In order to increase geography awareness, there has to be training of geographic perspective, content knowledge as well as exposure to ever-advancing geo-technology skills. With a blending of National Geographic Education resources and ESRI geotechnologies, Heidi Ragsdale and STEM is My Future, established the Geo Maker Institute (GMI), which provides training for K-12 teachers and students, focusing on Mapping and Making. The Problem-Based Learning course focuses on this Driving Question: “How can rural educators increase our regional citizens’ Geo-Awareness through GIS and maker training?” This NCGE presentation will include the structure of the GMI training, resources for implementation, ideas to share within formal and informal learning settings, and ideas for establishing personalized learning networks (PLN) for continued collaboration.