Wednesday, July 15. 2009

GeoMentor: Online "Dating" for GeoProfessionals and Educators (#ESRIUC)

I visited the GeoMentor booth to be sure I understood what the program was and was not. There's been quite a lot of excitement about it here at the conference. The National Geographic person at the booth "scanned my badge" before I could say anything and then told me that that information would be put into a prototype profile about me on the site.

That's a key part of this program: linking up potential pairs who can work together to get K-12 students (in school or in more informal settings like camp, 4-H, Girls and Boys clubs, etc.) involved in geography and GIS related activities. The other part is the material available for these teams to use with their students. That's about it for the "formal" part of the program. The pairs figure out what sort of commitments they can make, what sorts of activities (computer and non-computer based) they can do that fit with their goals.

Apparently, I'll soon receive an e-mail asking me to fill out my profile and make myself available as a mentor. One interesting twist? Mentors need not be in the same geography as their partners; they can offer their support/expertise online.

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Online dating is such a fascinating concept for geeks. It has sure brightened my life a few times this year.

#1 Ryan on 2009-07-16 10:09 (Reply)

Interesting but there was no where I could put in that I'm morally opposed to teaching ESRI products (especially as PA schools have limited budgets).

We'll see how many schools I can reeducate

#2 Ian Turton on 2009-07-16 16:29 (Reply)

Go Ian! Gotta love that kind of morality

Perhaps that also needs to become one of the main goals of the GISCorps - teaching people how to think spatially, and outside of the shrink-wrapped box.

www.OSGEO.org : Kool-Aid antidote, anyone?

#2.1 reeducation_proponent on 2009-07-17 16:29 (Reply)

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