Kudos to ESRI on their pledge to provide a free ArcGIS Online account to all of the nation's 115,000 public schools. This will have a profound effect not only on the ability of American students to map information, but also on their capacity to transform the world around them.

GIS will allow students to address problems that matter to them and to tackle situations that exist in their own neighborhoods. It will also enable teachers to geo-locate the knowledge that they convey in class, showing their pupils where to look for examples of theirs lessons in their own backyards.

More information on how to get this program in your local school can be found at connected.esri.com.