March 10, 2014, Tigard, Ore. – The Professional Land Surveyors of Oregon (PLSO), a non-profit trade association, is partnering with the National Council of Examiners for Engineering (NCEES) as well as 12 other western state land surveying associations to sponsor teachers for the Teaching with Spatial Technology (TwiST) program.
“Spatial Technology includes Geographic Information Systems, Remote Sensing and Global Positioning Systems,” explains John Thatcher, PLSO Chair-Elect and state representative for the Western Federation of Professional Surveyors. “The technology allows us to understand and visualize data in different ways in the form of maps, globes, reports, and charts. Not only are they powerful tools in the future development of our country, but they are extremely helpful in understanding environmental changes and more.”
TwiST is designed to teach grade 6-12 educators how to use Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Global Positioning Systems (GPS) in the classroom to create meaningful and challenging lesson plans for students. Held June 23-27 at Clark College in Vancouver, Wash., it is a week-long workshop designed to make teachers proficient in the many aspects of spatial technology. The course is a mixture of classroom study and field exercises while learning to use GIS software, a GPS receiver and other related materials.
Teachers are expected to learn about applications that classroom activities can accomplish around their school and community. Ranging from resource management to environmental assessment, cartography and more, the activities may be taught at various levels of grade appropriate complexity.
Local teachers are encouraged to log on to http://www.plso.org/twist for an application to attend and sponsorship opportunities that will cover costs of tuition and travel. Tuition costs for the week long workshop is $600, which includes all course teaching materials, ESRI GIS Software for teachers, Garmin GPS receiver, PC cable for downloading data, a 2GB thumb drive, hand compass, and other training materials. The deadline to apply is April 14.
Contact: John Thatcher
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The Professional Land Surveyors of Oregon, based in Tigard, represents more than 500 land surveyors and associated suppliers. It serves the land surveying industry in Oregon through professional education and outreach, holding paramount the interests of the public. To learn more visit www.plso.org.
