Opportunities for Teachers

GIS Educator Day: Oct. 7th

The organization of statewide GIS professionals invites all teachers to an Educators day at the at
the Duluth Convention Center 9 am – 4:30 pm. on October 7th. Teachers will learn about online
mapping resource (ArcGIS Online), available free to all schools. This FREE event (including lunch
and snacks) will include sessions presented by teachers and professionals for both beginning and
advanced users as well as specific sessions for science and social studies. The schedule provides
opportunities to collaborate with other teachers and GIS professions on projects for the classroom.
CEUs will be available for teachers and administrators. Visit the teacher registration page.

EdCamp Math and Science MN: Oct. 16th

Edcamp is a form of unconference for teachers. Unlike traditional conferences which have
schedules set by the people running the conference, Edcamp’s agenda is created by the participants.
Instead of a presentation, people are encouraged to have discussion and hands-on sessions. This
free event will be held at Eden Prairie High School and is sponsored by the Minnesota Science
Teachers' Association, and the Minnesota Council of Teachers of Mathematics. For information and
registration visit the Edcamp website.

Geographic Information Systems and Google Sketchup State Licenses

ArcGIS

Geospatial technologies are one of the three fastest growing technology fields (Source: U.S. Department of Labor). To introduce students to the geospatial tools and skills that will be required for many high-demand jobs of the future, Minnesota, through a partnership of organizations and individuals, have negotiated a statewide license for ESRI Geographic Information Systems (GIS) software.

The software will be available at no cost to qualified organizations in Minnesota. These include, but are not limited to:

• All K-12 public, private and charter schools
• Homeschools
• K-12 aged formal and non-formal youth groups (including afterschool and summer programs)

If your district is interested in acquiring a free site license for the ArcGIS software, have your technology coordinator contact mde.schooltechplan@state.mn.us or Doug Paulson, STEM specialist at MDE.

Google Sketchup

The Minnesota Department of Education also has a state site license for Google Sketchup Pro.  Google Sketchup is a 3D drawing program.  There is no cost to the districts as the state has secured funding through a variety of sources.  If your district is interested in acquiring a free site license of Google Sketchup Pro, have your technology coordinator contact mde.schooltechplan@state.mn.us or Doug Paulson, STEM specialist at MDE.