For current GIS software products to support the teaching and learning of spatial thinking in the K-12 context, they must have the capacity to (I) spatialize data sets by providing spatial data structures and coding systems for nonspatial data, (2)visuahze working and final results by providing multiple forms of representation, and (3) perform functions that manipulate the structural ielations of data sets. The capacity to spatialize data sets motivates the process of spatial thinking, the capacity to visualize is integral to the process of spatial thinking, and the capacity to manipulate structural relations is the essence of spatial thinking. The following sections discuss the extent to which current GIS software products meet each of these three specific requirements of a support system for spatial thinking. Inside a typical GIS, space is defined by a combination of geometry, projection, and registration data. The structures of space and geographic data are so tightly bound in the software that they are inseparable at the application level.
This strong bond sets a GIS apart from most other kinds of information systems by providing the infrastructure necessary for the direct support of geographic operations that can be performed on that space (e.g., registration, reprojection, neighborhood and distance calculations, network analysis, spatial interpolation). Because of the bonds between space and geography, a GIS is a system that is designed to handle geographic data, but in principle, data defined in any spatial domain are also amenable to handling with GIS. The adjective geographic refers specifically to Earth’s surface and near-surface, and the more general adjective qarial refers to any space, including the space of Earth’s surface. Thus, G15 methods have been applied to nongeographic spaces, including the surfaces of other planets, the space of the cosmos, and the space of the human body. GIS has also been applied to the analysis of genome sequences of DNA. Attempts have been made to estimate the amount of data that are geographic. It is estimated that between 70 to 80 percent of the data generated and used by local government organizations are geographic (Langley et al., 2001). Local governments use geographic data to improve the quality of their products, processes, and services.
Typical GIS applications of geographic data include inventorying resources and infrastructure, planning transportation routing, improving service response time, managing land development, monitoring public health risk, and tracking crime. These applications of GIS often require databases that can easily reach a gigabyte or more in size (Table 8.2). To be used in a GIS, data must be spatialized. Spatialization is the process of attaching coordinate codes to each data item (e.g., x and y in the case of two-dimensional spatial data, or latitude and longitude in the case of two-dimensional geographic data). A GIS does a fine job of spatializing spatial data. Once spatialized, these data can he presented in a visual representation such as a thematic map. Learning things is not limited to the scentific area. Instead it also has relations with some other things like speaking a language or using software, including Rosetta Stone English and Rosetta Stone French. If you have a creative mind, you will make all your own differences in the end!