Karl Donert
University of Salzburg, Z-GIS, Department Member
- European Union Citizenship, Geography, Education, Higher Education, Educational Leadership, Geoinformatics, and 10 moreVLE, European education, Educational Technology, Geographical education, Spatial citizenship, Geoinformation, Training Geography teachers, Networking geography, MOODLE, and Theories Re-spatializing Citizenshipedit
- Karl Donert is a senior academic with extensive experience in educational development in higher education and in a te... moreKarl Donert is a senior academic with extensive experience in educational development in higher education and in a teaching-led, research-informed context. He is a geographer who is an an expert in learning and teaching with particular specialisation in academic networking and developing research and development partnerships, the effective pedagogies in higher education as well as in the use of new technologies including uses of elearning.
He has a national and international profile in his specialist areas and has a strong track record in leading major international and university activities. Karl is recognised as an outstanding teacher, a national leader in learning and teaching, as demonstrated by his National Teaching Fellowship. He has initiated and led significant professional networks and communities of practice including the large international higher education network that he coordinates (HERODOT http://www.herodot.net). He is researching professional development through international networks and networking in higher education.
Recent research interests are based around the uses of GeoInformation in education, as he is the external evaluator to the iGuess (GeoInformation in several subjects - www.iguess.eu) and ALAC (Active Learning, Active Citizenship - http://extra.shu.ac.uk/alac/) Projects. Particular developments he is involved in include developing 'spatial citizenship' as an educational construct for all.
Karl is President of EUROGEO (www.eurogeography.eu) the European Association of Geographers. This organisation was established in 1979 in collaboration with the European Commission. Since 1987 it has had participatory status in the Council of Europe. EUROGEO is the maker of the Geocube (www.geo-cube.eu) a tool to promote what Geography is and geographers do.edit
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Research Interests: Teacher Education, Multi- & Bilingualism & Biliteracy, English language, Bilingual Education, LSP, and 14 moreTranslation, Teacher Development, CLIL, Geography Education, Bilingualism, Geography Teacher Education, ELT, Teacher education for CLIL, Management in Education, Continuous professional development, Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL), Methodic of Teaching Geogaphy, Plurilingual Education, and Pedagogy and Learning
Opportunities for developing innovative approaches in teaching and learning geography have been increasing very rapidly in recent years. This is in part because of the spread of new technologies that allow access to geographic information... more
Opportunities for developing innovative approaches in teaching and learning geography have been increasing very rapidly in recent years. This is in part because of the spread of new technologies that allow access to geographic information and geographic geo-media resources. Technological applications and user tools are readily available and this book examines aspects of their use in the classroom. These new tools that offer broad access to information and open data sources have revolutionised the way in which teachers of geography—in higher education, but also in primary and secondary education—can do their work with pupils and students. Education for Digital Earth, as conceived by Al Gore 20 years ago is now possible. The exclusive use of traditional approaches to the teaching of geography is no longer reasonable today.
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A collection of papers on the theme "Spatial Citizenship"
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"A collection of 19 chapters examining different aspects of the use of geoinformation and GIS in European education, includes examples of good practice and developments in schools, and higher education. This is published by the IGU,... more
"A collection of 19 chapters examining different aspects of the use of geoinformation and GIS in European education, includes examples of good practice and developments in schools, and higher education. This is published by the IGU, through the Home of Geography in Rome
Hard copy available for order from http://www.eurogeography.eu"
Hard copy available for order from http://www.eurogeography.eu"
Research Interests: Geography, Remote Sensing, Teacher Education, Science Education, ICT in Education, and 14 moreEnvironmental modeling, Evaluation, Geographical education, Environmental Monitoring, Geoinformation, ICT in Teachers Education, Learning, Digital mapping, methodology of teaching EFL, Teaching Activities, Geodesy and Global Positioning System (GPS) and Their Applications In Earth Sciences, Teaching Innovation Project, European Higher Education Area (EHEA), and Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
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Effective teaching about many of the geographical issues now confronting Earth and humanity requires collective approaches and shared solutions. It follows, therefore, that there is a need to better understand the basis of and process for... more
Effective teaching about many of the geographical issues now confronting Earth and humanity requires collective approaches and shared solutions. It follows, therefore, that there is a need to better understand the basis of and process for sustaining successful international collaboration among geography educators. This paper first examines some of the underpinnings to, and characteristics of, successful network building. Then, in order to explore more fully the nature of international collaboration and to understand better the basis of its varied conceptualizations, a case study approach to a series of examples of geographical networks and communities is used to illustrate how and why successful collaboration between geography educators can occur. A discussion of how the greatest challenges to international collaboration are related to
communication illustrates how some common limitations and barriers can be broken down.
communication illustrates how some common limitations and barriers can be broken down.
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During the last few years, ongoing developments in the technological field of Cloud computing have initiated discourse on the potential of the Cloud to be systematically exploited in educational contexts. Research interest has been... more
During the last few years, ongoing developments in the technological field of Cloud computing have initiated discourse
on the potential of the Cloud to be systematically exploited in educational contexts. Research interest has been stimulated
by a range of advantages of Cloud technologies (e.g. adaptability, flexibility, scalability, accessibility, cost effectiveness).
For these reasons, there have already been efforts concerned with the educational uptake of the Cloud at different scale
levels (mainly at the institutional and regional level). Apart from that, there are also larger-scale initiatives taking the
form of research projects (e.g. the Rural School Cloud project). Nevertheless, most practices have been mainly shaped by
the application of economic policies rather than systematic research. In this emerging situation, the aim of this paper is to
present the activities of a European network, which has been set up to research how education should adapt and respond
to advancements in Cloud computing. The innovative character of the network is that it attempts a holistic approach to
the investigation of the effects of Cloud technologies on formal education by targeting at all involved stakeholders, and
contexts of use, at all educational levels. By analytically presenting the adopted methodology and network members’
vision for Cloud-based, student-centered learning and teaching, our aim is to provide a detailed account of the network’s
research activities.
on the potential of the Cloud to be systematically exploited in educational contexts. Research interest has been stimulated
by a range of advantages of Cloud technologies (e.g. adaptability, flexibility, scalability, accessibility, cost effectiveness).
For these reasons, there have already been efforts concerned with the educational uptake of the Cloud at different scale
levels (mainly at the institutional and regional level). Apart from that, there are also larger-scale initiatives taking the
form of research projects (e.g. the Rural School Cloud project). Nevertheless, most practices have been mainly shaped by
the application of economic policies rather than systematic research. In this emerging situation, the aim of this paper is to
present the activities of a European network, which has been set up to research how education should adapt and respond
to advancements in Cloud computing. The innovative character of the network is that it attempts a holistic approach to
the investigation of the effects of Cloud technologies on formal education by targeting at all involved stakeholders, and
contexts of use, at all educational levels. By analytically presenting the adopted methodology and network members’
vision for Cloud-based, student-centered learning and teaching, our aim is to provide a detailed account of the network’s
research activities.
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The uses of GIS at secondary school level have been mainly thought of as a support tool to encourage spatial thinking. While this approach definitely has its benefits in arguing for awider set of competences acquired by GI-based learning,... more
The uses of GIS at secondary school level have been mainly thought of as a support tool to encourage spatial thinking. While this approach definitely has its benefits in arguing for awider set of competences acquired by GI-based learning, it has frequently been linked to technical interests and instrumental knowledge as described by HABERMAS (1968). The use of Geoinformation does not appear to serve an emancipatory interest in learning.The concept of spatial citizenship tries to address these shortcomings. Conceptually, it originates from the individual and collective appropriation of social space and supports learners to acquire competences that will enable them to more actively participate in society. Spatial citizenship adds a spatial domain to citizenship education through a mixture of absolute, cognitive and relational concepts of space.In addition to the fields of competences mentioned in the National Research Council report(2006) on spatial thinking, spatial citizenship implies that further competences are required.These may be termed competences to a) deconstruct the spatial information available from various sources, b) further ones own visions of social space by c) being able to translate and communicate them with the help of GI. Recent technological developments actively promote these geo-communication skills, while also posing new questions pertaining to the interests involved in the production and dissemination of voluntary geographic information.This contribution explores the starting points for spatial citizenship education and discusses aims and fields of competences for active spatial citizenship.
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Cloud computing is one of the hottest technological trends in education. According to MICROSOFT (2012), “With Cloud computing in education, you get powerful software and massive computing resources where and when you need them. […] Cloud... more
Cloud computing is one of the hottest technological trends in education. According to MICROSOFT (2012), “With Cloud computing in education, you get powerful software and massive computing resources where and when you need them. […] Cloud services can be used to combine on-demand computing and storage, familiar experience with on-demand scalability and online services for anywhere, anytime access to powerful web-based tools.”. This paper discusses the potentials that the cloud delivers for education, and introduces the “School on the Cloud” project.
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Statistical literacy is gaining increasing importance in everyday life. Almost every economic and scientific activity in the modern world relies on statistical information in one way or another. Students are now living in a society that... more
Statistical literacy is gaining increasing importance in everyday life. Almost every economic and scientific activity in the modern world relies on statistical information in one way or another. Students are now living in a society that demands evidence-based arguments and decisions. There are a number of challenges facing education in the use of statistics and data: i) the volumes of information available, ii) the slow response of education and curricula to change, iii) the need for innovative teaching and learning approaches, and iv) the absence of significant research in European statistical education. The I-Use consortium investigated the use of statistics in the geography curricula of the participating countries. Statistics appear mostly in the curricula of mathematics (where it is a separate item) and in geography, although the statistics as a source for real investigation is mostly denied. To help implementing statistics in education, I-Use will create an in-service teacher training course that will deal with how to make sense of information through different presentation forms and media.
Research Interests: Statistics and Education
A review of postgradate Geography programmes in the UK from the Piri Reis Project
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"European school education has so far, by and large, ignored geospatial developments like remote sensing, despite the fact that geo-technology has already become a significant employer. There are small pockets of intense activity, the... more
"European school education has so far, by and large, ignored geospatial developments like remote sensing, despite the fact that geo-technology has already become a significant employer. There are small pockets of intense activity, the challenge is to scale these developments up. This article reports on networking initiatives developed by the digital-earth.eu project to connect organisations involved in geospatial education like remote sensing, to share practice, provide advice and guidance on the use of geographic information to others and be a place for new initiatives.
The digital-earth.eu network project raises awareness of the role of digital earth education, informing politicians of the significance of digital earth tools and technologies. digital-earth.eu also establishes a teacher support network infrastructure which incorporates geo-services for teachers such as the use of ArcGIS Online for Organisations and the European Environment Agency EyeonEarth platform.
The project has made recommendation concerning the growing shortage of a geospatial workforce in Europe, the significance of open data and the usability of EU INSPIRE Directive. It suggests that Digital Earth education and training developments are urgently needed as part of the European Qualifications Framework. European policy makers have to be made much more aware of geospatial concepts and then actively encouraged by stakeholders to respond to them in policy terms through developing a “Digital Earth education for all”."
The digital-earth.eu network project raises awareness of the role of digital earth education, informing politicians of the significance of digital earth tools and technologies. digital-earth.eu also establishes a teacher support network infrastructure which incorporates geo-services for teachers such as the use of ArcGIS Online for Organisations and the European Environment Agency EyeonEarth platform.
The project has made recommendation concerning the growing shortage of a geospatial workforce in Europe, the significance of open data and the usability of EU INSPIRE Directive. It suggests that Digital Earth education and training developments are urgently needed as part of the European Qualifications Framework. European policy makers have to be made much more aware of geospatial concepts and then actively encouraged by stakeholders to respond to them in policy terms through developing a “Digital Earth education for all”."
Communication and information exchange is increasingly web2.0 mediated, networked and complex. The use and integration of a spatial reference to information, i.e. geomedia, has been gaining importance. As a consequence, these changes and... more
Communication and information exchange is increasingly web2.0 mediated, networked and complex. The use and integration of a spatial reference to information, i.e. geomedia, has been gaining importance. As a consequence, these changes and the potential of spatial representations to contextualize learning content account for an increasing relevance of geomedia in education. Based on these devlopments a concept of Spatially Enabled Learning makes use of web-based mapping to support interaction and communication in educational contexts via social geocommunication. It links social media with individual spatial representations. The purpose is to make learners capable to be ‘produsers’ (producer-users) of information with a spatial reference. This is supposed to be helpful in education and everyday life with regard to spatial citizenship, i.e. reflective and participatory practice. The idea of spatially enabled learning focuses on the vision to enhance both learning and teaching
processes, as well as to contribute to a more global understanding through linking learning processes with spatial representations.
This contribution discusses two main topics: a) the role of space and spatial representations in everyday life and in learning processes, and b) conceptual tools needed for that. The concept of social geocommunication mirrors the shift from stand-alone web mapping applications to collaborative web mapping applications and finally towards social web mapping
applications. In this context there is a variety of recent tools that already cover the prerequisites of spatially enabled learning. This paper provides a rudimentary conceptual framework
to integrate existing tools and learning.
processes, as well as to contribute to a more global understanding through linking learning processes with spatial representations.
This contribution discusses two main topics: a) the role of space and spatial representations in everyday life and in learning processes, and b) conceptual tools needed for that. The concept of social geocommunication mirrors the shift from stand-alone web mapping applications to collaborative web mapping applications and finally towards social web mapping
applications. In this context there is a variety of recent tools that already cover the prerequisites of spatially enabled learning. This paper provides a rudimentary conceptual framework
to integrate existing tools and learning.
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This paper is concerned with the role of international collaboration in the learning and teaching of geography in higher education. The dual aims are to provide a brief and selective review of the nature and range of international... more
This paper is concerned with the role of international collaboration in the learning and teaching of geography in higher education. The dual aims are to provide a brief and selective review of the nature and range of international collaboration and to contextualize such observations within the internationalization project. It is argued that despite the growing interest and literature concerned with the internationalization of higher education, discipline-specific illustrations of pedagogy and practice require further attention. Several forms of ...
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... Three-dimensional, virtual reality views of Internet traffic flows were provided by Lamm and Reid (1996). Visualisation has also taken the form of the routes that information takes through the Internet, using specific software to map... more
... Three-dimensional, virtual reality views of Internet traffic flows were provided by Lamm and Reid (1996). Visualisation has also taken the form of the routes that information takes through the Internet, using specific software to map all the hops taken along the way. ...
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Geographic Information Science (GIScience) is an interdisciplinary field that seeks to understand the nature of geographic phenomena and of geographic information. It provides theoretical foundations for Geographic Information Systems... more
Geographic Information Science (GIScience) is an interdisciplinary field that seeks to understand the nature of
geographic phenomena and of geographic information. It provides theoretical foundations for Geographic
Information Systems (GIS) and the rational for research and development of GIS in mainstream ICT. Building on
Masters level education we argue that more coordinated and structured education and training is required at the
doctoral level. We developed a formalized doctoral education and research training programme in GIScience at the
University of Salzburg, by integrating students in three focused, interconnected, interdisciplinary research clusters.
We illustrate how this programme seeks to acknowledge spatial principles, to explore scientific and educational uses
of geographic information in order to elucidate the complex relationships that individuals and society have with GIS.
It provides a framework for ‘education through research’ programme.
geographic phenomena and of geographic information. It provides theoretical foundations for Geographic
Information Systems (GIS) and the rational for research and development of GIS in mainstream ICT. Building on
Masters level education we argue that more coordinated and structured education and training is required at the
doctoral level. We developed a formalized doctoral education and research training programme in GIScience at the
University of Salzburg, by integrating students in three focused, interconnected, interdisciplinary research clusters.
We illustrate how this programme seeks to acknowledge spatial principles, to explore scientific and educational uses
of geographic information in order to elucidate the complex relationships that individuals and society have with GIS.
It provides a framework for ‘education through research’ programme.
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Effective teaching about many of the geographical issues now confronting Earth and humanity requires collective approaches and shared solutions. It follows, therefore, that there is a need to better understand the basis of and process for... more
Effective teaching about many of the geographical issues now confronting Earth and humanity requires collective approaches and shared solutions. It follows, therefore, that there is a need to better understand the basis of and process for sustaining successful international collaboration among geography educators. This paper first examines some of the underpinnings to, and characteristics of, successful network building. Then, in order to explore more fully the nature of international collaboration and to understand better the basis of its varied conceptualizations, a case study approach to a series of examples of geographical networks and communities is used to
illustrate how and why successful collaboration between geography educators can occur.
A discussion of how the greatest challenges to international collaboration are related to
communication illustrates how some common limitations and barriers can be broken down.
illustrate how and why successful collaboration between geography educators can occur.
A discussion of how the greatest challenges to international collaboration are related to
communication illustrates how some common limitations and barriers can be broken down.
Research Interests:
The uses of GIS at secondary school level have been mainly thought of as a support tool to encourage spatial thinking. While this approach definitely has its benefits in arguing for a wider set of competences acquired by GI-based... more
The uses of GIS at secondary school level have been mainly thought of as a support tool to encourage spatial thinking. While this approach definitely has its benefits in arguing for a wider set of competences acquired by GI-based learning, it has frequently been linked to technical interests and instrumental knowledge as described by Habermas (1968). The use of Geoinformation does not appear to serve an emancipatory interest in learning.
The concept of spatial citizenship tries to address these shortcomings. Conceptually, it originates from the individual and collective appropriation of social space and supports learners to acquire competences that will enable them to more actively participate in society. Spatial citizenship adds a spatial domain to citizenship education through a mixture of absolute, cognitive and relational concepts of space.
In addition to the fields of competences mentioned in the National Research Council report (2006) on spatial thinking, spatial citizenship implies that further competences are required. These may be termed competences to a) deconstruct the spatial information available from various sources, b) further ones own visions of social space by c) being able to translate and communicate them with the help of GI. Recent technological developments actively promote these geo-communication skills, while also posing new questions pertaining to the interests involved in the production and dissemination of voluntary geographic information. This contribution explores the starting points for spatial citizenship education and discusses aims and fields of competences for active spatial citizenship.
The concept of spatial citizenship tries to address these shortcomings. Conceptually, it originates from the individual and collective appropriation of social space and supports learners to acquire competences that will enable them to more actively participate in society. Spatial citizenship adds a spatial domain to citizenship education through a mixture of absolute, cognitive and relational concepts of space.
In addition to the fields of competences mentioned in the National Research Council report (2006) on spatial thinking, spatial citizenship implies that further competences are required. These may be termed competences to a) deconstruct the spatial information available from various sources, b) further ones own visions of social space by c) being able to translate and communicate them with the help of GI. Recent technological developments actively promote these geo-communication skills, while also posing new questions pertaining to the interests involved in the production and dissemination of voluntary geographic information. This contribution explores the starting points for spatial citizenship education and discusses aims and fields of competences for active spatial citizenship.
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Donert K (2009), Geo-cube: an international toolkit promoting Geography for all, 69-75,in Ida Y, Ike, S, Ohnishi Y and Shimura T, The New Geography: The Shin-Chiri, 57, The International Geographic Union with the Geographic Education... more
Donert K (2009), Geo-cube: an international toolkit promoting Geography for all, 69-75,in Ida Y, Ike, S, Ohnishi Y and Shimura T, The New Geography: The Shin-Chiri, 57, The International Geographic Union with the Geographic Education Society of Japan, Tsukuba, Japan
A paper published at the International Geographic Union congress in Japan
A paper published at the International Geographic Union congress in Japan
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Donert K (2010), Online Learning Issues for Active Citizenship, p67-92, in McManus M and Taylor G CSAP Monograph No.10, Active Learning and Active Citizenship: Theoretical Contexts, Birmingham Higher Education Academy Subject Network for... more
Donert K (2010), Online Learning Issues for Active Citizenship, p67-92, in McManus M and Taylor G CSAP Monograph No.10, Active Learning and Active Citizenship: Theoretical Contexts, Birmingham Higher Education Academy Subject Network for Sociology, Anthropology, Politics.
A chapter in this collection based on the Active Learning, Active Citizenship Project (http://extra.shu.ac.uk/alac/)
A chapter in this collection based on the Active Learning, Active Citizenship Project (http://extra.shu.ac.uk/alac/)
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Donert K (2009), Benchmarking GIS: a charter for European Education, in Jekel T, Koller A and Donert K (eds.) (2009), Learning with GeoInformation IV, Berlin, Wichman Verlag
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Donert K (2008), Examining the relationship between Citizenship and Geography Education, 73-92, in Lambrinos N and Reliou M (Eds.), European Geography Education: the challenges of a new era, Arlington, W Virginia, National Council for... more
Donert K (2008), Examining the relationship between Citizenship and Geography Education, 73-92, in Lambrinos N and Reliou M (Eds.), European Geography Education: the challenges of a new era, Arlington, W Virginia, National Council for Geographic Education
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Donert K (2008), Spatial learning for the young European citizen: a Geography toolkit, 105-113 In S Philippou, Exploring Europe and Ourselves: Geographies and Identities at Work, Cyprus, United Nations Development Programme
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A talk on the importance of Geography as an educational discipline and particularly its links to European citizenship