Free and Open Source Software for GIS Eduation

In this white paper, sponsored by GeoTech and written by Dr. Ming-Hsiang Tsou and Jennifer Smith from San Diego State's Department of Geophysics, the role of open source software in Geographic Information System (GIS) education is described. "Open source software is not well adopted in GIS education due to the lack of user-friendly guidance and the full integration of GIS learning resources. This paper will provide a basic introduction of some of the available free and open source software with easy-to-follow guidance for both GIS teachers and students. Hopefully, more GIS educators will adopt open source GIS software in their courses to provide a comprehensive range of instructional tools and resources." This resource would be helpful for educators at the high school, community college, or university level interested in integrating open source GIS software in to their curriculum.