GIS - ett interaktivt läromedel för grundskolan : En studie som ser på möjligheter och hinder med GIS som läromedel i grundskolans SO-ämnen

A Geographic Information System (GIS) is about presentinginformation with the map as a base. This is increasingly being used on internetsites and in mobile apps. With a GPS it is possible to see where you are andhow to reach a destination or check if the bus is in time. A question to ask isif this technology is possible to implement in ordinary primary schooleducation. If it is, learning history, geography, religion and so on with a GISlearning tool might be possible. Then, it is interesting to know which thepossibilities and obstacles are for such implementation. This paper presentssome of the possibilities and barriers. A scenario of an idea of a GIS learningtool was made and presented for some teachers and pupils. In the interviewswhere teachers were one by one and the pupils were in groups they could tellwhat they thought about the idea. This study shows that one of the possibilitieswith implementing a GIS in primary school education is that it is seen as apedagogical tool which creates an interaction with the tool and the the way themap creates context. It was also seen as an important learning tool for pupilwith reading and writing difficulties because it allows learning using multiplesenses. Futhermore this study identifies som barriers in the form of lacking internetconnections, and computers that do not work in a proper way, and it can take along time to get support. Other things that were mentioned was that allteachers do not have an interest in IT and the risk that pupils would ratherplay computergames than do school work. In sum, this study show that GIS havethe potential of being the pedagogical learning tools that teachers aresearching for