Innovative teaching/learning with geotechnologies in secondary education

Abstract

The development of the use of Geographical Information Systems (GIS) for professional purposes and the success of virtual globes (VG) for personal uses leads to addressing the question of the integration of geotechnologies into secondary education. In this paper, we examine the changes in geography education linked to the increasing use of geotechnologies by the general public. The diversity of teacher practices can be linked to the powerful potential of these technologies for the access and the analysis of geographical and geological information. The characteristics of these tools suit pedagogies based on projects, problem-solving or collaborative work even if it has to be considered that a majority of teachers use them in more traditional ways. Furthermore, the paper underlines the importance of the integration of geotechnologies into the curriculum for the elaboration of the digital culture of the 21st century citizen. © 2009 IFIP International Federation for Information Processing.