GIS Specialists’ Support for Geography Education - Geography Education in Japan - page 158

MANDARA 8 Tani et al. ( 2002 ) revised this free software for junior high school
student use, from the original that was aimed at university students. MANDARA
can display topographic maps, town maps, and aerial photos, and support color clas-
sifi cation of statistical maps with Excel data. Tani et al. ( 2002 ) added a “Start Menu”
and a form for students to input property data.
Chizutaro 9 This software has been revised to accommodate minor requests from
primary and junior high school teachers in Fujisawa City ( 2007 ). The original
Chizutaro was a desktop GIS software for local government use. It displays topo-
graphic maps and town maps, has an edit function for data and photos, plus a color
classifi cation option for statistical maps. Its cost is attractive for school implementa-
tion, only 3,500 yen (approximately 35.00 USD).
Google Earth 10 This is a free digital globe software that can display large-scale
maps, satellite and aerial photos, and has an edit feature.
Picasa 11 This is a free photo software that displays photos in Google Maps.
Kashmir 3D 12 This is a free GIS software that displays topographic maps.
Quantum GIS (QGIS) 13 This is an open-source GIS that can display topographic
maps, town maps, satellite and aerial photos, and allows editing of GIS data and
color classifi cation of statistical maps.
ArcGIS Desktop 14 This is an international commercial GIS software. Schools in
Japan have a 2-year license with free support for primary, junior, and senior high
school education. Since ArcGIS is a specialized and complex system, trained per-
sonnel are needed to manage and install it on computers. It has the same functions
as QGIS.
Textbook Publishers School textbook publishers provide software that displays
maps from atlases and supports color classifi cation of statistical maps, such as “Hi
Map Mister 15 ” and “Green Map”. 16 Diercke ( 2010 ) is a world atlas written in
English, published in Germany. A license key is provided in the textbook to access
the digital globe software “Diercke Globe”. 17
8 http://ktgis.net/mandara/index.php . Accessed 31 July 2012. (J)
9 http://www.tcgmap.jp/product/chizutaro/ . Accessed 31 July 2012. (J)
10 http://www.google.com/intl/en/earth/index.html . Accessed 31 July 2012.
11 http://picasa.google.com/intl/en/ . Accessed 31 July 2012.
12 http://www.kashmir3d.com/ . Accessed 31 July 2012. (J)
13 http://qgis.org/ . Accessed 31 July 2012.
14 http://www.esri.com/software/arcgis/arcgis-for-desktop . Accessed 31 July 2012.
15 http://www.teikokushoin.co.jp/products/pc_soft/index01.html . Accessed 31 July 2012. (J)
16 http://www.tcgmap.jp/product/greenmap_world/ . Accessed 31 July 2012. (J)
17 http://www.diercke.com/dierckeglobe_download.xtp . Accessed 31 July 2012.