Geographic Information Technologies: A path to rethink the teaching of social sciences and geography

Abstract

Geographic information technologies (GIT) offer a wide field of knowledge for the teaching of social sciences and geography. Although their application is especially relevant in areas as diverse as the environment and territorial planning, their usefulness today represents an opportunity for the understanding of the spatial dimension in the classroom and school research. The article presents the results of a research carried out in the Superior Normal School of Saboyá-Colombia, whose purpose was the analysis of different contents oriented to social sciences and the exploration of TIG tools for their teachability. Methodologically, the educational action research (IAE), as a mediating element of the pedagogical dimension and the proposed socio-spatial dimension. The results show that GIT enriches sensorially and visually the subjects under study, allowing the formulation of concrete spatial problems and the integration of interdisciplinary fields. The development of conceptual networks, field-observable generalizations and joint spatial reasoning with other subjects is indispensable for the appropriation of geography and social sciences in the classroom.