Beth Wilkerson and Carol Smith share their recipe for promoting the use of GIS and spatial technologies at DePauw University. Starting with a concept and grant support, DePauw has successfully developed a GIS program that supports academic and administrative programs. This project is the first recipient of the Sustainable Program Award, given by the National Institute for Technology in Liberal Education (NITLE) in recognition of projects that successfully transition into sustainable programs. Congratulations!

Spatial literacy is an important ingredient of a holistic education; however, ways of instilling spatial thinking into the curriculum through effective technologies remain unclear. GIS would seem to be a successful tool for increasing spatial literacy in our students, and Newcomb agrees. It can also be argued that another effective tool for nurturing spatial awareness is the use of tablet PCs combined with GIS software.