As a geospatial intelligence and technology company, Spatial Networks is dedicated to advancing geographic literacy in education. This commitment aims to enhance students’ understanding of our rapidly changing world.
According to the 2014 National Assessment of Educational Progress, only 24% of U.S. eighth graders are proficient in geography. (Another assessment is expected to wrap up in March ― let’s hope the results are better!)
That’s why we are proud partners of the American Geographic Society, an organization whose goal is to “enhance the national’s geographic literacy so as to engender sound public policy, national security, and human well-being worldwide.”
Fulcrum in use at higher education
We are also proud of the fact that hundreds of schools and universities are using Fulcrum in the classroom. Here are just a few examples:
At Fordham University, students used Fulcrum while walking El Camino de Santiago in Spain. They additionally used Fulcrum to map Spanish-language graffiti in New York City. A sociology class employed it to gather field notes comparing malls, cafes, subway stations, and libraries. This semester, two theology classes plan to map sacred spaces across New York City with the same tool.
Loma Linda University uses Fulcrum for its international missionary programs. In rural Chad, they collected data on water wells to understand water quality and related sanitation practices. This effort also connected water quality to issues like water treatment and waterborne diseases in the region. Similarly, in Haiti and Belize, university electrical engineers gathered data on hospital electrical equipment. They used photos and GPS locations to create an inventory and improve electricity delivery in resource-limited hospitals.
At Virginia Tech, Fulcrum is used in an Outdoor Recreation Planning course to teach students about planning tools. The course covers how to plan, monitor, and evaluate both social and ecological conditions effectively. Additionally, students are encouraged to use these applications for crowdsourcing data in planning and monitoring efforts.
Fulcrum is also being used in two capstone projects for students of the Master of Supply Chain Management-Blended program at MIT, in collaboration with undergraduate students of Monterrey Tech in Mexico.
Why is this such a big deal to us?
“We have four core tenets at Spatial Networks that influence the way we think and how we conduct ourselves,” said Founder and CEO Tony Quartararo. “One of those is referred to as ‘Fulfillment.’ It says, ‘We maintain a conviction that each day we will add meaningful value to the company, community, the industry and science, and most of all, to ourselves.’
“And so in keeping with this core principle, we devote time and energy to advancing geographic education wherever and however we can. Providing Fulcrum to educators and students working on real-world problems or applied science challenges is not only exceedingly rewarding, but as leaders in the industry, we believe it is our responsibility to provide resources for the future generation of leaders.”
Interesting in seeing Fulcrum in action for yourself? Sign up for your free custom demo today!