ArcView GIS and an AuThenTiCITY CD-ROM containing selected GIS data layers of Phoenix provided by ITD allows students to ask and answer geographic questions by creating and analyzing computer maps. The AuThenTiCITY curriculum is divided into 16 lessons. The introductory lessons focus on community awareness. Students develop a mental map of their neighborhood or community. They share images of their community with classmates.
Classmates then work together to create and define the boundaries of their community.
They investigate how the community has changed through time and learn about current issues by interviewing community members. Students identify community issues that need further exploration. Community Research Next students work on the skills needed to conduct community research. This phase includes developing a hypothesis based on the issues that were identified in previous lessons. Students learn how to construct questionnaires and data collection forms, gather data, build a database, and input data.