[Durham INC] Durham Brings GIS to Holt Elementary School

Thu Jan 19 13:51:51 EST 2012

CITY OF DURHAM

Office of Public Affairs

101 City Hall Plaza

Durham, NC 27701

News Release

For Details, Contact:

Amy Blalock

Sr. Public Affairs Specialist

(919) 560-4123 x 11253

(919) 475-7735 (cell)

Amy.Blalock at DurhamNC.gov

For Immediate Release: January 19, 2012

Durham Brings GIS to Holt Elementary School

What:              City of Durham Hosts GIS and GPS Training for Holt
Elementary School Students

Who:               City of Durham Neighborhood Improvement Services and
Technology Solutions Departments

When:             Friday, January 27, 2012, from 12:45 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.

                        Monday, January 30, 2012, from 12:45 p.m. to
1:30 p.m.

                        Wednesday, February 1, 2012, from 12:45 p.m. to
1:30 p.m.

                        Thursday, February 2, 2012, from 12:45 p.m. to
1:30 p.m.

Where:            Holt Elementary School 

4019 Holt School Rd.

Durham, N.C. 27704

Fast Facts:

*         The Neighborhood Improvement Services Department, in
partnership with the Technology Solutions Department, is taking GIS into
the classroom. Approximately 100 fifth-grade students at Holt Elementary
School will participate in a series of GIS activities developed and
provided by City staff that will include indoor and outdoor classroom
instruction. Students will also learn about the ecosystem, social
studies, and geometry using GIS and will plot different locations around
their campus using a GPS.  

*         By being exposed to GIS, students will be able to view,
understand, question, interpret, and visualize data in many ways that
reveal relationships, patterns, and trends in the form of maps, globes,
reports, and charts. GIS-based maps and visualizations greatly assist in
understanding situations and in storytelling. GIS is a technology that
improves communication among different teams, departments, disciplines,
professional fields, organizations, and the public. 

*         Exposure to GIS in this training will help students better
understand why geography is important and that location is the key to
understanding much of the information affecting our lives. GIS is a
valuable research tool used by scientists and researchers to increase
people's understanding of natural systems and human cultures from
anthropology to zoology. 

*         Students will also be exposed to GPS technology and how it may
be a part of their daily lives through interaction with commonly used
mapping and navigation applications.

*         News media interested in attending any of these training
sessions should contact Durham Public Schools Communications Coordinator
Jeffrey Nash at (919) 560-2602 or by email at Jeffrey.Nash at dpsnc.net to
make arrangements with the school accordingly.

*         For additional information about this training, contact Robin
Dixon with the City's Neighborhood Improvement Services Department, at
(919) 560-1647 ext. 34245 or via email at Robin.Dixon at DurhamNC.gov.

About the Neighborhood Improvement Services Department

The Neighborhood Improvement Services Department works to preserve and
improve quality of life conditions for Durham residents, and to
encourage active participation in neighborhood redevelopment and public
policy and decision making dialogue. The department is responsible for
enforcement of quality of life ordinances and state statutes including
the City's Minimum Housing Code; Nonresidential Code; Weedy Lot,
Abandoned and Junk Vehicle ordinances; and the State of North Carolina's
Unsafe Building Statute. The department's rapid responders, known as the
Impact Team, remediate non-compliant housing properties; abate public
nuisances, such as litter, graffiti, illegal dumping, and abandoned
shopping carts; and conduct neighborhood service projects. The
department's Community Engagement staff provides outreach and education
to Durham residents and community organizations. Guided by the City's
Strategic Plan, the department helps ensure that Durham has thriving,
livable neighborhoods by providing the highest quality of services to
engage and educate the community, eradicate blight, ensure safer
neighborhoods, and enhance neighborhood revitalization. For more
information, visit http://DurhamNC.gov/ich/cb/nis/Pages/Home.aspx. 

About the Technology Solutions Department

The Technology Solutions Department aligns the City's information
technology infrastructure and systems to the business needs of the
City's departments. It designs, implements, and maintains the technology
hardware, applications, and programs. Guided by the City's Strategic
Plan, Technology Solutions ensures that its services support making
Durham a great place to live, work, and play by helping provide a
well-managed city and stewardship of the City's physical assets. For
more information, visit http://DurhamNC.gov/ich/as/ts/Pages/Home.aspx.  

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