Learning Module for Extended French and French Immersion Geographie Teachers Grades 6-12 Using Spatial Technologies

Please pass on to any French Geography or Social studies teachers !! Only 20 spaces

 

Learning Module for Extended French and French Immersion Geographie Teachers Grades 6-12 Using Spatial Technologies.
 The goal of this module is to support teachers of Geography through Immersion French or Extended French. The focus of this module will be the concepts of Geographic thinking and Inquiry through the use on Ministry mandated spatial technologies software. With the support of a French language instructor from ESRI Canada and the SWSH department, teachers will be introduced to the lessons, data, and software needed to infuse Spatial technologies into your programs . The learning platform will be the web based program ArcGIS on Line in French( which is a ministry licenced and mandated program).

Space is limited to 20 teachers and release code will be sent upon registration
Limit - 2 teachers per school

Location; Lawrence Park C.I.

Date May 6^th

 

Here is Key to Learn link

http://zweblms/keytoLearnStaff/Register/index.asp?courseid=515961

 

 

Mark Lowry

Geography and Spatial Technologies Instructional Leader

Social World Studies and Humanities

Toronto District School Board

1 Civic Center Court, Toronto , M9C 2B3

Tel (416) 394-7269   Cell (416) 576 -4515

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

http://geographysites.blogspot.ca/

twitter @geogmark

 

 

 

April 8th Geography resources

April 8^th Geography resources, Strategies and other Stuff

The Focus of this missive will be a various Global Issues.  I will still include Various strategies and areas of lessons That can be used in a range of courses. And of course there will always be maps and mindson activities

Events

Oagee Spring Conference

OAGEE Fall 2014 Conference Call for Presenters

Workshop and presentation proposals are now being accepted for the OAGEE Fall 2014. This Conference is to be held at Ryerson University, ON, October 17 & 18, 2014.  The deadline for submissions is June 1, 2014.

Sessions will run Friday morning, Friday afternoon and Saturday morning. Each session will be 50 minutes in length, with the option for a double session if additional time is required. Field trip requests of 2-3 hours are preferred.

Each classroom will hold approximately 25-30 participants with chairs and tables. Hard wire and/or Wireless Internet access, a projector, speakers, connecting PC cables are available in most rooms; Mac users must bring their own connectors. Smart Boards are NOT available at Ryerson. We do have access to a computer lab with 42 workstations.

All applicable workshop and presentation proposals will be considered for the conference. However, we are encouraging potential presenters to consider providing sessions that focus on the following highlighted session themes:

Conference Main Theme is: Sustainability

•         Inquiry based learning

•         Revised curriculum for Geography in Ontario

•         Evidence Based Learning

•         Gr. 7 & 8 Program

•         Physical geography

•         Urban Studies

•         Geo-technology

•         Blended Learning

•         Eco-Schools

•         Geo-Literacy

•         Geo-Numeracy

•         Skills for Post-secondary

•         Differentiated Instructions in the Geography Classroom

•         Essentials of Geography (reaching out to ALL levels of students)

•         Field studies

•         First Nations studies

 

One presenter from each accepted workshop will receive one, $100 discount towards their registration fee for the conference.  Additional presenters who wish to participate in OAGEE Fall 2014 Conference activities beyond their session are asked to register separately for the conference.  Notifications regarding successful submissions will be provided by the end of June 2014.

Educational Alliance for a Sustainable Ontario

Monday May 5, 2014"FNMI Perspectives and ESD"  9:30 am - 12:00 pm   OISE

I hope you are all enjoying this (finally!) warmer weather! Our next EASO meeting will be held on Monday May 5, 2014, at OISE. This meeting will explore "First Nations, Metis and Inuit Perspectives and ESD" .  

Please note: this is a shorter meeting than we typically have and it will begin at 9:30 am (9:00 am arrival) until 12 noon.   

 Please RSVP by April 24, 2014.    

Below you will find a list of updates from the EASO network. Please send any updates from your networks that you would like shared in this newsletter to esd_Ontario@lsf-lst.ca 

 If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me at esd_ontario@lsf-lst.ca. Thank you all for your support and participation in EASO.

 All the best, Angela Heagle Kielbowski

NAAEE/EECOM Conference

October 8-11 2014 in Ottawa, ON

This conference is usually kicked off by a one-day research symposium.  

 Joint EECOM (Canadian Network for Environmental Education and Communication/Reseau canadien d'education et  de communication relatives à l'environnement) and NAAEE (North American Association for Environmental Education) Conference (43rd Annual NAAEE Conference).

This year's conference theme is "Building Momentum for the Next Chapter," and the call for presentations is available here. Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter to stay connected! http://www.naaee.net/conference

OAGEE Fall Conference: October 17 - 18 @ Ryerson  in Toronto

Detailed itinerary & prices will be available soon.

www.Oagee.org

Maximum City offers award-winning summer programs and in-school curriculum in sustainable urbanism and civic literacy for students aged 13-18.

http://maximumcity.ca/

Student Mapping Competition

Canadian Cartographic Association (CCA)

http://cca-acc.org/wp-content/uploads/documents/CCA_Mapping_Annoucement.pdf

 

Issues

Climate Change

Climate Trends in the Arctic as Observed from Space: It's melting. Fast.

The ice cap is heating up & melting down at an alarming, not previously predicted rate

http://tiny.tw/3iMV

'Like a giant elevator to the stratosphere:' Newly discovered atmospheric layer may impact Earth's climate

An international team of researchers has discovered a previously unknown atmospheric phenomenon over the tropical West Pacific. Like in a giant elevator to the stratosphere, many chemical compounds emitted at the ground pass unfiltered through the so-called 'detergent layer' of the atmosphere, known as the 'OH shield.' The newly discovered phenomenon over the South Seas boosts ozone depletion in the polar regions and could have a significant influence on the future climate of the Earth.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/04/140404092931.htm

 

UN climate warning goes unheeded

The news from the UN is bad: None of us, we're told, not a single solitary one of us, will escape the consequences of climate change. Every individual, let alone nation, will be affected by the environmental crisis now unfolding around the planet.

http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2014/04/03/un_climate_warning_goes_unheeded_hume.html

 

Agriculture

Alluvial Fan in Kazakhstan

http://tiny.tw/3iMW

Out of thin air: Using wind energy to make fertilizer

Did you know it's possible to use wind energy to make fertilizer? And did you know that it's being done right here in Minnesota, at the University of Minnesota's West Central Research & Outreach Center (WCROC) in Morris?

http://minnesotacornerstone.com/?p=1772

 

Population & Migration & Socio Economic Indicators

SOCIAL PROGRESS INDEX 2014

MEASURING NATIONAL PROGRESS – To truly advance social progress, we must learn to measure it, comprehensively and rigorously. The Social Progress Index offers a rich framework for measuring the multiple dimensions of social progress, benchmarking success, and catalyzing greater human wellbeing. The 2014 version of the Social Progress Index has improved upon the 2013 'beta' version through generous feedback from many observers. We continue to welcome your use and testing of our data, and feedback to help us continue to improve. Please watch our short video on the results of the Social Progress Index 2014._ fully interactive

http://www.socialprogressimperative.org/data/spi

 

Seven Billion – Typical Human – National Geographic Video

http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/news/7-billion/ngm-7billion-typical?source=relatedvideo

 

India election: country awaits a demographic dividend or disaster

A generational shift is under way in India with half of the population under 24. How the 150m first-time voters cast their ballot will dictate the future

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/apr/07/india-election-demographic-dividend-disaster

Altar: The town where migrants shop for a perilous journey

In a Mexican border town, the shops are stocked for one thing - to equip migrants for the last leg of a long and sometimes fatal journey.

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-26870723

 

Sustainability

Is a Footprint the Right Metaphor for Ecological Impact?

http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/2014/04/02/is-a-footprint-the-right-metaphor-for-ecological-impact/

 

Urban

Visualizing 200 Years of Urban Sprawl in Paris, São Paulo, and L.A.

Two centuries ago, Paris, a city with a population of half a million, barely extended beyond its medieval footprint. São Paulo was still largely a small trading outpost for gold and exploration expeditions. And Los Angeles was just a pueblo of a few dozen buildings. By Richard Florida

Terrific Map animations ML

http://www.theatlanticcities.com/neighborhoods/2014/04/visualizing-200-years-urban-expansion-paris-sao-paulo-la/8794/

Urban story Maps of Cali Columbia

The World Urban Forum (WUF for their stands for World Urban Forum) is the Principal Cities World Conference, World's Premier Conference on Cities, organized every two years.

http://esri.co/geoapps/MapasTuristicos/

The Future of Transportation Atlantic Cities feature Report

http://www.theatlanticcities.com/special-report/future-of-transportation/

 

Resources & Energy

Global dip in renewable energy investment

Global investment in renewables fell by 14% during 2013, but the percentage of electricity generated by renewable sources still grew, a report shows.

http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-26923260

IPCC to debate future of fossil fuels at climate meeting
Read more: http://www.ctvnews.ca/sci-tech/ipcc-to-debate-future-of-fossil-fuels-at-climate-meeting-1.1762312#ixzz2yJGHBPJe

After concluding that global warming almost certainly is man-made and poses a grave threat to humanity, the UN-sponsored expert panel on climate change is moving on to the next phase: what to do about it.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, or IPCC, will meet next week in Berlin to chart ways in which the world can curb the greenhouse gas emissions that scientists say are overheating the planet.

It is also trying to give estimates on what it would cost.

Read more: http://www.ctvnews.ca/sci-tech/ipcc-to-debate-future-of-fossil-fuels-at-climate-meeting-1.1762312#ixzz2yJGXx1AE

How American energy independence could change the world

The holy grail of American leaders over the past four decades, from Richard Nixon to Barack Obama, has been energy independence, and thanks to shale oil and gas, the dream could soon become reality.

http://www.bbc.com/news/business-23151813?ocid=socialflow_twitter

 

International Relations & Globalization

If not now, when?

This would be an especially good time for a change in America's relations with Cuba

The Economist http://tiny.tw/3iMU

Globalisation: good or bad?

Lewis Williamson outlines the main arguments for and against globalisation

http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-26923260

Disasters

It' s Officially Tornado Season: These Animations Show the Parts of the U.S. Most Likely to Get Hit

'North America has entered the beginning of peak tornado season, and the weather certainly reflects that. Today a major spring storm is barreling over the nation's center, and forecasters are warning to watch out for possible damaging winds, large hail, and tornadoes.

So perhaps now's the time to ask the age-old question: If you're terrified of twisters, where's the absolute worst place in the U.S. to live?

http://www.theatlanticcities.com/arts-and-lifestyle/2014/04/where-america-are-you-likely-see-tornadoes/8788/

Another Warning for the Northwest From Chile's Earthquake Hot Zone

As disaster agencies tally scattered deaths and damage from the 8.2-magnitude earthquake (and thankfullymodest tsunami) off the coast of northern Chile on Tuesday night, earthquake experts have been stressing two facts:

http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/04/02/another-warning-for-the-northwest-from-chiles-earthquake-hot-zone/

Tropical Depression Diagram

Topics & Teachables

Tools

7 Online Tools for Creating Charts & Diagrams

http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2014/04/7-online-tools-for-creating-charts.html#.U0QeYPldXTp

UrtheCast: a new tool for change

UrtheCast is committed to fostering global education and relief efforts worldwide, using advanced Earth Observation technology. From helping students detect geographical changes, to providing crucial footage for aid organizations responding to a crisis, UrtheCast will soon provide a powerful tool for change.

http://www.urthecast.com/community#mission

Topics

Tourism in Space –

A lesson that explores Space tourism. Pupils consider the demand, costs, impacts and work in groups. Could also be used for looking at different types of tourism

http://www.slideshare.net/JellyCarr/tourism-in-space-is-this-the-future

A stunning photograph of the Northern Lights seen from the International Space Station

NASA Wavelength 

is your pathway into a digital collection of Earth and space science resources for educators of all levels – from elementary to college, to out-of-school programs. These resources, developed through funding of the NASA Science Mission Directorate (SMD), have undergone a peer-review process through which educators and scientists ensure the content is accurate and useful in an educational setting. Use NASA Wavelength to quickly and easily locate resources, connect them to other websites using atom feeds, and even share the resources you discover with others through social media and email.

http://nasawavelength.org/

Coastal Decision-making Tools

Geographic information systems (GIS) are mapping tools used to integrate, store, edit, analyze, share, and display geographic information. NOS provides a variety of GIS data products to the coastal management community. Pictured above is the Sea Level Rise and Coastal Flooding Impacts Viewer that uses local elevation data and visualization software to allow users to see how one to six feet of sea level rise might affect their coastal communities.

http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/tools/dmtools/

Resource: Geoguessr – Where in the World?

Employing EdTech within different subjects can sometimes be a challenge for teachers, especially when exploring for activities that really add value to teaching and learning. A great website, with a couple of great uses is Geoguessr.com, which draws from the technology from Google Street view, but challenges the user to try and locate where the randomly generated image is taken from. Five locations are provided, and your score points based on your guess, compared to the actual location of the image. Indeed, you are able to click around the location, trying to pick up clues, which offers fantastic opportunities to talk about geographical, language, or environmental clues.

We've known about Geoguessr for a while, but in a bid o enhance the website further, the Swedish developers have now placed localised versions into BETA, allowing you to focus solely on the USA, Japan, Sweden, or UK (<~ Click country to open), plus we have found that the site works well on most operating systems, including mobiles. On the original version of the game, you can share a link to play challenge others with the same game you played…now, there's a thought!

http://ukedchat.com/2014/02/25/resource-geoguessr-where-in-the-world/

Discover Geography

A brand new exciting resources website created for geography teachers by Discover the World Education and the Geographical Association to be launched by April 14th.

The site will be developed over the coming years. Initially, we will be offering you resources relating to Iceland. Later in 2014 you will find material on Norway, Azores and China. In early 2015 we plan to develop resources relating to Italy and beyond.

http://www.livingplanetblog.co.uk/2014/03/discover-geography-.html

European word translator

You have to try it - ML

http://ukdataexplorer.com/european-translator/

 

Want to learn the difference between a Cirrus and a Cumulus cloud? Our cloudspotting guide can help

25 Biggest, Tallest, Deepest, And Smallest Places In The World

From the dark depths of the ocean to some of the highest peaks on Earth these are the 25 biggest, tallest, deepest, and smallest places in the world! –Great Visuals ML

http://tiny.tw/3iN3

SPATIALWORLDS Literacy, Geo-literacy!

The Spatialworlds blog is a repository of teaching resources, images, commentary and website links for those interested in spatial education, spatial technology and geography in schools.

http://spatialworlds.blogspot.ca/2014/03/literacy-geo-literacy.html?spref=tw

A New Geo-Tagged Storytelling Site Might Be The Ultimate Travel Tool

How do we discover new cities to visit? How do we remember where we've been? With all the tools at our fingertips, I'd still argue it's actually not all that easy. Hi, which just opened to the public today, is a beautifully designed way to find, share, and tell stories about places.

What Hi is, exactly, is kind of hard to explain so I tried to come up with some shorthand ways to describe it: Literary Yelp, Instagram Longreads, Foursquare for Cities, a crowdsourced New York Times Travel section.

http://gizmodo.com/a-new-geo-tagged-storytelling-site-might-be-the-ultimat-1551278242

 

 

Mark Lowry

Geography and Spatial Technologies Instructional Leader

Social World Studies and Humanities

Toronto District School Board

1 Civic Center Court, Toronto , M9C 2B3

Tel (416) 394-7269   Cell (416) 576 -4515

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

http://geographysites.blogspot.ca/

twitter @geogmark

 

 

 

OAGEE -Spring Conference -Niagara Escarpment

Great time for a Geography department retreat to Learn and Plan

 

 

Mark Lowry

Geography and Spatial Technologies Instructional Leader

Social World Studies and Humanities

Toronto District School Board

1 Civic Center Court, Toronto , M9C 2B3

Tel (416) 394-7269   Cell (416) 576 -4515

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

http://geographysites.blogspot.ca/

twitter @geogmark

 

 

 

Spring Thoughts And geography Stuff

Spring Time Geography Notes and Resources!

Everything you need to know: Vernal or spring equinox 2014

The March equinox signals the beginning of spring in the Northern Hemisphere and autumn in the Southern Hemisphere. It marks that special moment when the sun crosses the celestial equator going from south to north. In 2014, this equinox arrives on March 20 at 16:57 UTC, or 11:57 a.m. Central Daylight Time for us in the central U.S.

Here's what we all know about this equinox. In the Northern Hemisphere, the sun is rising earlier now, and nightfall comes later. Plants are sprouting. Winds are softening. For us in the Northern Hemisphere, people are enjoying the warmer days of spring. South of the equator, autumn begins. Follow the links below to learn more about the vernal equinox.

http://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/everything-you-need-to-know-vernal-or-spring-equinox#.Uyru9MjYkxk.twitter

 

Interactive and static Maps

Delicious Cartography – Maps Made Of Food

Food is a very important part of national and regional identity. "Tell me what you eat and i will tell you where you come from." Inspired by a passion for travel, artists Caitlin Levin and Henry Hargreaves decided to map the typical ingredients of local cuisines using… food.

http://geoawesomeness.com/delicious-cartography-maps-made-food/

Digital Maps Inspired By Joy Division's "Unknown Pleasures" Cover

I would argue that I see at least one New Yorker wearing a Joy Division shirt with the Unknown Pleasures album art every week. The iconic design, created by Peter Seville in 1979, was inspired by the lines representing the frequency of the first observed pulsating star. The frequency map is beyond ingrained in our collective pop culture conscious, and has inspired a variety of ephemera and creative projects, such as Elevation Lines and Population Division—two maps that pay homage to the post-punk band's seminal release. 

http://thecreatorsproject.vice.com/blog/digital-maps-inspired-by-joy-divisions-unknown-pleasures-album-art

 

What's on the Other side of the Earth?

 

Map: Which Coffee Chain Dominates In Your City?

Though there are major national coffee chains (*cough* Starbucks), our coffee preferences tend to be regional, with chains that densely blanket a small area rather than spread out across the country. Statistician Nathan Yau, who we previously covered for his map of pizza chains, took a look at the nation's biggest coffee chains, from grab 'n' go chains like Dunkin' Donuts to fancier shops like Peet's, to see who drinks what and where.

http://www.fastcodesign.com/3027829/infographic-of-the-day/map-which-coffee-chain-dominates-in-your-city

 

How best to show that the surface of the Earth is mostly water?

http://www.pagef30.com/2014/03/how-best-to-show-that-surface-of-earth.html

The Best Five Maps of the Week

http://tiny.tw/3ijL

A Spellbinding Look at 24 Hours of European Flight Paths

What does a full day of flight paths over Europe look like? Sort of like an immense rave on the cloud tops, according to this trippy visualization that might have you reaching for glow sticks and PLURRing in no time.

http://tiny.tw/3ijM

 

Globe sushi

 

Activities & Lessons

A group activity based On Development Indicators

For senior students working with the Gapminder Statistics in collaborative groups Courtesy of DIgeo an UK based Blog

http://www.digitalgeography.co.uk/archives/2014/03/a-group-work-activity-on-development-indicators/

(Check out some of their other stuff also ML)

How Sustainable Is Your Smartphone

A WOW Geography interactive from the Guardian exploring the positive and negative impacts of smartphones. 

Students can analyse the different components that make up of their phone, where they come from and see the impact on our environment from mining for the precious metals that make up a smartphone. 

On the other hand how the positive improvements in food production, responding to disasters and health are outlined. This is a resource that just keeps giving and covers a broad range of Geographical topics from sustainability, economic Geography, inequality and exploitation.  A must for all Geography teachers and students. (Their Words ML)

http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/geography/comments/how-sustainable-is-your-smartphone-interactive

 

Mission: Explore Water – Download your free copy now!

We are delighted to share that Mission:

Explore Water is now available. The eBook is the latest in the series of award winning Mission: Explore books and is brimming with 51 ideas for teaching and learning about water. Just in time for world Water Day March 22

http://thegeographycollective.wordpress.com/2014/01/20/missionexplorewater/

 

WHAT CAUSED THE 'SHAMROCK SHAKE'?

This week, a small crack unzipped under the Santa Monica Mountains north of Los Angeles, waking millions of people with a magnitude 4.4 earthquake. (LiveScience)

Feel the Earth move under your feet? Watch "Earthquakes 101″ to understand why.

 

Can you survive extreme poverty?- Play the game

http://www.live58.org/survive125/

 

Interesting Geography Facts, Images, and Articles

Hershey's and Mars sweeten market for West African cocoa farmers

When it comes to being ecologically sustainable, the chocolate industry certainly could do better. Farmers, for example, could grow cocoa in the shade of trees that yield other commodities, such as fruit or timber.

http://www.greenbiz.com/blog/2014/03/20/hersheys-mars-sweeten-market-cocoa-farmers

 

Ten of the world's great natural wonders – in pictures

From the giant redwoods of California to the almost miraculous honeycomb rock formations of the Giant's Causeway, marvel at some of the planet's most extraordinary natural landscapes. These images are taken fromThe World's Great Wonders, a new book published by Lonely Planet

http://www.theguardian.com/travel/gallery/2014/mar/20/ten-of-the-world-great-wonders-in-pictures?CMP=twt_gu

 

WORLDOMETERS –real time world statistics

http://www.worldometers.info/

 

Time to rethink the e-waste problem

My eye is caught by a recent news headline that proclaims "U.S. Isn't Flooding the Third World with E-waste". In the article, journalist Adam Minter – who in January spoke at the RGS-IBG Monday Night Lecture series – reports that the export of e-waste from the US is a trickle, rather than the flood it is often portrayed to be in a variety of NGO reports, news media, and academic publications. Tracing global flows of e-waste is a challenging task, one I take up most recently in The Geographical Journal.

http://blog.geographydirections.com/2014/03/20/time-to-rethink-the-e-waste-problem/

Innovations in Sanitation Come in All Shapes and Sizes

For many, the name Bill Gates is synonymous with high-tech. They figure if Bill Gates is involved in a project, it must involve complex advanced technology, in which case it's probably expensive. But the fact is that the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation doesn't look for the flashiest solutions, it looks for the ones likely to make the biggest impact on the most people possible.

http://www.impatientoptimists.org/Posts/2013/12/Innovative-Solutions-Dont-Have-to-Be-Complex-or-Expensive

 

Who, what, where and why

THE United States not only incarcerates a lot of people, it also has a bewildering array of places to put them.

http://tiny.tw/3ijD

 

How India is building Asia's largest secure forest network

A landmark effort by the Indian state of Karnataka to connect isolated protected forests could lead to the building of Asia's largest unbroken forest.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-26478430

 

Floating cities – in pictures

As rising sea levels threaten low-lying nations around the world, floating cities are gaining political backing and some serious investment
• Has the time come for floating cities?

Just images

http://tiny.tw/3ijK

Never Thought A Billboard Could Be Used This Way!

This is nothing less than a revolution generation of water from nothing but thin air (and of course the most innovative advertising technique ever!). UTECH designed a billboard that can convert atmospheric humidity into drinking water through reverse osmosis in Lima, Peru where water shortage is one of the biggest problems. Peru only gets 2 inches of rainfall every year but has an extraordinarily high humidity, which is how this technological trick led to happy faces filling buckets of water and showering under the water dispenser below the billboard!!

http://www.reshareable.tv/never-thought-a-billboard-could-be-used-this-way.html?h=1

 

In the News Right Now

Pharrell Williams Launches Denim Line Made From Recycled Ocean Debris

Singer, songwriter, and producer Pharrell Williams has a hit new album out and collaborated on last summer's two hottest songs ("Get Lucky" and "Blurred Lines.") And now he can add sustainable fashion to his list of accomplishments. http://tiny.tw/3ijR

 

 

The sound of silence

The disappearance of a Malaysia Airlines passenger jet shows how air-traffic communications need to be updated

http://www.economist.com/news/international/21599378-disappearance-malaysia-airlines-passenger-jet-shows-how-air-traffic

 

China's urbanisation plan may fall short in terms of funding

The target has been set - Beijing wants to turn 100 million rural folk into city dwellers by 2020.

http://tiny.tw/3ijF

World Water Day: Droughts across the globe

March 22- People around the world will be encouraged to turn their taps off this Saturday to mark World water day.

Four BBC correspondents explain the lack of water in their areas - in the US, Australia, Pakistan and Kenya.

Very interesting Video's

http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-26659510

 

March 29- Earth Hour Momentum Sweeps Across The World As Nations Unite For The Planet

MARCH 19 2014, SINGAPORE: In its eighth year, WWF's Earth Hour continues to defy expectations by mobilising hundreds of millions of people around different environmental priorities across the planet. And now in 2014, the movement further expands its digital and on the ground reach from the Amazon to the Arctic and Tahiti to Tanzania, with a groundswell of action creating massive impact around the world to shine a light on the incredible work being done to create a sustainable planet.

http://www.earthhour.org/earth-hour-momentum-sweeps-across-the-world-nations-unite-the-planet

 

Crisis in Crimea: A Story Map of the Place Everyone's Watching

The Showdown Between Ukraine and Russia

Following a change of government in Ukraine, Russian forces effectively seized control of the Crimea, an autonomous republic with historical ties to Russia. Explore locations and events in Crimea, and language differences in Crimea and throughout Ukraine

http://mashable.com/2014/03/06/map-crimea-ukraine-russia/

 

 

And Things You Just Have to Have

Never Before Have I Laughed So Hard At One Guy's Non-Attempt To Save The Planet

We all know the rainforest is being destroyed. Heck, the entire planet's in distress! But is there really anything we can do about it? Actually, yes.- Follow the Frog    From the Rainforest alliance

http://www.upworthy.com/never-before-have-i-laughed-so-hard-at-one-guys-non-attempt-to-save-the-planet?c=reccon1

 

An Oldie But Goody – Back by popular request

THINKING LIKE A GEOGRAPHER

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YIPcOSNwVjw&sns=em

 

USEFUL GEOGRAPHIES – WHAT GEOGRAPHERS CAN BRING TO THE TABLE

While some geographers find it hard to demonstrate the incredible potentials of their field to the public, there is a growing curiosity from a very wide (non specialized) audience for our planet, the way we depict, map, manage and dwell it. People travel more than they used to, they travel differently, they experience distance, moving, reporting in different ways.

http://geo-pickmeup.com/useful-geographies-what-geographers-can-bring-to-the-table/

 

Mark Lowry

Geography and Spatial Technologies Instructional Leader

Social World Studies and Humanities

Toronto District School Board

1 Civic Center Court, Toronto , M9C 2B3

Tel (416) 394-7269   Cell (416) 576 -4515

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

http://geographysites.blogspot.ca/

twitter @geogmark