Summary

Geospatial concepts and mapping have become an integral part of our daily lives. From finding directions using navigation apps to tracking weather patterns and predicting natural disasters, geospatial technology has a wide range of applications.

In this chapter, we have provided an introduction to mapping and geospatial concepts for high school teachers, with a focus on understanding geodata, GIS, and open source geotools. We discussed the fundamentals of data processing, and also explored geospatial data and geographic information systems, which allow us to analyze and visualize spatial data. Finally, we discussed the benefits of the open source philosophy, which promotes the use of open source software, open data, and open mapping platforms. We have also brought an overview of the most popular open source geotools.

Everything mentioned can be widely applied in the high school educational process as well and help students to better understand and analyze the world around them. It is therefore essential that educators have the necessary knowledge and skills to incorporate these concepts into their teaching, and to prepare their students for the challenges of the 21st century.

We hope that this chapter has provided a useful foundation for high school teachers to explore mapping and geospatial concepts further, and that it will inspire them to incorporate these concepts into their teaching and will help their students develop the necessary skills to navigate and understand our complex world, and so will empower the next generation of geospatial professionals.