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Zoom Into Your World:
GIS Day 2000
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Recently, New River Valley residents got the chance to
explore their communities - and the world around them- on November 15, 2000, during the
"Zoom Into Your World" event held at the Blacksburg Library in Blacksburg, Va. |
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During "Zoom Into Your
World", held in conjunction with National GIS Day, residents experienced firsthand
the benefits of Geographic Information System technology offered through both the
Town of Blacksburg (www.blacksburg.va.us) and
Montgomery County (www.montva.com) web sites. The Town
of Blacksburg and Montgomery County co-hosted the event with Anderson & Associates,
Inc. and the Blacksburg Library of the Montgomery-Floyd Regional Library System.
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Developed with the help of Anderson & Associates, Inc.,
the WebGIS system (www.webgis.net) lets consumers
access parcel maps with user friendly tools to locate specific addresses, owners and even
land or building values - all with the click of a mouse. The Town of Blacksburg and
Montgomery County are among the first municipalities in Virginia to offer the WebGIS
system on-line to all area residents, making public information easily accessible to all
citizens online for the first time ever.
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Waverly Evans and Steve Walker
Meet with Visitors
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At the "Zoom Into Your
World" event, local GIS professionals offered hourly demonstrations explaining GIS
and its innovative applications from 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. and residents were given the
opportunity to explore the WebGIS program firsthand on library computer terminals.
Attendees located properties, discovered their home values, and even evaluated how their
homes compared to others in the neighborhood. Local residents also mapped out new routes
to work, explored school zone boundaries, and discovered new places to fish, hunt and hike.
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Area teachers learn how to use GIS
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Additionally, educational workshops held
throughout the day, provided area K-12 educators insight on how to use GIS to teach
Geography inside the classroom. Teachers in attendance received free software and
educational tools. |
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What is GIS Day?
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Since 1987, the National
Geographic Society has sponsored Geography Awareness Week (November 11-17) to promote
geographic literacy in schools, communities, and organizations, with a focus on the
education of children. This year, more than 1,600 organizations hosted GIS Day events in
more than 81 different countries. Through the combined efforts of GIS Day 2000
participants, over 1.5 million children & adults were educated on Geography using GIS
technology. GIS Day is a grassroots event where
geographic information systems (GIS) users and vendors open their doors to schools,
businesses, and the general public to showcase real-world applications of this important
technology. The event is principally sponsored by the National Geographic Society, the
Association of American Geographers, University Consortium for Geographic Information
Science, the United States Geological Survey, The Library of Congress, and ESRI.
GIS Day 2001 will be held Wednesday, November 14 during
Geography Awareness Week. |
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