Using GPS and GIS in the classroom is the topic of a free public lecture at the Fairfield University Bookstore | Press Releases

Image: Marsha Alibrandi Teachers and parents interested in inventive ways new technologies can be used in schools are invited to attend "Geography is Everywhere: Integrating Geospatial Technologies in the Classroom," a free, public demonstration on Thursday, Nov. 17, at the Fairfield University Bookstore , 1499 Post Road, Fairfield. Associate Professor Marsha Alibrandi, Ph.D., will lead the 7 p.m. talk and all are welcome.

Dr. Alibrandi, author of GIS in the Classroom: Using Geographic Information Systems in Science (Heinemann, 2003), has worked with schools in several states, using GPS and GIS technology to "map" everything from watersheds to African-American oral history. Recent videos and presentations demonstrate student projects and uses of GIS in K-12 schools and communities, showing how this technology can make history, science and other disciplines come to life and provide useful data and service for communities. The talk will take place during National Geographic Awareness Week.

Dr. Alibrandi, an internationally recognized advocate for integrating technologies in the classroom, is an associate professor of secondary social studies education at Fairfield. Before coming to the University in 2006, she taught at North Carolina State University and the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. She taught social studies, geography, journalism and computer technologies for 15 years at Cape Cod Regional Technical High School.