DISTANCE - we've come a long way...

Distance stands for:
Demonstrating the Internet of School Things: a National collaborative experience

It's a project that I've been involved with along with a group of partners including INTEL, Sciencescope, CASA at UCL and the Open University.
Helen and Tom from Explorer HQ have worked with me to produce some exciting ideas, supported by Mark, Dan, Paul and other colleagues from Explorer HQ on the technical side.

We've been working to create educational materials for the schools involved in the Pilot, and ultimately schools all over the country.
Click the Resources tab on the website, and you will find that you can see some of these...
They would be useful to adapt even without access to the kit that the schools had.

The website has developed tremendously since the start of the project...

Follow Apps > Dashboard to see some of the live data feeds from the project.

Watermark

Would quite like to see this film. Fascinating stories and wonderful images...


WATERMARK - Trailer from Flowers Gallery on Vimeo.

Small Boxes

I've had a few requests about the small boxes that we used for our CITY in a box, or LANDSCAPE in a box style challenges with students. You can of course create your own by printing off a box net on card, or scale it up and use food packaging or shoe boxes, but these little boxes are nicely made, and fold up neatly into the preferred box... There's a small charge per box, but it might be something that you prefer rather than creating your own.
Check out the WEBSITE for the details on the various types that are available. We used THESE.

Curriculum Making in the sun...

Courses that will run in Vidigueiras in Altentejo, Portugal through 2014 and 2015 are being finalised...
I will be one of the main trainers on these courses.
Come and learn about curriculum making, engage with teachers from other EU countries, and experience the culture of the area, and the historic cities of Evora and Beja.
Details on the poster below...

Erasmus +Course in Portugal

Lent

Spent the first hour of yesterday's school day in the splendour of Ely Cathedral for the Eucharist of Ash Wednesday.
Here's a picture I took while there...

Music from Peter Gabriel's Last Temptation of Christ - recently added to Spotify...




Traditionally, people either give something up, or take something new up for Lent.
What are your plans ?

World Book Day

What are you reading today ?

Geographies of the Great War...

Somebody was asking recently about any geographical resources related to the Great War.  

The Centenary of the start of World War I will be marked by a whole host of history-based programmes, magazines, books, educational materials and events and trips to the area where the trenches and main battles were located.

But what about the geography of the War?
How did geographies play a part in the conflict?

I've created a Google Drive document which is embedded below. Please get in touch via Twitter or Comment or other method if you'd like to be added as a contributor to this document, and you'll be able to edit and add your own ideas to what I hope will be a collaborative resource...



 This is only a working draft as a starting point and is far from finished...

There's plenty more that could be added e.g. countries, maps, poetry and model making...

I look forward to seeing your ideas...

Pole of Cold back home...

The Pole of Cold team arrived home a few days ago, following their epic trip to Siberia and Oymyakon the 'Pole of Cold'. 
They experienced countries across Scandinavia and Eastern Europe, then on into Russia, for several weeks, all in the comfort of their specially equipped Land Rover.
Along the way, they created over 100 podcasts, sent almost 1000 tweets, and drove over 35 000 km (almost equivalent to driving around the world...)
Here's a picture of the team, which was posted on their Facebook page when they arrived back in the UK.

I was privileged to be asked to write some education materials for the trip, which are now hosted on the RGS-IBG website.

If you'd like to hear Felicity Aston, one of the team, talk about the expedition, you need to head down to the RGS on Monday the 19th of May, for one of the regular Monday night lectures.

You'll need to be an RGS-IBG member (or have one as a friend).  I shall try to go along if at all possible.

Trivium

This was available on Sunday for just £1 for the Kindle version. I hope you caught my Tweets alerting you to this. Interested to see what it says...

Coastal Erosion - a story to research...

Dawlish refugees a month on: Shane Manning has no idea if he'll ever be able to go home more @radiowoodley @BBCDevon pic.twitter.com/WQ7XQLCpSb
— Sophie Pierce (@sophiepierce) March 5, 2014

Now listening...

Too much to do, but this is keeping me going for a while longer... One of the better moments in this new album... Oldfield albums with songs are always a little disappointing when compared to the heyday, but some great guitar work at least...

We're all Storytellers

We're all Storytellers

An ad which was shown during the Oscars last night... Narratives are important in geography.
The narration is by Andrew Stanton, director of Wall-E.

School in the Cloud

I'm heading to Athens in 3 weeks time to lead a workshop on the cloud and apps...
It's slowly taking shape, and I'm using inspiration from a range of colleagues both real and virtual. I got a few further ideas over the weekend, from a conference that was taking place in Dublin, and also from some Australian colleagues...

How are you using Cloud-based applications in your teaching ?

I'd be happy to receive any suggestions for other great Cloud-based resources that you think I should know about, particularly if you've used them in the classroom...

Any uses of Google Docs, Linoit, Triptico Cloud etc. ??

Young Geographer of the Year competition

The theme for this year's competition, run by the Royal Geographical Society, in association with 'Geographical' magazine is now available:

How can Geography help you ?

Details of how to enter are HERE

Pupils are asked to relate the value of geography to a number of different settings. The significance of both human and physical geography could be considered at a variety of different levels.  Pupils should demonstrate how geography can support their everyday lives, improve their understanding of the world’s people, places and environments and help to prepare them for life beyond school.

We want to hear how geography, be it the knowledge young people learn, the understanding they gain, or skills they develop, helps them in different aspects of their lives. This help might be at many different levels:

• At school
• At home with your family
• When you travel and go on holidays
• When you think about current events at home or abroad
• Whether it will help you with further study, perhaps at university
• Or lead to a particular career you would like to do

We are interested in answers which might look at both the serious and the fun sides of geography and particularly want to see how entrants can relate the value of geography to a number of different settings.  We welcome applications which, as appropriate for the age range, recognise the value of both human and physical geography. 

For the all categories appropriate and accurate geographical vocabulary should be used and we will provide additional credit for entries which use primary data collected by the student, alongside
secondary data.

The competition has four categories: 9-11(Key Stage Two), 11-14 (Key Stage Three), 14-16 (GCSE) and 16-18 (A Level students).

If you're a new teacher, you can also submit some resources on the same theme for the Rex Walford Award.
Download guidelines here (PDF)

Social media spuds..

Look forward to buying these when they come into the shops in March (and I don't mean the town in Cambridgeshire)

Update: interesting that this is one of the most viewed posts in recent months... and it's a picture of some potato shapes... :)

The Ouse Washes

On my commute to school, I pass through the Ouse Washes. 

These are a managed landscape, which have a special atmosphere to them. Over the last few weeks there has been a focus on flooding in other parts of the country, but here in this very low lying area, great efforts have been made to manage surface water.

They are a perfect habitat for birds and also a wildlife reserve.

How much do you take note of the landscape you pass through on your journey to school ?
As the nights draw out, I'm going to be taking the various turnings off the main roads that I take and explore the communities that I've been driving close to for the last few months...

Museum of British Folklore

Reclaim the Forgotten
Cherish the Neglected
Treasure the Abandoned
Encourage the Overlooked
Adore the Unfashionable
Re-invent the Unwanted
Champion the Unloved
Value the Rejected

If this museum gets the go-ahead I'd be pleased to work as the Education Officer :)

Museum of British Folklore from Tom Chick on Vimeo.

Innovative Geography Teaching Grants 2014

Delighted to say that I've been awarded one of just two of these awards handed out this year, given out by the Royal Geographical Society, to work on a collaboration jointly with Dr. Benjamin Hennig from the University of Oxford on a project related to the Census of 2011.

Ben is the genius who created the Worldmapper cartograms, and creates maps at Views of the World.
He is now working at one of the finest Geography departments in the world, and it is a real privilege to get the chance to work with him.
Our project is called LondonMapper: exploring a World city through Census Data

The Census 2011 produced billions of pieces of data, and by focussing on London past, present and future we will explore ideas related to London and its place in the world, and guide students on an exploration through the Census data and present them with some decisions that need to be made, which will shape London's future...

Our work will connect with, and expand on the nascent LondonMapper project.

Look out for more new maps like this one

Some more interesting London-based news coming in the next month or so too....

Sailing in the wake of Hugh Miller

I've been reading quite a bit about a man called Hugh Miller in the last few weeks.
He was a geologist and storyteller and had a fascinating life.

Now you have a chance to sail through the Scottish Highlands on a voyage of discovery...

The voyage is being organised by the Royal Scottish Geographical Society.

The Geological Societies of Glasgow and Edinburgh are offering unique opportunity for young Earth scientists to follow the journey of Hugh Miller in "The Cruise of the Betsey".

On 6 September 2014 Leader, a wonderful old Brixham Trawler built in 1892 (www.trinitysailing.org/vessels/leader/), will set sail from Oban heading north for the Small Isles in a one-week voyage in homage to Hugh Miller and his Hebridean tours, described in his classic book "The Cruise of the Betsey". The boat sleeps 19 people including 4 crew members, and will be filled with an inter-generational mix of geologists, geographers, artists, writers, ecologists, storytellers and historians (including a Gaelic speaker). The voyage will take the form of a mobile conference during which each participant will apply their own talents and interests in celebration of the achievements of Hugh Miller, and the landscapes, seascapes and cultural history of the Hebrides. The reward for the successful applicants will be to broaden and deepen their appreciation of Hebridean geodiversity, but also to gain new and probably unexpected perspectives on the geology, landscape and people of this beautiful sea-bound realm.

The Geological Societies of Glasgow and Edinburgh will fund up to four berths on the boat for young people (aged 16-30) studying Earth science, who have a research interest in the area or in a subject related to Hugh Miller, and a passion for sharing and communicating geology, landscape and/or Hebridean culture to a diverse audience.

Dates: Saturday 6 to Friday 12 September 2014; you will need to be in Oban ready for embarkation on the morning of Saturday 6th.

Costs: £500 per berth (including all food during the voyage) plus travel costs to/from Oban. 

Grants from the two Geological Societies will meet most of these costs but you may be expected to make a modest contribution.

How to apply: Email Simon Cuthbert, Honorary Secretary, Geological Society of Glasgow for more details at simon.cuthbert@uws.ac.uk by 31 March 2014.

iAPS Session

A gorgeous sunny day in Ely yesterday with the cathedral looking stunning. Spent the day in the Old Palace, which is the school's main 6th form block.
With my colleagues Claire and Kate, I was helping to present a day for local teachers. We explored some ideas for narratives in Geography teaching, explored the changes in the new curriculum and Common Entrance exam, and also spent the afternoon exploring the ideas behind the new Global Learning Programme and also took a preliminary WALK THE WORLD walk around Ely.

Don't forget the RGS resources on the GLP and also a page on the GA website.

Thanks to my colleagues for their part in the day, and for the teachers who took the time to come along and offer their thoughts and energy.

Keep an eye out for the next meeting, which is likely to be in the Summer term all being well, with a focus on technology, such as GIS.

Teachers from the local area around Ely and beyond welcome to come along as always...

Pole of Cold article...

At the start of the year, I wrote some materials to go with the Pole of Cold expedition, which is now on its return journey from Siberia, and currently in Finland.

This is an interesting illustrated article about the journey.

I hope to write some further updates if time permits once the journey is over...

Here is the link to the RGS-IBG page.

Portuguese Trip 7 - Images

Images by me and Jaime Araujo (usually if I'm in them...)

Thanks for the hospitality from everyone I met!

Portuguese Trip 6 - Lisboa and back in time...

We headed towards Lisbon, and took the 'new' Vasco de Gama bridge over the Tagus towards the city. We were heading towards an area called the Park of Nations which hosted the world Expo in 1998.

I visited the Expo with my wife for our honeymoon. We had three days in the Expo and the main memory was the blistering heat each day...

It was really interesting to see how the park had changed in the fifteen years since: one of the main changes being the addition of tens of thousands of flats and houses. Some of the signs were still there, and also the wavy pavement designs representing the oceans, as well as the fountains and statues and the main buildings. We parked up and had a wander before I was dropped back at the airport.
It was good to see Gil, the mascot was still around in the Park, although its paint was peeling a little with the age...

Portuguese Trip 5 - Evora

On the final day, the sun shone from first thing - although it was a chilly start to the day. We went to say goodbye to the directors of the schools which we will hopefully connect with, and then had to make the return trip west to Lisbon and the airport.

The plan was to visit Evora.
This has UNESCO World Heritage designation.
I was involved in creating resources for the Google World Wonders site some years ago, although what I created has still not been fully shared on the site, which is a little disappointing as it was creative stuff, which I was pleased with when I finished it.

Out in the sun with Natalia (from Sofia) and Jaime to drive half an hour through a landscape which was full of cork oaks and park up on the outskirts of Evora.
Visited the Capela dos Ossos, lined with skulls and bones from the graveyard, various churches, although one of them had a funeral about to start, so we left; and also visited the temple of Diana and had a beer in the main square. We ate in a local restaurant, and then headed back to the car.

We then had a drive on the main highway at speed through a hillier landscape than I'd been used to in recent days, as we headed towards Lisbon.

Image: Alan Parkinson

Portuguese Trip 4 - Horses getting 'friendly'...

After breakfast on the second day of my project orientation visit to the Alentejo region of Portugal, it was out to visit some schools in the region. I wandered around the small town of Vidigueira first.
Like many of the towns, often only a few kilometres from each other, it had an impressive range of municipal facilities, and also two schools next to each other for different age groups. We had a coffee and chat in Jaime's school, and then headed on windy roads through endless olive groves and slopes planted with vines towards Serpa. On the outskirts of the town was one of the schools that we are going to work with on the proposed project. It was a vocational school where students learn all the processes involved with growing, processing and selling farm products. They also learn how to look after horses and many of the students have their own horses which are kept at the school, and which they use to learn how to teach riding, and other uses of horses on farms and businesses.

The tutor, who was connected with the Portuguese equestrian team offered to let us watch a class which he was giving to a group of students. We said yes, and headed out into the yard to see a group of students washing the rear-end of a female horse and as the tutor started talking, it was clear they were preparing it for something in particular. Having washed it, and tied its tail up with cloth, they led it down to another area of the yard. Shortly after, a very 'excited' stallion was led out and proceeded to play piggy back with the female horse... not something that's featured in a lot of my lessons previously :)

Lunch was accompanied by a cold Sagres, and then a trip out on the lake of Alqueva, which was mentioned in the previous post.

Another really interesting day exploring the potential of the connections that the European Teacher Academy project will be able to develop if it is successful in getting funding. The final day tomorrow, which is a return trip to Lisbon via the historic city of Evora.

Images: Alan Parkinson

Portuguese Trip 3 - Tourism in the Alentejo

On the second day of my visit, we were off to see some schools which would be involved in the proposed European project.

We visited two schools in Vidigueira and Serpa. We saw the multimedia suite where students were involved in learning the techniques needed for filming and broadcast and post-production and editing. We also visited an equestrian school, where students learned the various techniques involved in agri-business (more on that in a future post). The whole landscape was one which had benefitted from a recent development.

One of the places that was planned for us to visit, was this development: a relatively new addition to the Alentejano landscape called the Lago de Alqueva.

This would make a useful new tourism case study, and while there, I tried to collect a range of material which would help me create this as an example of a multi-purpose scheme, which was also changing the fortunes of an entire region.

The lake was formed when two barrages were built across the Guadiana River.

The lake that grew behind the first of the dams took eight years to fill to the maximum safe level, and as it did so, it drowned a number of settlements, one of which now has a 'museum' dedicated to it.


Some areas on the shore of the lake were also the first area in the world to receive the designation of 'Starlight Tourism' also called 'Dark Sky' tourism. There are some areas in the UK which also now have this designation, and I heard someone talking about that some years ago when I attended Teachmeet Beyond.
This is an area which is free from light pollution, and enables the sky to be seen clearly. There are apparently special trips on the lake to help facilitate this, which sound like they would be quite special.

Over 100 million Euros is being invested as part of the Turismo2015 project, and it will be interesting to see what impact this has in the region.

We experienced something of this, thanks to Nixon who runs a company offering boat trips on the lake. He gave us a taste of what this was like, and we headed down to the marina to board one of his boats. We had a tour around part of the lake close to the barrage, which has the phrase 'On a clear day you can see forever' featuring in huge letters on it.

I am going to write up the area and develop some resources which will form a proposed case study for a GCSE textbook which I am going to help to write later this year.

Portuguese Trip 2

After the lecture, and some very interesting conversations and questions, we moved into the social aspect of the evening. We headed back toward Cuba, and to the Herdade do Rocim.

We had a tour of the premises, the sun had just set behind the hill but we could see the 70 hectares of vineyards which surrounded the Adega.
We had a tour of the premises, which offers a range of options for visitors. Fortunately, an American party had just been through on a wine tasting session, and there was half a bottle of one of the vineyards finest wines sitting there that needed to be drunk.

We then went into the town of Cuba to have a meal, and met up with Luis, who I worked on the digitalearth project with, and had last seen in Helsinki.
If the project we were discussing gets funding, it will be good to have the chance to work with Luis again.

Portuguese Trip 1

After a period without heading abroad, I'm currently in Portugal on a visit to some schools in advance of a proposed EU project which will involve my school in the UK.
I flew out from Stansted airport: an early start, and a two hour flight to Lisbon.
From there, Jaime, my host for the trip, took me across the Tagus and through sun-soaked Portuguese countryside to the Alentejo region.
One of my first commitments was to give a talk at a school in Vidigueira.
Thanks to the teachers and other colleagues who came to listen to me talk about the curriculum and ideas for 'making' it, and bringing it to life in the classroom...
Here are the slides that I used for anyone who is interested.

Portugal CPD Lecture - February 2014

View more presentations or Upload your own.

Image: Jaime Araujo

New book published...

Author copies of my new book for Collins have just arrived.
Aimed at KS2/3 boys to get them reading, but also readable by all age groups and girls too...

New Digital Explorer media player

Jamie Buchanan Dunlop visited my school last week to kick off our Big Outdoors Day and then lead a number of workshops with Year 8 students on the theme of Polar exploration...
Here he is explaining how difficult it is to get into a sleeping bag, with the help of Mackenzie and Timi....

The Digital Explorer website now has a brand new media player app which allows you to explore their collection of video and images on a range of devices.

Drag clips into the toolbar and play them through.
Quite a few bits that I helped to create on there, which is always good to see...

Options time

With Options time around at the moment - although some schools have already done theirs - here's a reminder of a leaflet I wrote while working for the GA...