Basic course “Introduction to Geographic Information Systems” for secondary school students. Lecturers – Assoc. Prof. Dr. Vanya Stamenova, Chief Assist. Dr. Stefan Stamenov.
Annotation: The course is intended for students interested in geographic information systems (GIS) from secondary schools (8-12 grade), who have no preliminarily preparation, i.e. level beginners. It aims to introduce students with the basics and concepts of Earth Observation, satellite imagery, spatial data, and geographic information systems and to acquire basic knowledge and practical skills to work with the ArcGIS and open source software products. During the course students will learn basic knowledge about the theoretical foundations of geographic information systems, concepts for spatial data representation and basics of remote sensing. They will get acquainted with the ArcGIS software products, gaining practical skills for visualizing GIS data, creating and editing data, working with attribute tables, and creating maps. The will learn about the freely available GIS resources and how they can use them in their education process and lessons preparation in Earth Sciences.
The first course was held in 2014/2015 school year at the National High School of Mathematics and Sciences and has been conducted every year since then. The students are enthusiastic and motivated by the opportunity to gain knowledge in a promising and dynamically developing scientific and professional field. The course contributes for creating a lasting and serious interest towards the higher education and science in geomatics and related scientific fields.
