Detailed Agenda

AI is rapidly transforming GIS workflows, enabling intuitive, conversational interactions with spatial data. This exciting shift is transformational and empowers GIS users to use natural language to solve problems intuitively. AI assistants (Beta) are designed to query knowledge graphs, create query layers, perform GIS tasks, generate ArcPy code snippets, and streamline help access within ArcGIS Pro. Integrating these tools into hands-on course exercises is essential to prepare students for emerging technologies. This presentation shares experiences using AI Assistants (Beta) in a GIS course.

We present a STEM-level GIS refresh that centers inclusivity: keeping core methods constant while redirecting cases, datasets, and prompts toward underrepresented places and topics (Tribal lands, small and mid-sized cities, rural areas, public-health and infrastructure gaps). A two-semester pre/post study (surveys, project audits, artifact evaluation) shows broader topic selection, better open-data sourcing, and clearer policy links. Results show clearer links between spatial analysis and policy. We share a curriculum map, outcomes rubrics, and recommendations for adoption.

Intro to GIS for Real Estate Professionals redesigns traditional GIS curriculum to engage business-focused students. Through professional simulations—analyzing investment sites, evaluating demographics and zoning, and building client-facing web applications—students develop GIS skills within relevant business contexts. This applied approach successfully reaches non-Geography majors who traditionally avoid spatial courses, expanding GIS literacy beyond conventional audiences, increasing Geography program enrollment, and demonstrating spatial analysis as vital across diverse career paths.