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This study integrates volunteered geographic information (VGI) into GIS and contextual analyses, and develops a framework to evaluate students' understanding of "locations and places in order to set national and international events within a geographical framework and to understand basic spatial relationships" as proposed by the Commission on Geographical Education (CGE). A web-based VGI was developed to allow students to share events taking place in the locations and places around the world. Three approaches are conducted to analyze all VGI records. First, GIS analysis shows the spatial pattern of VGI records and revealed students' mind map. Second, contextual analyses show students' preferences in certain geographic issues. Third, tag-cloud technology reflects students' spatial literacy based on the frequency of spatial-related terms. The results conclude that this study brings to the reader the exciting possibility of VGI and tag-cloud technology in allowing educators to evaluate students' spatial understanding and, ultimately, contributes to the future development of geography education.

1Boy Crusoe

By Allan Eric

Also published as" A Yankee Crusoe" . A 15 year old hard working and studious farm boy finds the lure of adventure on the seas as a merchant seaman more than he can resist. This is his story. " I was born in a little town in the State of Maine, near the close of the Civil War. My boyhood life did not differ materially from that of the average farmer's son in the remote country districts of New England--except, perhaps, that I read more and thought more. Hard work on the rugged soil, two terms each year in the little yellow country schoolhouse, a day's fishing now and then filled the early years of my life full to over-flowing. " What he gets is enough excitement and adventure to overflow his wildest dreams. How he experiences disaster and uses his wits and knowledge to overcome every problem makes for a great read. - Summary by Phil Chenevert