Back-to-School Resources from Ball State University Libraries

Cartography in the Classroom:  Back-to-School Resources from the GIS Research and Map Collection

Teachers and students from elementary school to the college classroom can access important classroom resources created by the Ball State University Libraries’ GIS Research and Map Collection (GRMC) from the Cardinal Scholar institutional repository.  Cardinal Scholar allows users to access invaluable resources from any location with Web access.

Teachers and student teachers headed back to the classroom can find numerous games, posters, lesson plans, map worksheets, map and GIS tutorials, and other resources in Cardinal Scholar.  These classroom resources were developed for K-12 teachers and can be browsed by clicking “Communities and Collections” on the left side of the Cardinal Scholar homepage; then scroll down to “Information Technology” and click on “GIS Research and Map Collection” listed under the University Libraries section.  Then choose “browse by title” to see the list of the hundreds of resources available from the GRMC.

Users may also browse by topic from the main Cardinal Scholar homepage.  For example, type “Africa map,” and this search provides a list of maps, posters, and tutorials related to the geography of Africa.

The GRMC is continually developing maps, lesson plans, tutorials, and other resources for use from Cardinal Scholar, so students and teachers should check Cardinal Scholar or the GRMC news Blog regularly for updates.  A new collection of maps focusing on the study of Indiana history (Indiana sports history map above, click to enlarge) is an example of some of the updated resources available for research and learning.  These maps can be used by teachers for lessons in the classroom or for exhibit on bulletin boards.

Students and other researchers writing papers or preparing presentations may consider using maps from the GRMC or the Atlas Collection as visual aids to add interest and impact.  These collections include maps and other cartographic images that visually depict numerous current issues.  An online guide, Using Maps and Atlases as Resources for Papers,Posters, and Presentations, details how cartographic images can enhance research.

Students, professors, or conference speakers needing to create a presentation poster can also use a guide from Cardinal Scholar explaining how to create a poster using PowerPoint software.  The GRMC provides two large plotter printers available to the Ball State community for printing large posters, maps, and other documents.  A large laminator is also available in the GRMC.  Users are charged through their Bursar account for printing and laminating.

The staff of the GRMC is also available for classroom instruction sessions or assistance with class projects.  Maps from the GRMC can also be borrowed for use in the classroom for as long as a semester.

For more information about using these resources or finding other materials available from Cardinal Scholar, please contact the GRMC Monday through Friday at 765-285-1097.