Conference Proceedings: The 1 st International Conference on Innovative Education and Policy Reforms for Industrial Economy in Africa, pg 630-649
There has been a growing need of scientists to utilize geospatial data in a variety of
fields of study due to the advancement of ICT as a tool for both gathering and
analyzing geospatial data. As Geographic Information System (GIS) gains
momentum, the use of geospatial data becomes prominent in education especially
in subjects that deal with place and space processes such as geography.
Unfortunately in developing countries propagation of GIS in education is of low
pace partly because of less utilization of ICT and ICT based technologies in
teaching and learning. In order to address the problem of underutilization of
geospatial data in education teachers‘ knowledge, skills and motivation for using
GIS data needs to be reinforced. This paper shows why the use of geospatial data
in geography is necessary. It shows how teachers and students in schools can be
both supported and motivated to use geospatial data with reference to analysis of
information based on satellite images of Morogoro urban district. The paper shows
the way these geospatial data can be used to address various questions raised for
each topic in geography at advanced level secondary school. The discussion part
shades light on the path that needs to be followed by policy makers to mobilize
efforts of educationists and other experts in geography, mathematics, statistics and
ICT based disciplines. The efforts should focus on gathering and analyzing more of
GIS data and also simplify their accessibility by classroom teachers so that they
can improve their classroom practice and outdoor learning avenues. The foreseen
challenges and the role of individual stakeholders to advance the uses of GIS data
in education are also highlighted.