Geographic information systems (GIS) are a major component of the geospatial sciences, which are also composed of geostatistical analysis, remote sensing, and global positional satellite systems. These systems can be integrated into GIS for georeferencing, pattern analysis, visualization, and understanding spatial concepts that transcend…

As an art teacher, it's easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of objectives, lesson plans, grading, paperwork, setup, art shows and getting "that project" done within a certain time frame. Sometimes art teachers can miss out on a teachable moment not just for the students, but for themselves, as well. The author came upon…

More than 1,500 students who were driven off their island campus in Galveston, Texas, by Hurricane Ike resumed classes last week 150 miles inland, on the main campus of Texas A&M University at College Station. The students, who are enrolled at Texas A&M's marine-oriented branch campus, in Galveston, were hurriedly moved into spare rooms…

The authors have worked together with the NASP (National Association of School Psychologists) National Emergency Assistance Team (NEAT) for a decade to help coordinate communications around large-scale crisis response efforts. The massive earthquake and tsunami that devastated the northeastern part of Japan and the subsequent response represented…

From natural disasters to criminal violence, facilities officers are often called on to address campus safety and security issues beyond their usual responsibilities. Their experiences in coping with unanticipated events have produced a catalogue of lessons learned that can help them and their peers at other institutions who might face the same…

In the wake of a major disaster, damage assessment can be particularly challenging for organizations with dozens or even hundreds of affected properties. Those with well-documented information about predisaster facility conditions can more readily pinpoint those facilities that are at the greatest risk of damage and to determine how to prioritize…

Efforts to reinvent public education in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina have drawn such interest that it's easy to lose sight of some very concrete changes that will become obvious over time: A generation of brand-new school buildings is rising across the city. New Orleans is in the early stages of a construction spree both to build and…

Landforms, natural hazards, and the change in the Earth over time are common material in state and national standards. Volcanoes exemplify these standards and readily capture the interest and imagination of students. With a minimum of training, students can recognize erupted materials and types of volcanoes; in turn, students can relate these…

Identifying a community problem or need and helping to solve it via student-led initiatives is at the heart of service learning. Elson Nash, associate director for program management at Learn and Serve America, a grant program of the Corporation for National and Community Service and USA Freedom Corps, calls service learning "the glue that…

In the aftermath of the devastating January 2010 earthquake in Haiti, international humanitarian groups and volunteers poured into the country, bolstering what was already one of the world's hot spots for nongovernmental organizations. But the magnitude of the disaster--an estimated 300,000 were killed and one million left homeless out of a…

The purpose of this document is to describe AED's extensive experience in six countries that have undergone periods of violent conflict or natural disaster followed by extended and complex periods of increasing resilience, and if possible extract lessons learned from it. The focus is on what we have learned about effectively and sustainably…

Academic technologists at Lynn University (Florida) learned the hard way just how important a disaster recovery plan can be. Back in 2005, when Hurricane Wilma walloped the region with driving rain and 120 mile-per-hour winds, the storm debilitated Lynn's IT department, causing damage and flooding that thwarted the campus network for nearly two…

This article presents suggestions for integrating the phenomenon of hurricanes into the teaching of high school fluid mechanics. Students come to understand core science concepts in the context of their impact upon both the environment and human populations. Suggestions for using information about hurricanes, particularly Hurricane Katrina, in a…

While Shulman argues that an important component of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) is teachers' understanding of the alternative conceptions commonly held by students, relatively little is known about what students believe about many topics in the school curriculum. This paper focuses on a content area typically featured in Geography…

On Friday, March 11, 2011, one of the worst disasters in the world hit the country of Japan. A magnitude 9.0 earthquake struck off the coast of Japan, forever changing the lives of the people and the state of the country. Not only were lives lost and homes destroyed, the tsunami that followed caused numerous nuclear accidents around the Fukushima…