The use of geotechnologies in secondary education: digital storytelling with mapseducation: digital storytelling with maps
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.3989/estgeogr.2025.1200Keywords:
story maps, secondary education, online maps, BIO-MAPS, thematic mapsAbstract
The main objective of this article is to present how research aimed at providing a general idea of the introduction and use of geotechnologies in secondary education was developed and illustrated with a specific example developed since the obtained theoretical results. These results were applied to two specific areas of knowledge (literature and history), conveying the accumulated experiences and formulating guidelines for their use by teachers with no previous experience in these activities. After the Introduction a definition of geotechnology is given, which is needed to understand how it can be used in secondary education. Next, a brief history of the use of geotechnologies in primary and secondary education is outlined, including some of the European experiences in this field starting from the 1990s. Authors highlighted the three results reached in the research: The first is the difference between the use of geoinformatics as an effective tool to complete the knowledge taught in the classroom and as study material to develop the competences determined by the national curriculum. The second result had a pragmatic character and described in more detail the creation of story maps on the life and work of European writers and poets, which were included in an online library developed in the BIO-MAPS project funded by the Erasmus+ programme. The third result consisted in the making of an auxiliary material on maps and their use in storytelling, conceived mainly for teachers with no previous experience in works related to cartography or geoinformatics (GIS). This is followed by a short analysis of the results achieved during the project and ideas for its continuation in the future.
Downloads
References
Arday, I., Buranszkiné Sallai, M., & Makádi, M. (2018). Földrajz 9. Eszterházy Károly Egyetem.
Audet, R. H., & Abegg, G. L. (1996). Geographic information systems: Implications for problem solving. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 33(1), 21-45. https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1098-2736(199601)33:1<21::AID-TEA2>3.0.CO;2-R
Barro de Sousa, I. (2013). Geotecnologias e recursos de multimídia no ensino de cartografia: Percepção socioambiental do Rio Alcântara no município de São Gonçalo/RJ [Tesis de maestrado, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro]. http://www.bdtd.uerj.br/handle/1/13336
Benimmas, A. (October 3-5, 2019). What do Story Maps tell us about Grade 9 students' geographic reasoning? In Proceedings of the II International Congress on Geographical Education: Powerful Geographical Education, Powerful Future, 230.
Bernhäuserová, V., Havelková, L., Hátlová, K., & Hanus, M. (2022). The limits of GIS implementation in education: A systematic review. ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information, 11(12), 592. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijgi11120592
Buzo-Sánchez, I. J. (2020). Elaboración de contenidos para el Atlas Didáctico del IGN para Secundaria y Bachillerato. Didáctica Geográfica, 21, 337-342. https://didacticageografica.age-geografia.es/ojs/index.php/didacticageografica/article/view/590
Buzo-Sánchez, I. J., Mínguez, C., & De Lázaro-Torres, M. L. (2023). The potential of the SMART learning framework to design and implement geospatial curricula in the secondary classroom. Journal of Geography, 122(1), 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1080/00221341.2023.2261108
Cambridge Dictionary. Geotechnology concept. https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/geotechnology
Caquard, S., & Dimitrovas, S. (2017). Story Maps & Co. The state of the art of online narrative cartography. Mappemonde, 121. https://doi.org/10.4000/mappemonde.3386
Collins English Dictionary. Geotechnology concept. https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/geotechnology
de Lázaro Torres, M. L., Buzo Sánchez, I., & de Miguel González, R. (2023). Cartoteca digital de biografías de literatos europeos. Boletín de la Real Sociedad Geográfica, CLXI, 159. https://www.boletinrsg.com/index.php/boletinrsg/article/view/211
de Melo Ferraz, C. A., de Freitas Q. Berberian, C., Dias Filho, N., Radicchi Teixeira Vieira, R., & de Albuquerque Nóbrega, R. A. (2015). The use of geotechnology as a new tool for external control. Revista do TCU, 47(133), 40-53. https://revista.tcu.gov.br/ojs/index.php/RTCU/article/download/1304/1406/2306
de Miguel González, R., Lázaro, M. L., Velilla, J., Buzo, I., & Guallart, C. (2016). Atlas Digital Escolar: aprender Geografía con ArcGIS Online. En R. Sebastiá Alcaraz & E. M. Tonda Monllor (Eds.), La investigación y la innovación en la enseñanza de la Geografía (pp. 925-936). Universidad de Alicante. https://doi.org/10.14198/GeoAlicante2015.68
de Miguel González, R., & Buzo Sánchez, I. (2020). De la cartografía tradicional a la cartografía digital: hacia un aprendizaje activo de la geografía. Íber: Didáctica de las ciencias sociales, geografía e historia, 98, 27-33.
Department of Education. (2013). Geography programmes of study: Key stage 3, National Curriculum in England. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/239087/SECONDARY_national_curriculum_-_Geography.pdf
Department of Education. (2014). Geography, GCSE subject content. https://assets.publishing.service.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/301253/GCSE_geography.pdf
Dékány, K. (2019). GIS in secondary education in Hungary - Experiences in lessons and in a study group. In R. de Miguel, K. Donert, & K. Koutsopoulos (Eds.), Geospatial technologies in geography education: Key challenges in geography (pp. 201-219). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-17783-6_12
Dékány, K. (2020). A geoinformatika szerepe a magyar alsó- és középfokú oktatásban [Tesis doctoral, Universidad Eötvös Loránd]. https://edit.elte.hu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/10831/46616/dekanykrisztina.pdf
Elliot, R. (2009). Using Google my maps for classroom projects. TESL-EJ, 12(4), 1-13. Retrieved from Education Research Complete database.
ESRI. (2022). Map and interact with your location data. ArcGIS Online. https://www.esri.com/en-us/arcgis/products/arcgis-online/overview
Fisotec. (2023). Geotechnologies and their role in the management of urban services. Fisotec website. https://fisotecsolutions.com/blog/
Jensen, T. P. (2012). Denmark: Early adoption and continued progress of GIS for education. In A. J. Milson, A. Demirci, & J. J. Kerski (Eds.), International perspectives on teaching and learning with GIS in secondary schools (pp. 73-82). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-2120-3_8
Kapuvári, B. (1998). Erdőkertesi ATOM-program: Térinformatika oktatása az általános iskolában.
Kusztor, A. F., Nagy, B., & Ütőné Visi, J. (2020). Földrajz 9. Oktatási Hivatal. https://www.nkp.hu/tankonyv/foldrajz_9_10_i_nat2020_b/
Ministry of Human Resources (MHR) of Hungary. (2003). 243/2003. (XII. 17.) Korm. rendelet a Nemzeti alaptanterv kiadásáról, bevezetéséről és alkalmazásáról, p. 101.
Ministry of Human Resources (MHR) of Hungary. (2020). 5/2020. (I. 31.) Korm. rendelet a Nemzeti alaptanterv kiadásáról, bevezetéséről és alkalmazásáról szóló 110/2012. (VI. 4.) Korm. rendelet módosításáról. Magyar Közlöny, nr. 17, 432.
Mota, M., & Painho, M. (March 23-26, 2009). GIS day activities and the ConTIG project using geographical information technologies in Middle and High School. In CSEDU 2009 Proceedings of the First International Conference on Computer Supported Education (pp. 241-246). https://www.cead.ufjf.br/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/media_biblioteca_csedu_09_1.pdf https://doi.org/10.5220/0001973602410246
Olivella, R., Boix, G., & Sitjar, J. (2011). The opportunity of free GIS in the development of educational projects. In V Jornadas SIG Libre (pp. 41-50). https://dugi-doc.udg.edu/bitstream/handle/10256/3412/p41.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
Owen, D. H. (2005). Primary children's collaborative cartography: Communication and mapping processes. https://www.academia.edu/2094561/Primary_Childrens_Collaborative_Cartography_Communication_and_Mapping_Processes
Reyes, J. J., & Kiss, J. (2018). Ideas y experiencias sobre el uso de servicios de mapas web en la educación. Boletim Paulista de Geografia, 99, 86-101. https://publicacoes.agb.org.br/boletim-paulista/article/view/1469
Reyes, J. J. (2023). The presence of geoinformatics in Hungarian secondary education. International Journal of Cartography, 9(3), 571-584. https://doi.org/10.1080/23729333.2023.2228008
Reyes, J. J., & Irás, K. (2023). Connecting literature and web maps: Hungarian writers and poets online. In K. Klonari, M. L. de Lázaro y Torres, & A. Kizos (Eds.), Re-visioning geography - Supporting the SDGs in the post-COVID era (pp. 93-110). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-40747-5_6
Strachan, C., & Mitchell, J. (2014). Teachers' perceptions of ESRI story maps as effective teaching tools. Review of International Geographical Education Online (RIGEO), 4(3), 195-220. https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article-file/591037
Tinker, R. F. (1992). Mapware: Educational applications of geographic information systems. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 1(1), 35-48. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00700242
Yuda, M., Itoh, S., & Johansson, T. (2009). Geographic Information Systems in Upper Secondary School Education in Japan and Finland: A Comparative Study. The Shin-Chiri, 57, 156-165. https://www.academia.edu/2038254/Geographic_information_systems_in_upper_secondary_school_education_in_Japan_and_Finland_a_comparative_study?auto=download
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
© CSIC. Manuscripts published in both the print and online versions of this journal are the property of the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, and quoting this source is a requirement for any partial or full reproduction.
All contents of this electronic edition, except where otherwise noted, are distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence. You may read the basic information and the legal text of the licence. The indication of the CC BY 4.0 licence must be expressly stated in this way when necessary.
Self-archiving in repositories, personal webpages or similar, of any version other than the final version of the work produced by the publisher, is not allowed.
Funding data
Erasmus+
Grant numbers 2020-1-ES01-KA201-082590






