Illinois Geographic Alliance, LLC

04/01/2026

The Illinois Geographical Society (IGS) and Illinois Geographic Alliance, LLC (IGA) are pleased to offer a free, in-person workshop for educators on Saturday, April 25, 2026, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., at Illinois Valley Community College (CTC Building, Conference Center Room 125) in Ottawa, Illinois, that will introduce participants to National Geographic’s MapMaker, an easy-to-use, online website that can be used by students and teachers to create online maps for a variety of topics.

Register here by April 3.

https://forms.illinoisstate.edu/forms/iga_igs_april2026_mapmaker_workshop_registration

03/24/2026

Dr. Samantha Serrano, IGA member and teacher at James B. Conant High School, has written an excellent article about the use of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) in geography education. Geography educators at all levels will find her research very information and practical in today’s era of AI. We invite you to check out her Journal of Geography article which is freely available at:

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00221341.2026.2621014

In addition, we are excited to share that Samantha will be leading a summer IGA workshop on GenAI and geography education in June via Zoom. Look for more information about the workshop to be shared later this spring.

This conceptual article introduces a typology of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) errors relevant to social studies and geography education. Grounded in technoskepticism, it examines how ...

10/30/2025

We're only days away from our "Geography Education in the 21st Century" virtual conference, and we've got an exciting lineup of excellent presentations!

“Geographic Literacy: Teaching Spatial Relationships to Understand our Changing World”
Presenter: Seth Dixon, Geography Professor, Rhode Island College and Coordinator, Rhode Island Geography Education Alliance

“Enhancing Geographic Literacy with Globes”
Presenter: Judith K. Bock, Geography and GIS Education Consultant, More Than Maps

“Teaching with Place: Building Spatial Thinking through Digital Mapping”
Presenter: Wendy Dorman, PhD candidate in the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

“Beyond the Hype: Critical AI Literacy for Geography and Social Studies Educators”
Presenter: Samantha Serrano, Social Science Teacher at James B. Conant High School

It's not too late to join us!

Register now at the link below. forms.illinoisstate.edu/forms/2025_geography_education_conference_registration

10/23/2025

IGA is looking forward to our "2025 Geography Education in the 21st Century Virtual Conference" on the morning of Saturday, November 1.

We're putting together a great program of presenters, headlined by our keynote speaker Dr. Seth Dixon!

All geographers and geography teachers near and far are welcome to join us virtually.

Register today at https://forms.illinoisstate.edu/forms/2025_geography_education_conference_registration

03/28/2025

If anyone in the Bloomington-Normal area would like any NOAA nautical charts, stop by 216 Felmley Hall of Science at ISU anytime today or Monday and feel free to help yourself to these amazing examples of cartography! We have charts that cover much of the east and west coasts of the United States.

11/24/2024

Another successful Geography Education in the 21st Century virtual conference! Thank you to our presenters for the inspiring presentations, each of which highlighted the importance of Geography across the breadth of the discipline. Thanks to all who have made this annual event a great way to celebrate Geography. See you next year!

10/10/2024

The Illinois Geographic Alliance, LLC and the Department of Geography, Geology, and the Environment at Illinois State University are excited to announce the 2024 Geography Education in the 21st Century VIRTUAL Conference, a conference for geography educators via Zoom that focuses on methods, lessons, and resources for teaching geography.

What: Virtual conference for geography educators that includes a keynote and breakout sessions

When: Saturday, November 2, 2024, from 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

Where: Zoom (Link will be emailed to you a day or two prior to the conference.)

Who: This virtual conference is applicable for a wide range of geography educators, including pre-service and in-service elementary school teachers, middle school/junior high teachers, high school teachers, and community college/university instructors and professors.

Why: This conference is a fantastic opportunity for you to connect with geography educators from around the state. The conference includes a keynote and a variety of breakout sessions presented by experienced educators.

Cost: Registration is free! PD hours (CPDUs) are provided to in-service Illinois K-12 educators at no charge.

Registration: Please complete the online registration form available at https://forms.illinoisstate.edu/forms/2024_geography_education_conference_registration

Questions: Please contact the Illinois Geographic Alliance, LLC, at [email protected]

05/23/2024

IGA, LLC is pleased to announce THREE (3) summer workshops for educators! All three workshops are virtual and a stipend is available for successful completion of each workshop.

See below for workshop topics, dates, and registration links. Please register by June 15!

"Hand Fans: A Fascinating Object Representing Many World Cultures,"
Friday, June 21, 12:30 to 3:30 p.m., $50 stipend. Register online at https://forms.illinoisstate.edu/forms/iga_summer2024_workshop1_handfans

"Introduction to Survey123,"
Monday, June 24, 2024, 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., $100 stipend.
Register online at https://forms.illinoisstate.edu/forms/iga_summer2024_workshop2_storytellingwithmaps

"Introduction to National Geographic’s MapMaker,"
Tuesday, June 25, 2024, 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., $100 stipend. Register online at https://forms.illinoisstate.edu/forms/iga_summer2024_workshop3_ngmapmaker

11/06/2023

Another successful "Geography Education in the 21st Century" annual conference in the books! Thank you to our speakers for the very thought-provoking presentations, and to all attendees for their participation! It's great to see this annual event grow and expand each year!

11/01/2023

There is still time to register for the 2023 Geography Education in the 21st Century Virtual Conference scheduled for this Saturday, November 4th. Registration is free! PD hours (CPDUs) are provided to in-service Illinois K-12 educators at no charge.

Register online at the link below.

Illinois State University, the state's first public university

10/10/2023

Join other K-16 geography educators in exploring new and innovative ways to teach geography at our annual conference! 🌎🌍🌏

The Illinois Geographic Alliance, LLC (IGA) and the Department of Geography, Geology, and the Environment at Illinois State University are excited to announce the 2023 Geography Education in the 21st Century Virtual Conference, a conference for geography educators via Zoom that focuses on methods, lessons, and resources for teaching geography.

The keynote will be given by Dr. Max Lu, a professor in the Department of Geography and Geospatial Sciences at Kansas State University. Then, breakout sessions will be presented by experienced K-12 teachers and university professors. ArcGIS Online, StoryMaps, Artificial Intelligence (AI) chatbots, teaching students to ask their own questions, and free resources for teaching geography are just a few examples of topics that will be covered in the breakout sessions.

What: a virtual conference for geography educators that includes a keynote and breakout sessions

When: Saturday, November 4, 2023, from 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

Where: Zoom (Link will be emailed to you a day or two prior to the conference.)

Who: This virtual conference is applicable for a wide range of geography educators, including pre-service and in-service elementary school teachers, middle school/junior high teachers, high school teachers, and community college/university instructors and professors.

Why: This conference is a fantastic opportunity for you to connect with other geography educators. The conference includes a keynote and a variety of breakout sessions presented by experienced educators.

Cost: Registration is free! PD hours (CPDUs) are provided to in-service Illinois K-12 educators at no charge.

Registration: Please submit an online registration form to register for the conference. https://forms.illinoisstate.edu/forms/2023_geography_education_conference_registration

Questions: Please contact the Illinois Geographic Alliance, LLC, at [email protected].