The Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s (MIT) Online Science, Technology, and Engineering Community (MOSTEC) is a free, six-month program for rising high school seniors from across the United States to get hands-on experience in science and engineering. And thanks to one former participant who is now an instructor, current MOSTEC students have the opportunity to learn GIS with a social justice slant.
“Whether or not they’re going [to work in] tech [or] business or [at] a local community organization, I think this education is needed,” said Nick Okafor, the creator of MOSTEC’s Mapping Justice: Designing Geospatial Tools for Social Change course. “I want them to be mindful of the implicit biases that are present and the role we can play in making an impact.”
Students do projects on topics that range from transportation inequities and climate change to gentrification and the digital divide.
Students in MOSTEC take a variety of courses that equip them with skills and contacts in science, technology, and engineering. They generally do not have experience using GIS, according to Okafor. But within the six weeks that they’re in his course, students learn to employ ArcGIS Online, ArcGIS StoryMaps, ArcGIS Dashboards, and other ArcGIS products to build interactive maps and apps that address topics they’re interested in.
The students in MOSTEC today have grown up in a world that’s saturated with technology, data, and analysis. Now, they are using this almost innate knowledge to shape their own narratives for how to effect change.
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