Ministry of Education

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Minister of Education, Hon. Andrew Holness, examines one of the exhibits at Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Day, held at the University of the West Indies, Mona campus today (November 18). GIS Day was celebrated under the theme 'GIS: Transforming Today, Shaping Tomorrow'.

The Ministry of Education is moving towards adopting a Concept Map approach to learning as it seeks to find ways to make classroom lessons more relevant to the lives of students.

Portfolio Minister, Hon. Andrew Holness, addressing the opening ceremony for Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Day at the University of the West Indies, Mona campus yesterday (November 18), said one of the greatest challenges in the classroom is to make lessons applicable to today's realities.

He noted that the approach of breaking up knowledge into rigid subject areas must end if the education received in Jamaican schools is to be pertinent.

"The Concept Map essentially says that all knowledge is connected and the GIS system is a perfect example of the Concept Map. Everything in life happens over time and space, so the two questions of life that we often ask, 'When did it happen?' and 'Where did it happen?' are answered in the GIS system," the Education Minister said.

A concept map is a way of representing relations between ideas, images or words. In a concept map, each word or phrase is connected to another and linked back to the original idea, word or phrase. Concept maps are a way to develop logical thinking and study skills, by revealing connections and helping students see how individual ideas form a larger whole.

He said that GIS, which is computer software that links geographic information with descriptive data, is one practical way of showing how the subject of Geography, for example, impacts on areas of life such as crime, development, finances and education.

Minister of Education, Hon. Andrew Holness (right), listens as Planner with the Urban Development Corporation (UDC), Kirk Barrett, explains one of the posters at the UDC display. Occasion was the opening ceremony for Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Day, held at the University of the West Indies, Mona today (November 18). GIS Day was celebrated under the theme 'GIS: Transforming Today, Shaping Tomorrow'.

He shared that the Ministry will be using GIS to inform where schools and other educational facilities are placed.

"We want to know what is the population of a given area, but more importantly, we want to capture what is the birth rate in this area, what will be the demand for educational spaces 10 years from now. These are the important questions we will have to answer in placing schools," Mr. Holness pointed out.

Managing Director of the Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica (PCJ), Dr. Ruth Potopsingh, who gave the main address, noted that GIS can be used by planners, developers, assessors, fishermen, farmers, highway builders, designers and policemen, among others.

She said GIS is a "powerful planning tool" that could be used to help achieve Vision 2030, which is Jamaica's goal of attaining developed country status over the next 21 years. She suggested that the tool could also be useful in crime fighting, job matching, education, and in determining infrastructural needs for particular areas.

Dr. Potopsingh noted that GIS is also central to Jamaica's plans to move towards renewable energy sources. Using the example of wind power, she pointed out that factors such as the wind patterns, existing roads, and other infrastructure as well as population data, are very important information that could be ascertained using GIS.

GIS Day is a global event for Geographic Information Systems users, vendors and the general public. It is intended to raise awareness of GIS and its related technologies and provides a forum to highlight the important impact it is making in the fields of science, technology, information and humanities.

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