Saturday, 7 March 2009

Migrant Worker Superheroes

Came across a fantastic photography project which casts immigrant workers in the USA as 'superheroes' and places them in the settings where they work.
The exhibition is the work of Dulce Pinzon.
The Mexican immigrant worker in New York is a perfect example of the hero who has gone unnoticed. It is common for a Mexican worker in New York to work extraordinary hours in extreme conditions for very low wages which are saved at great cost and sacrifice and sent to families and communities in Mexico who rely on them to survive.

The Mexican economy has quietly become dependent on the money sent from workers in the US. Conversely, the US economy has quietly become dependent on the labor of Mexican immigrants. Along with the depth of their sacrifice, it is the quietness of this dependence which makes Mexican immigrant workers a subject of interest.

The principal objective of this series is to pay homage to these brave and determined men and women that somehow manage, without the help of any supernatural power, to withstand extreme conditions of labor in order to help their families and communities survive and prosper.

This project consists of 20 color photographs of Mexican immigrants dressed in the costumes of popular American and Mexican superheroes. Each photo pictures the worker/superhero in their work environment, and is accompanied by a short text including the worker’s name, their hometown in Mexico, the number of years they have been working in New York, and the amount of money they send to Mexico each week.


Visit the WEBSITE to find out more. This would make a fabulous context for looking at immigration.
Thanks to TIM CONNOR blog for link.

2000AD

Source: 2000AD Online

At the TIDE conference earlier this week, Alun Morgan used a map from 2000AD as part of his session on SUSTAINABILITY, and ALTERNATIVE FUTURES.

I remember 2000AD being launched: in fact I had the first 100 or more issues, but they disappeared sometime since 1977 (a pity as they'd have been worth hundreds of pounds now, especially 'Programme' 1, which I had...)

To start with your 2000AD explorations, why not read this article from WEEKEND magazine: 1961, which suggests what life "is going to be like" in 2001.
Compare the description of our 'future' lives with the reality of 2009.

Friday, 6 March 2009

TIDE - Enabling a connected curriculum 5

As part of our session, Tony Cassidy and I used EARTH HOUR as a context for exploring the idea of ENQUIRY as a participatory occasion...
We showed the EARTH HOUR video and explained how what had started off as a 'local' event became a GLOBAL one. Here's another EARTH HOUR video...


How could this event, which takes place on March 28th be used as a cross-curricular focus perhaps ?
It involves a simple act, and can be used for a range of curriculum subjects, and cross cutting themes such as Community Cohesion.

OTHER SUGGESTIONS AND THOUGHTS
  • Mapping the impact could be a useful exercise...
  • Also get involved with dothegreenthing.com
  • Do an energy audit around the school - perhaps using OWL energy monitors.
  • Thinking back to what life was like when there were power cuts in the 1970s – asking the teachers (the older ones anyway)
  • What about people who have to live their lives according to the sun even today ?
  • I have an OWL device to monitor energy usage – some local authorities are renting these devices to families so that they can see where savings can be made – there are also ‘smart’ meters going into some new houses...
  • How much difference can one flick of a finger make ? On what other occasions has the flick of a finger changed history ?
  • In English, write news reports and editorials on the success of Earth Hour 2009
  • Debates / Speeches: Can one person make a difference ?
  • Celebtrity endorsements - who would be appropriate ?
  • Compare with a minute's silence
  • How easy is it to get lots of people to do the same thing at the same time ?
  • Eco Clubs
  • Eco Schools
  • Act local, think global
  • Run alongside the Priory Green initiative: issues with global warming / climate change
  • Global Citizenship
  • Contact Local Authority for visitor from Sustainability team to talk
  • Ask parents, teachers and students to make a pledge to join in: perhaps related to the development of the school grounds and planting trees
Here were the delegate ENQUIRY QUESTIONS:

How could Earth hour be adapted ?

What other ways are there of saving electricity ?

What will you miss ?

Does it matter ?

What could you do instead ?

How much electricity does a lightbulb consume ?

Do we need electric lighting ?

What did people do before electric lighting ?

How did life change because of the lights being off ?

Does bulb manufacture cause pollution ?

How much electricity will our class save by doing this ?

How much energy is used to manufacture a bulb ?

What do you notice about the countries taking part ?

Have you heard of this before ?

Why would people choose to do this ?

How much energy does the average house use in 1 hour ?

What impact will it have on those who don’t turn off their lights ?

Why have people decided to do this ?

Will it make a difference ?

What do you know about light ?

Should we get our school partner in Bangladesh involved ?

Where in the world will this make the most difference ?

How many minutes / seconds are there in an hour ?

What could this do to help the world ?

What would students learn from this ?

Would it develop their understanding of interdependence ?

What would students understand about the impact of it ?

Do low energy bulbs save appreciable amounts of energy ?

How is electricity generated ?

How much electricity is used in one hour to light a house – compare the 28th of March with the 29th of March ?

What are the consequences of turning off the lights ?

How much electricity does a normal light bulb use in an hour ?

Who is Earth Hour for ?

Who would students think would benefit from ‘Earth Hour’ ?

How much electricity do other countries use ?

What could the possible positive or negative impacts be ?

What are the positive and negative impacts of electricity generation ?

How many lights do you have in your house ?

What contribution will you make ?

And here's the resulting WORDLE...



Wordle: Earth Hour Enquiry Questions

Seeing Eye to Eye...

One of my fellow exhibitors at the TIDE conference yesterday was Mark Thorpe of SAVE THE CHILDREN. He was also kind enough to attend my workshop and say nice things about it.

On the 17th of March, I will be down in London at Save the Children UK's HQ in London for the EYE TO EYE Project Final Showcase Event.

Eye to Eye is a project which involved giving cameras to children to take photographs of their local area.

There are plenty of RESOURCES about the project, and the pictures can also be viewed online. Well worth checking out...

There are plenty of other useful resources on the website, such as the section on KROO BAY in Freetown, Sierra Leone.

A New VLAD MAP

The desktop I had at school which led to the most interest was an inverted map of the world, with the continents as oceans and vice versa...
It was produced by Vlad Gerasimov of the eponymous VLAD STUDIO, and now VLAD has released another great desktop: a TYPOGRAPHICAL MAP OF THE WORLD, which you will see if you click the link...
Check out VLAD's other work from that link too.
Nice work !


David Lambert Professorial Lecture

If you're in London in June - check out this event....
David Lambert's Inaugural Professorial Lecture

Take part in a celebration for Geography in Education!
Geography in Education: lost in the post?
Date: 23rd June 2009
Time: 6pm
Venue: Jeffery Hall, Institute of Education, 20 Bedford Way, London, WC1H 0AL.

Professor David Lambert's lecture will be of interest to anyone involved in geography education. In his lecture, David will argue that geography is definitely not lost! He says that contemporary geography is a school subject of great significance and has a lot to offer children and young people growing up in a confusing, rapidly changing and dangerous world.

The event includes free tea and biscuits before the event (5.30pm in the Crush Hall; level 1) and a free wine reception following the lecture.

There is no admission charge for the event but, for catering purposes, please book a place with Elaine Peck - telephone
020 7612 6556 or e-mail e.peck@ioe.ac.uk.

Geography Jim

Back in the mists of time, when there were very few geography websites around, one of the few that was around was GEOGRAPHY JIM, and it's good to see that he's still around, and thriving...

2010 World Cup and Cape Town


Thanks to Angus Willson for blogging about CAPE TOWN and the 2010 World Cup

For those departments doing the GEOGRAPHY OF SPORT, this would be a useful corollary (or alternative) to the London Olympics as a context.

Also liked Angus' "GHOST TOWN" post... Fits with a current theme in urban change, and also the BIKO post.

A session on the TIDE conference yesterday explored the following question:

Do cities unite or divide communities?

Tool taken from the South African Cities Network 

TIDE - Enabling a connected curriculum 4

And so to the main event: the presentation of TONY CASSIDY and I on "Developing Enquiry Skills"
Thanks to the delegates who attended our session for their contributions.
Coming soon will be the results of your EARTH HOUR suggestions for participatory enquiry.

After our workshop, it was lunchtime, and then into a choice from 3 workshops, all of which were resolutely GEOGRAPHICAL in nature....

Global perspectives: Do cities unite or divide communities ?
Responding to climate change: who do we trust ?
Development: when is overseas aid a good idea ?

Some notes from these coming shortly...

All the delegates received a copy of a new publication which was produced with contributions from the GA. Specifically mentioned are Ruth Totterdell and David Lambert.
The publication is:
"Enabling Global Learning through the KS3 Curriculum"

A very useful publication...

TIDE - Enabling a Connected Curriculum 3

Just a reminder re: the cancelled session from yesterday on "Critically engaging with the media and internet". As I mentioned, there are some ideas here for using national newspapers with a Sceptical eye...
View more presentations from GeoBlogs. (tags: geography)

TIDE - Enabling a connected curriculum 2

Enabling a Connected Curriculum - opportunities for Global Learning at KS3
Yesterday's event was very enjoyable. Thanks to all involved in the organisation of the event.
First part of the day was held in the Thinktank Theatre. Nice venue.
"Enabling Global Learning through the KS3 Curriculum"
It involved 4 contributions which provided a subject-based perspective, but the overlaps were useful, and these came out strongly - particularly how 'everyone' is using mobile phones as a context...

Jo Flynn from the Science Learning Centre, Keele University discussed the science perspective, and the difficulty of teaching about uncertainty

Alun Morgan, co-director of the Sustainability programme at South Bank University took us through the ideas that make up Chapter 23 of the GA's Secondary Geography Handbook: "Teaching Geography for a Sustainable Future" - will blog more about this when I get the chance...
Some of the ideas and quotes are on my TWITTER 'FEED' from the conference.

Andrew Wrenn talked about teaching about emotive and controversial issues in the context of the Historial Association's excellent TEACH resource. (CLICK THE LINK FOR FREE PDF)
There were some humorous comments on the 'mush' that schools introduce rather than keeping discrete subjects, particularly the thematic curricula that are introduced.

Cathryn Gathercole of Practical Action discussed the perspectives of D&T in terms of sustainability: small scale projects, as the organisation was founded by Fritz Schumacher, who wrote the book "Small is Beautiful".
The organisation's website is a very useful visit, as it has a range of videos that could be used in the classroom. Cathryn talked about some of the work of the charity in Bangladesh, looking at simple solutions to the problems that are caused by flooding. One example was to keep ducks instead of chickens...

Important to support students in making decisions in the face of uncertainty.

The scene was set for the rest of the day.

Thursday, 5 March 2009

TIDE - Enabling a connected curriculum 1

After a night with friends in Leicester it was the early train through frozen fields to Birmingham New Street, carting boxes of delegate materials. Near Nuneaton, silhouetted against the rising sun was the unmistakeable silhouette of colliery winding gear.

Today is 25 years since the start of the miners' strike in Yorkshire

My grandfather was a pit deputy, and many members of my form and year group worked at Maltby Colliery.
It was out to Millennium Point for the TIDE~ GLOBAL LEARNING event. Up to the THINKTANK THEATRE for the conference, and to set up the GA banner and materials (which disappeared off the table in record time)

Image of Millennium Point from Flickr under Creative Commons by abrinsky - thanks !

Tuesday, 3 March 2009

Jamie en route to Antarctica



Digital Explorer's Jamie Buchanan Dunlop is en route to Bellinghausen in Antarctica.
I know this because I picked up a 'tweet' from Jamie that was posted late last night UK time...

It included a link to the E-BASE website.
E-BASE was set up by Robert Swan, and was based around the idea that there needed to be a permanent educational base, which could communicate with teachers and students around the world.

2041 refers to the year when the current moratorium on mining in Antarctica will be reviewed and renegotiated....

Sign up follow Jamie on TWITTER, and you can follow his journey.

New Google Earth Imagery

Many parts of the UK (and elsewhere) are now benefiting from new imagery on Google Earth.
Just checked the GA's location: S1 4BF...

The image now shows the new development which has us surrounded, but if you slide the HISTORICAL IMAGERY slider back to 1999, you'll see the open spaces on each side where the foxes use to roam in the evenings (according to John Lyon) and when we still had a view up the valley... Try it for your local area...

GA Conference: an international affair...

This year's GA Conference will take place in Manchester between the 16th and 18th of April.
We have delegates arriving from places including Malawi, Finland and Australia !

GA Conference - where are the delegates coming from ?
Make yours @ BigHugeLabs.com
Make yours @ BigHugeLabs.com

If you're reading this from any of these overseas locations, you might like to know that an International Rendezvous, sponsored by the GA's International Working Group, will be taking place on Friday 17 April from 13:00-13:50. All overseas visitors and guests are welcome to come along for wine and nibbles and an opportunity to make new friends.

Finally, a reminder to anyone planning to attend the conference that the final deadline for conference registration is the 23rd of March. Booking can be done online.

Look forward to seeing you !

Update 6th March - Now includes Portugal... New map coming soon....

Geography Directory - a reminder

Was just writing an item on an unrelated issue, and came across Rob Chambers' Geography Directory again, which remains a spectacularly useful document...

Geography Directory

Monday, 2 March 2009

New Population and Migration Resources

Thanks to Stacey McCabe for telling me about a resource on the Welsh NGfL site.
It contains 5 lessons on MIGRATIONThe resource contains a range of interactive resources which are engaging and would be useful in areas outside of Wales.

A day in Oxford... 4

Many thanks to Garrett Nagle and colleagues at St. Edwards School, Oxford for hosting the GA's conference today, and to Paul Baker for his efforts in ensuring the day ran smoothly.
Enjoyed the sessions in the morning from Bob Digby, Eleanor Rawling and John Widdowson.
Had a very pleasant lunch, and then in the afternoon there were sessions from David Holmes and Viv Pointon representing the exam boards.
Many thanks to the delegates that I spoke to for coming along and being so supportive of the GA's work.
If there are any issues that I can help with following on from the event, please get in touch.

A day in Oxford... 3

John Widdowson
Keeping pupils from Year 9 to GCSE
GA: KS3 Geography Toolkit mentioned...
Thinking Process: "The Curriculum Cake" - a range of nice images
1991: 160 items of content, which was whittled down
2000: 10 items of content - places, themes etc.
Revised curriculum: just 3 pieces
Places Themes Issues
In the context of the UK and the wider world.
In the 1980s, all teachers were curriculum developers.
Curriculum in 3 dimensions: used to considering the breadth of study but not the depth of study.
Underlying the content are the 7 concepts (but not all of them) - may be underlain by more or less.

Cut out a piece of cake and different pieces have different layers and contents...

Central to the national curriculum is the idea of ENQUIRY.
"The baking powder that helps the cake rise..."
Is the question a genuine question ?
e.g. Teaching about settlement...
Focus on 'MOVING STORIES', and the use of the CONCEPT MAP.
Final question: "Who should be allowed into the UK ?"

A day in Oxford... 2

Eleanor Rawling
Planning the new KS3 curriculum book - available from GA Shop3 levels of GA support: 'Planning' book, 'Assessment' book (Paul Weeden) and 'Toolkit'

Programme of Study as a series of questions.

Key concepts and key processes are not where planning starts.
Minimal content, but is mixed up with the criteria for choosing more. The book separates out the content from the criteria, and provides a 'ready made' suggestion for topics.
Focus on concepts:
  • What are they and what are you supposed to do with them ?
  • PoS doesn't tell you...
Have to start planning to end up with an appreciation of the concepts, rather than starting with them...
Concepts as a skeleton to hang the flesh (content)
Concepts represent "economies of thought" (HMI, 1972)
Concepts have been selected (and may well change...)

OCR GCSE Pilot: FUGIS - 5 concepts
Importance of teachers knowing their subject, and also the PoS, which means that teachers should also know their curriculum planning.

GA Website: resources available for GA members
Page for each concept, but not suggesting that they are separate.

Yr 7: Going Global - not starting with local...
Yr 8: Places to Remember
Yr 9: Me and My Space

Different types of curriculum planners - original idea came from some financial advice - irony of this...
Spiral curriculum...

A day in Oxford...

A day in Oxford at the Independent Schools' Working Group conference, which was hosted by St. Edwards School on Woodstock Road, Oxford. Arrived early to help set up. Met a few people for the first time that I knew through various networks and NINGs. Event organised by Paul Baker and Garrett Nagle.

Bob Digby

Bob started by talking about his interest in sport and 'big events'.

Andrew Church: talks about a love of the spectacular: 'a view from the Royal Box' - need to bring something else to it for it to become geographical.
What do geographers bring to the study:
Environmental issues, scale of impacts (local - the transformation of Stratford in London, regional, national, global), processes of change and young people, geography and sport.
Refers to the legacy for young people.
Crime in Hackney halved in 2 years, and involvement in sport doubled. Coincidence ?

3 features of London's bid:
( Also remember that it was the first time that London had bid on a competitive basis: 1908 - Naples cancelled due to Vesuvius, and in 1948, London stepped in after WWII)

Olympic heritage
London's diversity
A sporting legacy

Nelson Mandela quote:
[London] "is a wonderfully diverse and open city...I can't think of a better place than London to hold an event that unites the world"

Barcelona: Olympics as pump primer for redevelopment, although Athens less successful

River Lea - connection with Iain Sinclair and development of Lea Valley area

Wimbledon / Wembley being used - iconic locations. Teaching idea: Route for marathon designed to take in London's landmarks... Could be used as a planning exercise with students.
Beach volleyball in Horse Guards Parade - inspired choice of location ?

Canning Town South - brief focus on this area - use of deprivation statistics
Enquiry questions about the impact of regeneration on quality of life.
Only 37% in full time employment, but many are full time carers
1 in 8 suffers poor health
1 in 5 people know fewer than 4 neigbours - 'disconnected'...
People concerned about crime
"Social regeneration" is needed

Industrial area used as site for stadium despite need for employment - also link to Noel's PORTLAND video.
When Bob started teaching, E. London was a major manufacturing area - not any more.

Uses of the Olympic venues after the event itself...

Affordable housing: what is 'affordable' ?
Olympic village going to be built as apartments and then short term conversion into rooms using dividers. Sydney said the same - designed to be sustainable but Olympics cost so much that they were sold off at market price.
Boris Johnson: "less about regeneration, more about sport" - will wait to see what happens

After Credit Crunch
Impact on property prices and affordability
Financing the loans is very difficult due to the credit crunch - problems for building companies.
Government taking over responsibility.
Who takes over the Olympic stadium ? West Ham need bigger stadium, Leyton Orient don't need a 25 000 seater

Sunday, 1 March 2009

Oxford Evening...

Over to Oxford for this event:

Geography Conference Organised by the GA's Independent Schools Working Group: Focus on the New Geography - A Level, IB, GCSE and KS3 changes and what they mean to us all
Monday 2 March 2009
St Edward's School, Oxford
This one day Conference is designed for all teachers of KS3 to A Level. Lectures and workshops will be given on topics relating to the new A Level syllabi, IB, GCSE and KS3 (including Common Entrance). Lecturers will, we hope, include Eleanor Rawlings MBE, Dr Garrett Nagle, Dr Roger Trend, John Widdowson, Paul Guinness, Paul Baker, Dr Bob Digby and David Holmes. We will be inviting publishers and authors to be with us for the day. GA resources will be available to order. There will be a lunch and a chance to meet and discuss with colleagues.

(Information from GA website)

Sunny, and then in to St. Giles. Parked up by the "Eagle and Child". It was a pub where J.R.R Tolkien used to drink. Also known locally as the 'bird and baby'...

Up Broad Street and noticed an Anthony Gormley figure on the roof, which had apparently only been there for a couple of weeks. Wandered through the colleges from there, and back round via Radcliffe Camera to Old Tom, and a drink in the 'Old Tom'. More pics in my new FLICKR set.

Radcliffe Camera

Then it was down to the castle, and had meal and took a few pics, before heading back up to the King's Arms for a swift half with a friend. Interestingly, in all the 3 pubs that I went in, there was a group of people talking about this young lady...

Nice Bath Ale.
Back to the Travelodge for a few small jobs to complete, and to watch Monty Halls' Great Escape which is very enjoyable.
Tomorrow, will be online at the conference with some updates via TWITTER. Tag: #iswgox