The Viability of a Bimodal Application of an Interactive-GIS-Tutor within Low-Resourced South African Schools

Abstract

Adhering to the United Nations’ call to implement Geographical Information Systems (GIS) education, GIS was phased into the South African Further Education and Training (FET) Geography curriculum over the period 2006-2008. Yet, following the global trend, the slow adoption rate of GIS education points to the presence of GIS implementation barriers, due to a lack of educational GIS research. This implies that GIS curriculum development has outpaced GIS educational research. To support Geography teachers, an Interactive-GIS-Tutor (IGIST) application has been developed. This multiple case study evaluates the bimodal use of the Interactive-GISTutor (IGIST) on i) computers and ii) a projector/whiteboard within large classes, in low resourced schools. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were used. Preliminary learner (n=149) and teacher (n=6) evaluations of the IGIST are being analysed and discussed, followed by learner focus group (n=6 x 8) and teacher interview (n=6) discussions. In this article, we advocate the IGIST and its bimodal use option as desirable and a viable and flexible GIS teaching option.