OSi has a long tradition in education in Ireland. Everybody remembers poring over those green Discovery maps in geography class during secondary school, identifying different topographical features on the landscape.
Times may have changed, but OSi mapping has become even richer in features and detail, opening up a new world of discovery and analysis for students. That new world is online and with the aid of Geographical Information Systems, students are no longer spending as much time looking at paper maps as they do at computer screens.
OSi continue to support the academic community in their adoption of new technologies such as GIS, as OSi believe that spatial awareness among scholars and students helps deliver a greater understanding of the world around us and this is no more important than it is in the world of education.
Teachers/lecturers can use spatial data to present and explain complex subjects that would otherwise be difficult to illustrate. If a picture paints a thousand words, a map could write a book! Students can visualise concepts more readily with the aid of a GIS, testing old theories while perhaps creating new ones.
The study of mapping concepts and GIS prepares today’s students for tomorrow’s workplace, be that in business, engineering, science or government. Once used only in the realm of the Geography faculty, GIS is now been adopted campus-wide on universities and institutes of technology across the country.
Spatial is no longer special as most students now have a GPS enabled smartphone in their pockets. They just need to be aware of how they can harness such technology in their studies and future work life, thereby making GIS an invaluable tool in study, research, data analysis and concept modelling. OSi continues to strive to make GIS commonplace in learning environments throughout Ireland so that our future graduates can be amongst the world’s finest in their chosen area of study.