Prep Talk

Students Attend GIS Day

Posted November 22nd, 2011

 

On November 16, Computer Science teacher Mr. Gregory Crandall and Fr. Patrick McStravog, O.S.A. accompanied fourteen advanced computer students from the Prep to join nearly 500 South Jersey students for GIS Day at Atlantic Cape Community College.  GIS Day was simultaneously observed the same day in 46 states within the U.S. and 84 countries around the world.

Geographical Information Systems (GIS) are representative of the manner in which technology has become totally integrated into the fabric of modern life.  GIS software represents on a computer many features on the earth, such as buildings, cities, roads, rivers, and states.  People use GIS to visualize, question, analyze, and understand data about the world and human activity.  GIS can be used to map physical locations and also dynamic events such as the path of a hurricane or the spread of a disease outbreak.  GIS technology can be found in everything from our TV weather report, to global positioning satellite (GPS) systems that guide our travel plans, to online computer mapping systems such as Google Maps, and many other activities in our daily lives.

Students attending GIS Day heard a keynote address on the use of GIS in Homeland Security and the Criminal Justice System.  Then the students went in smaller groups for interactive demonstrations by area companies and organizations on the many uses of GIS.  The trip was very educational, and a lot of fun too.