cluster map

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

The State of Geography in Canada

This blog posting is to highlight the ever present and on-going debate of Canadian students and their Geographic literacy.

This discussion has been re-ignited by Professor Judith Adler, a sociology Professor at Memorial University in St John’s Newfoundland. The article and interview entitled “Professor says students can't identify continents on map, Geography knowledge found lacking in Memorial University classes” has gained a great deal of traction throughout Canada. Certainly anytime when we see students lack of base knowledge and specific literacies lacking it creates concern.  In this case being Geographic literacy it cuts right to the bone .

Here is the article and following that I have included a couple of responses which hopefully will encourage

A professor at Memorial University says her students desperately need to brush up on their geography.

Students in Judith Adler's class have trouble indicating the Atlantic Ocean and Europe on a blank map. (CBC).Each semester, Judith Adler gives students in her Sociology 2270 class a pop quiz — something she now requires her students to pass in order to pass her course. The course studies sociology of the family, and Adler teaches the material from a cross-cultural perspective.

A MUN professor has found some students, alarmingly, know very little about world geography. Thoughts?

Not at all surprised; the kids coming out of schools today seem to know less than ever . Wait a minute; I wouldn't make sweeping statements based on a single sociology prof's findings. This is troubling; we should take a closer look at geography's place in the curriculum.

Geography, unfortunately, is not perceived as being cool ... or important

"I've assigned work on families in Africa, families in Asia, families in South America. And for many years, I just took for granted that if I talked about families in Africa, that my students had a visual image of where Africa was," she said.

Adler decided she had to make sure her students knew the locations she was talking about. She handed out a blank map, and gave her students simple instructions: Identify Europe, Asia, South America and Africa.

"The results were really mind-opening to me," she said.

"They should not be confusing Antarctica and the Arctic, and they should know that they live on the Atlantic Ocean ... and they should be able to know where North America is."

 

Adler described the test as extremely elementary, adding she's had to make it even simpler over the years. This year's results were no less shocking.

"The Atlantic Ocean is labelled as the Mediterranean Sea; Africa is circled and labelled as Europe, with Spain and Italy being put in the middle of Africa," she said.

Adler said she can't believe her students' lack of knowledge when it comes to geography.

"The revelation of how the school system here has completely dropped geography from young people's education has been very striking to me," she said.

Adler is calling on the university to be more proactive. She said a mandatory geography placement test should be implemented, similar to what the math department uses.

"I think that the entering students should be tested on elementary knowledge, and they should take a remedial course if they don't have it because the rest of their education depends on it."

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/story/2013/01/14/nl-students-dont-know-geography-115.html

Certainly this is an eye opening article and certainly needs to be the basis of discussion. However, we also need to look at the facts behind this to determine the importance of a place name test as a measure of students Geographic literacy?  That is not to minimize the results but is this is a true measure of a sense of place?  And how do we remedy this situation?  To this end I have incorporated a couple of other articles that will help in the discussion of where Geographic literacy is in Canada.

The First of these is from Anne Smith from Queens University in Kingston Ontario.

 

The State of Geography in Schools Today (Ontario)

We asked one of our alum, Anne Smith, (BA Hons ‘86; BEd, MEd), if she would be willing to prepare an inclusion for this newsletter on the state of geography in Ontario schools and, although extremely busy, Anne agreed to write up the following: a subject that is very close to her heart.

Anne Smith, (BA Hons ‘86; BEd, M.Ed.)

Adjunct Instructor, I/S Geography Programs

Faculty of Education, Queen’s University

Education is perhaps one of the most important and challenging areas facing our society today. This has never been more evident than in the area of Geographic Education. I would like to sit here and write a glowing account of what is currently happening in our school’s Geography and Social Studies classes, however I can’t. Don’t get me wrong, we have some amazing teachers and some fabulous things happening in many classrooms. We have an incredibly dedicated and devoted group of educators through organizations such as OAGEE (Ontario Association of Geographic and Environmental Educators), however we are faced with a ‘mountain’ of challenges and one might argue are in fact an ‘endangered species’ headed for ‘extinction’.

Why is it, that in this age of ‘globalization’, ‘global security’, ‘global this’ and ‘global that’, that our students are not learning about the ‘globe’? Seems to me that our province, country, continent, world, has never before been in need of a stronger geographical perspective for our students. Canada’s economic well-being is increasingly dependent upon the ability to compete successfully in a global market place, a geographically literate (locally, provincially, nationally, internationally) workforce is more critical than ever before. As our nation and the world face increasing environmental pressures, a perspective in geography offers a critically needed understanding of the relationships between human activity and the condition of our planet.

Why is it then, that in the province of Ontario, our students have mandatory courses in Geography, for approximately 180 hours, over twelve plus years of schooling? Today students are required to take approx. 35 hours of geography in both grade 7 and 8. In high school, there is ONE mandatory course (110 hrs) in Geography; Grade 9 - Geography of Canada. This has been preceded with a ‘sprinkling’ of ‘geography’ through Social Studies from grades 1-6. (Actually, grade 5 has no geographical component at all!) At no other point in their K-12 academic journey are students, required to learn about the world and its global connections, interactions, issues and challenges, from a geographical perspective. Disappointing, as courses dealing with such topics as Physical Geography, Travel & Tourism, Geomatics, The Americas, Canadian & World Issues, World Human Geography, Environment & Resource Management and World Geography: Urban Patterns & Interactions are all ‘on the books’ in the current Senior Gr. 11/12 Curriculum documents.

Why then are these courses which deal with such timely issues, not thriving? (In fact, a disturbing trend now in Ontario secondary schools, is that many schools now offer nothing more than Grade 9 geography at all!!) The answer as I see it, is a complex one.

Let us start with what exactly is Geography? This is where we ‘geographers’ run into difficulty in terms of a clear definition of exactly what our discipline is about.It is not hard then to understand that if we have a problem defining exactly what our subject is about, that others (i.e., Education policy makers, principals, parents, etc.) would default to the old ‘Capes & Bays’ perception of geography, where all we are concerned with is an ‘inventory’ of place names and features. Translation, “Why then, is this important and therefore relevant for our children to know? Guess it’s not, thus no geography. One cannot underestimate the importance of ‘perception’, as this affects decisions which administrators make as to which courses are offered in the secondary panel.

Geographers know however, “...geography combines the physical and human aspects of our world into one field of study. This combination focuses on the interdependent parts of our world to provide a practical framework for addressing local, national and global questions (Directions in Geography p. 9)” Today’s geography includes for ex. epidemiology, how, where and why AIDS has spread throughout the world. It is the economics of oil and the Middle East (location) and the politics of freshwater access to the world’s 7 billion individuals. If policy makers and the public in general understood these definitions of Geography, our discipline could be seen as relevant and important. “Geography motivates us to look at our past, study the present and to predict the future. We can determine where things are, why they are there and where they’re headed from here” (Grosvenor). As Gritzner put it, geography is about, “What is where, why there, why care?” (Gritzner, Charles F., 2003) 'Why Geography?', Journal of Geography, 102: 2, 90 — 91)

So let’s assume we can all agree and understand exactly what geography encompasses, its relevance and importance. Guess those classes will thrive now! Not so fast… Let’s take a look at who is teaching in our geography classrooms. There is a growing acceptance in education, at the secondary level, (long established in the elementary), that ‘non-specialists’ are equal to ‘specialists’ when it comes to academic training and teaching. The result has been an increasing number of teachers teaching ‘Geography’ without any or very little geography in their academic backgrounds. (*Note: this trend is not exclusive to Geography as other academic areas are experiencing this as well.) Unfortunately, one can no longer assume that those teaching the subjects are knowledgeable or have formal training in those areas themselves. One can argue being a ‘teacher’ first is more important than the subject. I agree with this to a point. However, we need BOTH.

OK, let’s assume we all understand the nature of the discipline and have teachers with a strong academic background and enthusiasm for the subject. Those classes are full now right?! Oops, forgot to mention, if you don’t have teachers with the academic background, often the courses available are not even offered in the school! When introducing my teacher candidates at the Faculty of Education to the Geography Curriculum for Ontario, many of them were ‘shocked’ to see the number of courses available under the Geography ‘umbrella’. Many had gone through high school and had never heard of most of the courses ‘on the books’. IDEA: Why not get some training for teachers that may want to further their geographic background? Although the College of Teachers specifically outlines the professional expectations of teachers to continue with professional development (PD) and ongoing learning in their areas, the reality is there is very little support for teachers and PD. Most PD days held throughout the year are focused on new non-subject specific initiatives etc. coming ‘down’ from the Ministry of Education and/or local issues. Boards typically have money available for acquainting staff with the latest ‘ministry initiatives’ and often send teachers to conferences on such topics with all expenses paid. For a subject based presentation, such as an OAGEE conference, teachers may be left paying for everything even including supply teachers to cover their absence. Lack of support for curriculum specific professional development prevents our teachers from constantly improving and building upon what they know and keeping them current and relevant in our classrooms.

One area of the discipline that is extremely timely, valuable, and relevant and has future career opportunities are those related to Geomatics and Geo-technologies. The power of a GIS and the geographic analysis that comes with it is applicable and relevant to so many businesses, industries, governments, etc. Officially in the Ontario Curriculum there are two specific courses related to Geomatics/Geo-technologies offered at the grade 11 & 12 levels. The reality once again, is most schools in this province do not offer these courses and or opportunities. The problem again is multi-faceted. Number one, few teachers have the training or background to offer and run one of these courses. Secondly is the issue of resources. Many schools still rely on few computer labs for an entire school. Access to those labs is extremely limited.  David Joiner, Head of Geography at St. Andrew’s College in Aurora, offered the following insight into issues related to Geo-technologies in schools:

“My first thought is the apparent growing gap in exposure to GIS in the schools. Although every school has a (Ministry purchased) licence for ArcView, (ESRI GIS Software) I find that more and more teachers at conferences are commenting that either the software isn't loaded properly or they don't have access to the labs[or in some cases IT support]. In our school every student walks around with ArcView loaded onto their laptop computer and I can walk into a Business class and teach GIS and Marketing on almost a moment's notice, yet in other schools the students never use GIS. This is both a success (for those schools that have access) and a concern (for those who don't). Something that makes Geography very relevant to students is the ability to link to current events very quickly. If there is an earthquake, the online maps generated by the various earthquake monitoring centers let us explain things to the kids faster than they get most of that information from the news media.”

OK, so let’s pretend, we understand the nature of the subject, we have specialist teachers, great PD support and unlimited resources! We must be running all those Geography courses!! Try again! During the late 1990’s the ‘new’ curriculum was released. What this involved was a ‘collapsing’ of pre-existing academic departments into ‘mega’ departments of various subjects. In the case of Geography, this led to being under the umbrella of ‘Canada & World Studies’, which officially includes the subjects of Geography, History, Economics, Law and Politics. In theory this became the new ‘department’. In some local specific cases I have heard of courses related to Family Studies, Phys-Ed etc. being ‘subsumed’ under this same umbrella as well. What this means is the curriculum leadership provided by department heads now covers a minimum of five academic areas. In the past, as a Geography Department Head, I could offer leadership and direct curriculum support for teachers teaching in geography classrooms. Today, I would be responsible for that same leadership in four other academic areas that I am not even qualified to teach!

Add to this the compression of high school from a five year to a four year program. Now there is one less year to work with and students are still required to earn their 30 credits, now in four years. The result is reduced opportunity for ‘optional’ courses such as geography. In the past, students were required to take ‘one senior social science’ which traditionally meant geography, history, law or politics. Now, the ‘pool’ of courses that students may choose from is much larger with the result that fewer students are choosing geography as an option.

Remember that discussion at the beginning on the definition of Geography?? Another element impacting our programs relates to the Ministry of Education’s major push on ‘Literacy & Numeracy’. Another colleague offers the following: “From an elementary perspective … the loss of geography in school (is) because of the emphasis on Literacy and Numeracy. Geography (and Social Studies and History) are being seen as ‘add- ons’ not a part of those two initiatives. More PD and education for teachers needs to focus on how to use Geography as the context piece for Literacy and Numeracy.” In geography, both literacy and numeracy are large components of the discipline. For example, data analysis is central to any distribution patterns and mapping that may be done. Population pyramids, adiabatic lapse rates, etc. all require numeracy skills. Perhaps our students should be getting MORE geography as both literacy and numeracy skills will be strengthened doing ‘geography’!

More ‘Geography’? Alex Trebek, (long time host of JEOPARDY), in accepting his gold medal (2010) from the Royal Canadian Geographical Society, made the following observation: “History is about the past, Geography is about the future and that is where today’s students will spend their lifetimes”. So what about the future? Recently the Toronto District School Board released an interesting study related to student performance in academic areas and graduation rates. One key finding of that study was the following:

“It is interesting that Geography is a slightly stronger predictor of future achievement than Mathematics (although the differences are minor). This is important to note because current educational practice emphasizes Literacy and Numeracy outcomes, and these are often translated as English and Mathematics. Geography and Science also have Literacy and Numeracy elements that are part of integrated curriculum. Their strength in predicting future achievement shows the importance of examining a broad range of subjects (a reason for the importance of credit accumulation, for example), and the potential limitations of focusing on a narrow range such as English and Mathematics only.” (The Grade 9 Cohort of Fall 2004 Robert S. Brown Copyright © (June 2010) Toronto District School Board) The implications of this finding and what it will mean for geography programs remains to be seen. Hopefully, this recognition of Geographic Literacy as an important element in predicting future achievement will raise the profile and value of a Geographic Education.

In the future, what is important here is that our students are geographically literate and have a working knowledge and understanding of our world, and a ‘global’ awareness of the issues facing us. For some students who may want to pursue their education in this area we need recognition and support from our post-secondary institutions as well. As it now stands, no university (in Ontario) requires courses in geography at the secondary level to pursue a degree in Geography. What is the message here to our teachers and students? The reality is, there are so many fabulous things happening and opportunities available for teachers and students in Geography which need to be supported and promoted. Next October, 2012, the annual Fall OAGEE Conference will be held in Kingston, hosted by the Queen’s University Faculty of Education, with the help and support of our Colleagues in the Queen’s Geography Dept. We are excited and look forward to this great learning experience. Queen’s Faculty of Education is also the ‘location’ of a ‘pilot’ program in partnership with the National Geographic Society: NGS ‘Giant Travelling Maps’.

(http://events.nationalgeographic.com/events/special-events/giant-traveling-maps/) This past April was the first time that one of these fabulous maps, measuring 30ft x 40ft, had come to Canada.

I truly believe there has never been a period in our earth’s history that a geographic education has been more important. We need to support those in the classrooms, and educate policy makers about exactly what we do. We need to be passionate about raising awareness of the value and relevancy of geographic literacy. The ‘mountains’ of challenges we face need to be confronted and prevent our currently ‘endangered’ discipline from ultimate ‘extinction’. In closing, as I say to my students, “Geography is Everything!”

 

Another

When it comes to geography, are we lost in the world?

CONNIE WYATT ANDERSON

The Globe and Mail

Published Friday, Jan. 18 2013, 6:00 AM EST

The story about some Memorial University students’ woeful ignorance of world geography caught many Canadians by surprise. It shouldn’t have. The erosion of geography as a curriculum staple has been a decades-long project willfully undertaken by government. There’s a terrible irony in that this assault on our understanding of the sense of physical place – where we stand in our world – has coincided with globalization, and massive population shifts.

When Memorial professor Judith Adler taught her sociology students about the family in different parts of the world, she should have been able to safely assume that those students, having achieved entry to university, would know where Africa or Europe is on a map or be able to identify the Atlantic Ocean. The fact that some couldn’t is an indictment of a system that’s failing young people.

Canadians are responsible for the second-largest country in the world in terms of land mass. If we’re to fulfill our duty to the trust we’ve inherited, the sovereignty over that vast area, then it’s critical we understand our geography. More than that, Canada absorbs hundreds of thousands of newcomers each year. If native Canadians don’t know where Canada stands in the world, how can we expect people who’ve come from distant countries to?

What does it do to a sense of national identity when you don’t know where you are on the map and, in terms of human geography, who you are as a people? As a teacher, I’ve seen the difference geography can make in my students. Those who embrace it – who “get it” – develop a “sense of place.” They understand that who they are is determined in part by where they are. Undeniably, geography contributes to a sense of identity on a personal level and collectively as a nation.

Geography is a building block of civil society. The vibrancy of a democracy is directly linked to a geographic education. Geography is critical to understanding Canada’s challenges, such as sending troops to Mali, building pipelines in B.C., addressing treaty rights of first nations or opening the Northwest Passage to tourism.

The overarching solution is strengthening geographic education from kindergarten through Grade 12. Sustained emphasis on geography in the curriculum is a prerequisite to solving geographic illiteracy.

Curriculum alone is only part of the solution. Geography needs teachers – teachers whose passion is fostered and enhanced by geography-specific professional development, teachers who will fight to ensure that geography is given its due, along with other core subjects such as geography’s boon companion, history.

Even the most dedicated teacher needs the tools to teach. To this end, the Royal Canadian Geographical Society and Canadian Geographic Education make teaching tools freely available for both the classroom and the home school, placing within easy reach resources on Canadian topics such as the boreal forest, energy use, watershed protection, the War of 1812, national parks, railways, football, capital cities and wind energy.

But even these efforts are not enough. Educational authorities need to commit, parents need to get on board, and students themselves need to declaim that geography matters.

If we continue to shortchange Canadian children in terms of a solid education in geography, we’re essentially robbing them of their potential and capacity to engage fully in society as part of an informed citizenry. Not only is this grossly unfair to today’s students, but it also unduly compromises Canada’s future in a globalized world.

Connie Wyatt Anderson is chair of Canadian Geographic Education.

However here is the paradox

What makes psychology and geography grads the most employable?

We asked our experts why they thought geography and psychology graduates were found to be least likely to be unemployed.

http://careers.guardian.co.uk/careers-blog/experts-view-why-are-certain-grads-less-likely-to-be-unemployed

 

However so that we are not getting to maudlin regarding the state of Geography I thought I would include a great little on line course and resource from the Geography Association in the UK entitled :

 

Embedding GIS use in your Geography Department

GIS: three letters that could make a difference to the way you teach geography, offer students a new view of the world and enhance their understanding of natural and physical processes.

http://geography.org.uk/cpdevents/onlinecpd/gis/

 

Mark Lowry

Geography and Geotechnologies Instructional Leader

Social World Studies and Humanities

Toronto District School Board

1 Civic Centre Court

Toronto , On ,M9C 2B3

Tel; (416) 394-7269

Cell; (416) 576-4515

Fax; (416) 394-6420

http://tdsbweb/_site/ViewItem.asp?siteid=63&menuid=63&pageid=63

http://geographysites.blogspot.ca/

twitter @geogmark

 

 

 

Monday, January 14, 2013

FW: Some New Resources and Tools

 

 

 

Some New Resources and Tools

 

 

CRUCIAL GIS TACTICS FOR RETAIL SITE SELECTION ANALYSIS

Teach your students real-world applications Crucial GIS Tactics for Retail Site Selection Analysis

http://info.rockrealestate.net/ROCKCommercial/blog/bid/169073/Crucial-GIS-Tactics-for-Retail-Site-Selection-Analysis

Rivers Of The World's Capital Cities

Most of the world's major cities are built on or around areas of freshwater. Our ancestors chose to settle near these areas as a means of supplying drinking water for their families and beasts, as a food supply, irrigation for crops, to service washing needs, and as a means of transport to aid commerce.

Great for Grade 7& Grade 8

https://sites.google.com/site/worldfactsinc/capital-cities-rivers

Maps Tell a Story

Interesting blog using a variety of map examples.

http://fluxicon.com/blog/2013/01/maps-to-tell-a-story/

ICON Finder

Neat little application to use when designing activities or for students to use.  It will have many uses.

http://www.iconfinder.com/

 

26 Ways to Use Comics in the Classroom and 5 Free Tools for Creating Comics

One of the most popular posts that I've published on Free Technology for Teachers is a list of ten free tools for creating comics online. I wrote that post three years ago. Since then some of the tools have gone offline or started charging users. So I think it's time to share a new list. Here are five free tools for creating comics online.-Written by Richard Byrne

http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2013/01/26-ways-to-use-comics-in-classroom-and.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+freetech4teachers%2FcGEY+%28Free+Technology+for+Teachers%29#.UPQc3uTO140

Resize your photos with this easy tool

Resize 2 mail is an online resize website utility developed for digital camera owners, webmasters, people travelling or anybody who quickly wants to resize a digital image for email or publishing on a web site.

http://www.resize2mail.com/

UK tidal power has huge potential, say scientists

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-20983645

2013 Economic Freedom Heat Map

For over a decade, The Wall Street Journal and The Heritage Foundation, Washington's preeminent think tank, have tracked the march of economic freedom around the world with the influential Index of Economic Freedom. Since 1995, the Index has brought Smith's theories about liberty, prosperity and economic freedom to life by creating 10 benchmarks that gauge the economic success of 185 countries around the world. With its user-friendly format, readers can see how 18th century theories on prosperity and economic freedom are realities in the 21st century.

The Index covers 10 freedoms – from property rights to entrepreneurship – in 185 countries.

http://www.heritage.org/index/heatmap

London Underground celebrates 150th anniversary

Busy, congested, stressful. This is how the world's first subway system was depicted by London newspapers in 1863. It's a situation that would be familiar to nail-biting passengers of the present as the Tube turned 150 years old Wednesday.

http://m.usatoday.com/article/news/1827573?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter&utm_term=alew

27 Science Fictions That Became Science Facts In 2012

We may never have our flying cars, but the future is here. From creating fully functioning artificial leaves to hacking the human brain, science made a lot of breakthroughs this year.

http://myscienceacademy.org/2013/01/03/27-science-fictions-that-became-science-facts-in-2012/

In the rich world, men are closing the longevity gap with women

The Economist- Jan 12th 2013 |

REG DEAN, who died on January 5th at the ripe age of 110, was unusual. Centenarians are rare in themselves, of course, but male centenarians particularly so. In Britain, where Mr Dean lived, five times as many women as men receive the famed card of congratulation from the queen when they celebrate their 100th birthdays. That may, however, cease to be the case in the future, for the fact that women tend to live longer than men, though still true, is less true than it was, and the gap is shrinking—in rich countries, at least—every year.

http://www.economist.com/news/science-and-technology/21569362-rich-world-men-are-closing-longevity-gap-women-catching-up?fsrc=scn/tw/te/pe/catchingup

From Chris Hatfield

Great View of Vancouver and the delta as taken from the International Space Station

A surprising map of the best and worst countries to be born into today

If you came into the world today and could pick your nationality, there are at least 15 better choices than to be born American, according to a study by the Economist Intelligence Unit. The firm looked at 80 countries, scoring them across 11 variables to determine “which country will provide the best opportunities for a healthy, safe and prosperous life in the years ahead.” The results, mapped out above, are both surprising and not.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2013/01/07/a-surprising-map-of-the-best-and-worst-countries-to-be-born-into-today/

 

The End of American Dominance in Robert Kaplan’s ‘The Revenge of Geography’

n a stark new book “The Revenge of Geography,” Robert Kaplan argues that geography is still the greatest shaper of geopolitical forces—and why the map explains America’s coming fall. Historian Ian Morris on why Kaplan is worryingly right.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/09/14/the-end-of-american-dominance-in-robert-kaplan-s-the-revenge-of-geography.html

 

Infographic: The New Canadian Family

On Monday, the Agenda discussed a new report by Joel Kotkin, Distinguished Presidential Fellow in Urban Futures at Chapman University. The report, "The Rise of Post-Familialism: Humanity's Future?" argues that we are witnessing a new phenomenon, a shift, he calls, post-familialism. He writes,

 

"Today, in the high-income world and even in some developing countries, we are witnessing a shift to a new social model. Increasingly, family no longer serves as the central organizing feature of society. An unprecedented number of individuals — approaching upwards of 30% in some Asian countries — are choosing to eschew child bearing altogether and, often, marriage as well."

Great Graphics and Video

http://theagenda.tvo.org/blog/agenda-blogs/infographic-new-canadian-family

Why People Move

Why do people move around the planet?

Why should we learn about human migration? Good lesson pack for Grade 8 Geography.

http://education.nationalgeographic.com/education/activity/why-people-move/?ar_a=2

2012 National Geographic Photography Contest Winners

The winners have been named in the 2012 National Geographic Photography contest. As a leader in capturing the world through brilliant imagery, National Geographic sets the standard for photographic excellence. This year's competition brought 22,000 entries from over 150 countries, professionals and amateurs participating. Photographs were submitted in three categories: people, places and nature; and entries judged on creativity and photographic quality by a panel of experts.

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2013/01/2012_national_geographic_photo.html

 

 

Mark Lowry

Geography and Geotechnologies Instructional Leader

Social World Studies and Humanities

Toronto District School Board

1 Civic Centre Court

Toronto , On ,M9C 2B3

Tel; (416) 394-7269

Cell; (416) 576-4515

Fax; (416) 394-6420

http://tdsbweb/_site/ViewItem.asp?siteid=63&menuid=63&pageid=63

http://geographysites.blogspot.ca/

twitter @geogmark

 

 

 

Monday, January 7, 2013

Welcome Back: some resources for a Dreary time


Welcome back Geographers from Ontario and from around the Globe.
Couldn’t help myself
Please Check out Chris Hatfield’s twitter account   “@cmdr_Hatfield “  for some amazing Pictures of the world from space. Here is an example of the Bahamas for a cold dreary January.

Something to think about as we are making our New Year’s resolutions
Does geography hold the key to a healthier future?
Geographic information can help researchers analyze a range of health topics such as food-borne illnesses and breast cancer. "These are all things where place doesn't give us all the answers, but it gives us some ideas where to look," said Russell Kirby, a professor in the College of Public Health at the University of South Florida. Kirby, who has degrees in geography and epidemiology, is working to set up a GIS/public health certificate at his university.

“Check out the Ontario Association for Geographic and Environmental Education on Facebook”

For those of us in the northern hemisphere, the days are getting shorter and the temperatures are dropping. To help prepare for the winter ahead, we’re adding more detail and imagery to the map for a variety of chilly destinations, making them more comprehensive and accurate than ever. Starting today, you can virtually experience the Canadian Arctic through new panoramic Street View images of Cambridge Bay and detailed maps created with the help of local community members. And if you’re planning a winter getaway, you can preview the slopes of more than 90 ski and snow resorts around the world, adding to dozens that are already available via Street View today.
Great New Data from Hans Rosling at Gapminder
Stunning new 2011data on number of Cellphones/person: Indonesia=US. Click play & enjoy how fast cellphones spread
Fun and Education with GPS Essentials from Richard Byrne
Yesterday, I published a post about creating QR codes for GPS locations to build scavenger hunts. In that post I mentioned an app called GPS Essentials that a friend turned me on to. I spent some time last evening having fun testing out GPS Essentials.
In addition to the expected features of showing your current latitude and longitude coordinates, GPS Essentials offers a bunch of other useful features. Using GPS Essentials you can measure your current altitude, measure distances, and record your tracks. You can export your tracks and waypoints as KML files to use in Google Earth and Google Maps. You can also import KML and GPX files to use in GPS Essentials to navigate to various locations.
This location will take you to a number of free Android apps for education and specifically Geographical education.
What is Remote Sensing?
These scientists explain some of the purposes and applications of remote sensing at a level that is accessible for just about any audience. 
Scientists Seek Foolproof Signal to Predict Earthquakes
The dream is to be able to forecast earthquakes like we now predict the weather. Even a few minutes' warning would be enough for people to move away from walls or ceilings that might collapse or for nuclear plants and other critical facilities to be shut down safely in advance of the temblor. And if accurate predictions could be made a few days in advance, any necessary evacuations could be planned, much as is done today for hurricanes.
The latest "Tourism Geography Today" news is now out:
America's Real Criminal Element: Lead
New research finds Pb is the hidden villain behind violent crime, lower IQs, and even the ADHD epidemic. And fixing the problem is a lot cheaper than doing nothing.
A Supposedly Fun Thing That's Still Really Dirty
Great article for Travel and Tourism on cruise ships.
Quick Summarizing Strategies to Use in the Classroom
Very useful group of classroom strategies to support summarizing. Thanks to our friends at OHASSTA
Population Pyramids of the World from 1950 to 2100
Great interactive explanation of population pyramids over time by country and region
The Places You’ll Go
 Here, Jones talks with James Fallows about what’s next in mapping, why new technology will change travel, and how a billion people learned to love geography.
I highly recommend this short article on the power of maps
World GIS Data
Looking for global GIS data? Listed here are free sources for finding GIS data in both vector and raster formats including satellite imagery.
Census Dotmap
This is a map of every person counted by the 2010 US and 2011 Canadian censuses. The map has341,817,095 dots - one for each person. Wait until you zoom in!! Great for studying Patterns and relationships
Top Ten “Nat Geo Talks of 2012”
Live presentations have been a part of National Geographic since the 1800s, and today more than 140 are viewable online. See this year's best.
“Questioning” BY John Sayers
One aspect of getting back into the classroom and school environment is to listen to the great array of questions, challenges and responses I'll hear and be involved in. I love questioning and the potential depth to thinking it can generate. However far to often including in my own practice I prevent opportunities for taking the thinking deeper by posing a new challenge, problem to keep that engaging thrust of something new flowing in the room. This is good a trigger but like a gun firing the trigger too often at the same target can lead to the death of something. In this case deep thinking that challenges students. 
Spatial Environmental Education: Teaching and Learning about the Environment with a Spatial Framework
By Joseph J. Kerski
Education Manager, Esri
Zooming in to a satellite image to examine deforestation, visualizing the retreat of a glacier, and navigating a trail on a smartphone have become commonplace in the 21st century. People have always been fascinated with investigating their home: the Earth.
Grand Canyon : Blink of Time
from GOTM Films 
Grand Canyon : Blink of Time is a time lapse film featuring the stunning views of the Grand Canyon. Blink of Time brings the viewer on a journey around and into the canyon. Over 80,000 photos were taken over the course of 7 weeks in April, May, and June of 2012 to make this film
<![if !supportLists]>·       <![endif]>Remember to check out the new culminating activities postings
<![if !supportLists]>·       <![endif]>Stay tuned for info on the OAGEE Spring Conference
Mark Lowry
Geography and Geotechnologies Instructional Leader
Social World Studies and Humanities
Toronto District School Board
1 Civic Centre Court
Toronto , On ,M9C 2B3
Tel; (416) 394-7269
Cell; (416) 576-4515
Fax; (416) 394-6420
twitter @geogmark