GIS in the Malaysian geography education: Challenges and potentials

Although ICT has been integrated into Malaysia’s secondary school curricula its dissemination, however, is uneven. School Geography, in particular, is still a subject deep in rote learning of facts and figures largely unaided by ICT. The integration of such technologies as the Geography Information System (GIS) into the subject matter is still being debated as to its suitability, effectiveness and implementability. This paper presents the findings of a study which uses content analysis to evaluate the feasibility of incorporating the GIS into the teaching and learning of Malaysian school geography. The SWOT analysis conducted shows up six points of strengths and six points of opportunities pointing in the positive to the feasibility. The strength factors are adequate computer facilities, increasing number computers in schools, high computer literacy among teachers, high computer literacy among pupils, readiness of schools to adopt new Teaching and Learning technologies, and VSAT access. The opportunity pointers are administrative and GIS vendor support, free GIS-base webs, available census data, tutorial help through the internet / web, financial support from Parent-Teachers Associations, and training and service supports from university geography faculties. Given this relative preponderance of both strengths and opportunities, it is time that Malaysian schools saw the incorporation of the GIS technologies into its geography subjects.