The Illinois Virtual School, ConnectEd and the mapping software company Esri, have partnered to bring the power of mapping and analysis to Illinois schools. Two products are available, ArcGIS Online and ArcGIS Desktop. ArcGIS software gives teachers and students the ability to add their own data to maps, insert map layers and even perform spatial analysis. Students may learn more about their own communities, region and the world by creating their own maps or searching through the maps of others.

On the desktop – Windows only
The Illinois K-12 site license, managed by Illinois Virtual School, provides access to the same powerful mapping tools used by government and industry to all students, teachers and school districts in Illinois.

In the cloud – Mac, Windows or Tablet
Teachers may sign up for a free ArcGIS Online account through the ConnectEd Esri Initiative, http://connected.esri.com/. ArcGIS Online users may publish their maps for the world to see, or make them available only within their own classrooms. As the students create compelling maps that tell a story, they are also developing essential skills for college and careers.

How to get started – Visit the Illinois Education Mapping portal at https://illinoised.maps.arcgis.com/home/ and click on “Illinois K-12 Site License Information”

For more information – Please contact Jenni Dahl, jenni@thinkgeospatial.educator or judy@thinkgeospatial.education.