences annually, including the
National Council for Geographic Education, the Association of American Geographers,
the National Science Teachers Association, the National Indian Education
Association, GeoTech Texas, the National Association of Interpretation, the
ESRI User Conference, and many more as listed on http://rockyweb.cr.usgs.gov/public/outreach/success.html.
These workshops are
custom-tailored for government, business, and educational users of spatial
data, and most of them emphasize how to use USGS resources and about GIS,
GPS, and remote sensing technologies. Joseph teaches hands-on and
online GIS courses at the University
of Denver, at Denver Public
Schools, and at Sinte Gleska University
on the Rosebud Sioux Reservation in South
Dakota.
(5) Conducting
research. Dr Kerski's research interests focus on how and why
teachers implement GIS into their curricula, and the effectiveness of
GIS in teaching and learning. Some of this research is located on the
Research Articles section on: http://rockyweb.cr.usgs.gov/public/outreach/articles.html.
Joseph holds three
geography degrees -- from the University
of Colorado, the University of Kansas,
and the University
of Colorado, with
emphasis on geographic education, GIS, and population geography.
Some of his
philosophies, some of which were featured in the 2004
Profile from the Association of American Geographers, include:
1. Geography is
essential for understanding our world--its climate, vegetation, landforms,
environment, people, and politics.
2. We are all
learning from each other. We are privileged to be in this
field. Share your experiences with others. Publish in venues
outside your comfort zone to let others know what you are doing.
3. Don't use
technology for technology's sake. Use it to enhance what you are
doing.
4. GIS and
spatial technologies serve as an effective bridge between disciplines, such
as geography, mathematics, chemistry, biology, Earth Science, civics,
environmental studies, and history.
5. Consider
using GIS and spatial technologies in education. Let the students
fly!
6. Be
enthusiastic about what you do and help others to shine.
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