Here's to Dan Raven Ellison....

These words have been repeated many times over the last few days since the sad death of Steve Jobs.

"Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They invent. They imagine. They heal. They explore. They create. They inspire. They push the human race forward. Maybe they have to be crazy. While some see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do." 
They're taken from the Apple 'Think Different' ad of 1997.

We've just created something new over at Mission:Explore Net

It's not an iPhone or an iPad, it's just a website, but it's a pretty cool one, and it helps young people to explore their surroundings and develop an appreciation of a whole range of geographical skills. It's free to use and has been going down really well with everyone in the UK who's tried it out.

My friend and fellow collective member Dan thought that it might be something that geography colleagues in Australia would like, so he sent an e-mail to some people over there who'd put their e-mail addresses up on a website for their association, letting them know that the website was now live.

Australian colleagues are going through the same curriculum changes as in the UK, and have been looking to the UK for some advice. I've blogged about these changes several times over the last few years.
The ACARA consultation is ongoing and has referenced the work of the GA and 'a different view' as a major influence. Curriculum change is ongoing in New Zealand too.

Dan got this e-mail reply from an Australian colleague:

 I believe this to be an unsolicited email with no indication as to how or why it has been sent to my email address and there is no option to unsubscribe. I wish to bring to your attention the following:

An anti-spam bill was introduced to Australian Federal parliament in September 2003 that makes it a civil offence to use address harvesting software to construct distribution lists of recipients or a list built in this way. Any unsolicited commercial emails must contain accurate information about the origin of the mail and provide a means for recipient to opt out. The regulation applies to email, SMS, MMS, and instant messaging. The regulation applies regardless of where (which country) the email originated from or in which country the eMarketing company resides.

I will be referring your email to the relevant Australian authorities and advising all other Australian geography organisations to stay well clear of the website you are promoting

??

This is a FREE website which offers the chance to add a bit of creativity to the geography curriculum mix. There are links to FREE materials for Geography Awareness Week. The e-mails were sent to professional colleagues. This person is apparently now going to advise "all other Australian geography organisations to stay well clear of the website".... - a bit of an over-reaction possibly.
If I had a similar response to all the unsolicited e-mails I received I'd be much the poorer - both financially and professionally.

Here's to the crazy ones...
The ones who just click delete when an e-mail that's not relevant drops in their in-box.
Here's to all the MISSION EXPLORERS....
Here's to Dan Raven Ellison.

Wonderful inking by Tom Morgan Jones

Follow the Things

I've been following Follow the Things for some years now as it took shape thanks to the efforts of Ian Cook and colleagues.
The idea is that you can explore the links between consumer products and the places that they were manufactured. The links between these locations provide useful material for looking at interdependence and globalisation.
There are also links with trade justice and inequality.

There are some additional, and useful links which have since appeared in various locations, and which I have incorporated into a draft of a possible new resource.

Follow @followthethings on Twitter

Controlled Assessment 'damaged children's education'

An OFQUAL report published today, and covered in this Daily Telegraph article has confirmed what a large number of Geography teachers already knew: that Controlled Assessment is NOT a good idea...

Fortunately, I escaped having to organise CA in my own school, but working with many teachers over the last few years has reminded me many times of the endless headaches organising, monitoring and scrutinising the assessments. Fieldwork trips have become quick dashes to grab as much information as possible, and have perhaps been moulded with the various levels of 'control' in mind. Access to computer rooms and the need to monitor internet access have occupied time and created additional stress. Students have not necessarily benefited from the change.
All of this has taken time: the thing that is perhaps in shortest supply in most teachers' lives (despite what some of the people adding comments to the Telegraph article have said...)

“The amount of time taken up in each subject by controlled assessment, meant a narrowing of teaching, and fewer opportunities for activities such as off-site trips that deepen students’ understanding and interest,” the study said.

“In several subjects the loss of teaching and learning time was the single biggest drawback to controlled assessment.”

Geography is described as one of those subjects that has been affected the most.


Click the link HERE to download a PDF copy of the report, which was produced by Ipsos Mori.

Vital Geography Portal - the countdown to launch...

I'm excited to be starting a new part-time post working for the Open University's VITAL CPD programme next week. A series of subject specific portals have started to open, and next week sees the launch of the Geography Portal, which I shall be managing.

As part of the launch, I shall be leading a Teachshare next Wednesday at 7pm (there will be 2 of these each month, sometimes more)

The subject will be FREE GIS FOR THE GEOGRAPHY CLASSROOM and I will show 3 websites which can be used to carry out GIS type work in the geography department.

This will be held via the Elluminate service. The link to join the event is HERE.
It's a little like a FLASH meeting or ADOBE connect, for those who are familiar with those.

The cost of accessing up to 3 of the subject-specific portals between now and the end of March 2012 is just five pounds, which has to be a bargain considering the geography-specific support that the portal will offer....

I shall be doing the following each month:
- holding at least 2 Teachshare meetings
- posting Top Tips for Geography teachers, which will include resources and other tip-offs
- a moderated Geography forum, where you can join in discussions on pedagogy and curriculum topics
- producing 4 x 10 minute video guides to a particular website or technique that would be useful in the geography classroom
- keeping up to date with the geography news

There will also be other Geography features added over time...

Hope to see you there next week !

"We want cake, and tea..."

Those familiar with the film Withnail and I will know what comes next...

CAKE is the Climate Adaptation Knowledge Exchange

It's built around an interactive ESRI map, which has a range of case studies.

What is the Climate Adaptation Knowledge Exchange (CAKE)?

CAKE is a free, innovative, online resource created to help you navigate the world of climate change adaptation (how we prepare for and respond to climate change). Climate change is dramatically altering and affecting natural systems, human communities, and built environments. Managers, scientists, planners, conservation practitioners, and others are grappling with the realities of climate change in their daily work. CAKE, launched in July 2010, was built to support organizations, agencies, and individuals interested and/or engaged in climate change adaptation by providing a venue for open access information exchange between professionals. The primary goals of CAKE are to:

• Build an innovative community of practice around climate change adaptation;
• Facilitate the identification and development of best practices; and
• Connect practitioners to share knowledge and strategies.

CAKE includes Case Studies of on-the-ground adaptation efforts, a Virtual Library of useful resources to support adaptation action, a Directory of individuals and organizations rich with adaptation knowledge, a Tools section full of useful online resources for adaptation action, and a Community section with an expert advice column and more. CAKE is a useful and effective resource because it presents valuable content on climate change adaptation in an approachable format that enables users to quickly access information and contribute as desired. The ultimate goal of CAKE is to create a living knowledge exchange among a growing, interactive community of people concerned about climate change adaptation.

Why focus on adaptation specifically?

The two approaches to addressing climate change are mitigation and adaptation. Mitigation efforts decrease the rate and extent of climate change through the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions or the enhancement of carbon uptake and storage. Adaptation efforts either minimize the negative effects or exploit potential opportunities of climate change. These are not choices to be weighed against each other – both are necessary responses to the challenge of climate change. However, since climate change has already progressed to the point where some effects are unavoidable, adaptation serves as an insurance policy to protect ourselves and our investments from global impacts. For more information on the basics of climate change and adaptation and links to more information, check out the Don’t Panic page.

One billion downloads of Google Earth

Here's a video to celebrate...

Retro graphics

Can remember these well from the 1970s... Cultural memories...

MissionExplore.net now live

I've just completed my first mission on the relaunched Mission Explore.net which is now live in BETA
It's called the DEAD EASY MISSION
Come and login and find out what it involves...

It's worth it to go and see Tom Morgan Jones' latest wonderful illustrations...

Just going to do some missions at home...

Coincidentally my EARTH SANDWICH Mission Explore t-shirt arrived today - it's cool.

Why not order your own MISSION EXPLORE shirt to wear while completing the MISSION EXPLORE missions ?

Also available in Australia...

Spaces on Ocean Training Days - book now !

Oceans Teacher Training

Unique.. fun.. inspirational.. practical.. probably a bit messy.. and ultimately pretty important.

We're down to the last few spaces - if mucking about in mudflats, pretending to be Arctic scientists and sailing a pilot cutter (this year's fastest overall in the Tall Ships Race) sounds like your cup of tea, send in an application before Sunday night (9th)!

The training will take place over a choice of two sessions: 

Sat 22nd & Sun 23 October or Fri 28th & Sat 29th October,

and will enable teachers to confidently implement oceans learning into the classroom, through National Curriculum topics, for example using ocean-based case studies instead of land-based. 

[de] Oceans provides schools with a well-rounded resource programme on oceans learning, including an Ambassador programme and soon-to-be-released classroom resources on the Frozen Oceans.

As Arthur C. Clarke put it:

"How inappropriate to call this planet Earth when it is quite clearly Ocean."

The Digital Explorer Oceans site is now live... Education Pack coming soon...

GA Autumn Journals

Available to download from GA website by subscribers

Plenty on Curriculum and Knowledge here for all those following the curriculum debate...

Erosion of Childhood letter...

I am one of 200 'experts' (I use that term advisedly) to sign a letter that was published in the Daily Telegraph at the end of September on the lack of outdoor play for many children...

Here it is:

SIR –

Five years ago, your newspaper published a letter signed by more than 100 experts, arguing that children’s well-being and mental health were being adversely affected by modern technological and commercial culture. Since then, several high-profile reports on the state of childhood in Britain have agreed that our children are suffering from a relentless diet of "too much, too soon" – with Unicef finding Britain to have the lowest levels of children’s well-being in the developed world, and Britain coming out near the top of international league tables on almost all indicators of teenage distress and disaffection.

Although parents are deeply concerned about this issue, the erosion of childhood in Britain has continued apace since 2006. Our children are subjected to increasing commercial pressures, they begin formal education earlier than the European norm, and they spend ever more time indoors with screen-based technology, rather than in outdoor activity. The time has come to move from awareness to action. We call on all organisations and individuals concerned about the erosion of childhood to come together to achieve the following: public information campaigns about children’s developmental needs, what constitutes "quality childcare", and the dangers of a consumerist screen-based life-style; the establishment of a genuinely play-based curriculum in nurseries and primary schools up to the age of six, free from the downward pressure of formal learning, tests and targets; community-based initiatives to ensure that children’s outdoor play and connection to nature are encouraged, supported and resourced within every local neighbourhood, and the banning of all forms of marketing directed at children up to at least age seven.

It is everyone’s responsibility to challenge policy-making and cultural developments that entice children into growing up too quickly – and to protect their right to be healthy and joyful natural learners. Top-down, political approaches to change always have their limitations, no matter how well-intentioned. It is only by coming together as a unifying voice from the grass roots, therefore, that we can hope to interrupt the erosion of childhood, and find a more human way to nurture and empower all our children.

You can read the letter and see the other signatories here...

I think it's worth saying that I would say you can have both outdoor play and screen time. My son benefits hugely from time spent on the iPad which helps his creative and communication side wonderfully. Some of these 'addictive computer games' also have real value used in an educational context - I have seen the benefits of games based learning. I didn't sign up to get rid of computers - goodness knows I spend long enough each day staring at them...

It's also interesting to read the numerous comments below the article which as always veer from one extreme view to another (with some in the middle)

Thanks to Dan for sending the link - I had forgotten all about that...

Thought for the Day

One former solicitor who had retrained as a teacher said she had found a "profound lack of respect by senior staff and parents for the quality and quantity of work undertaken by teachers". "I have never before worked in a workplace where I have not been treated as a professional," she said. "My every move is monitored and I am not trusted to do the job I have trained and gained qualifications to do. "It has had a great impact on my self-confidence … As a solicitor I was trusted to do my job once I had the necessary qualifications and experience."


from The Guardian

Subject Knowledge Update: Globalisation

The RGS-IBG hold regular subject updates for topics that are of relevance to 'A' level topics in particular.

I mentioned a previous one on water, and will actually be leading one in 2012 on the theme of the Polar regions (of which more to come later...)

There will be a subject update on the theme of Globalisation held in Manchester on the 5th of December 2011. This will be useful for those who would find it difficult travelling to London.


Subject Knowledge Updates are a series of evening sessions each focusing on a different theme, covering the basic information for teaching that topic and providing up to date case study material and resources. The next session in this series looks at Globalisation.
The DfE Schools White Paper 2010 The importance of Teaching highlights a need for subject knowledge to be included in CPD: “It is also vital that we give teachers the opportunity to deepen their subject
knowledge and renew the passion which brought them into the classroom”.

This Globalisation Subject Knowledge Update will:
 Provide up to date and new case study material and information.
 Give an overview of the key facts and information that should be highlighted when teaching 
globalisation.
 Help teachers who have not taught globalisation for a while, or never studied it, to teach it 
effectively and confidently.
 Provide some resources and case studies for you to take away for use at KS3, KS4 and KS5.
 Encourage enthusiasm to teach globalisation and give ideas of how to link it with other topics and 
themes.


About the session
Globalisation is now a core element for some of the new geography A-level Specifications and the
International Baccalaureate diploma course. It is increasingly a highly popular A2 option for those boards
where it is not a compulsory topic. But thanks to the fast-changing nature of global interactions, it is
difficult for students and teachers to always keep up to date with their facts and case studies. Some new
course text books published in 2008 do not mention the Credit Crunch for instance, yet this is a crucial new development that some experts have even called ‘de-globalisation.’  Effective globalisation teaching for higher grades also requires that students can make good use of important concepts – such as networks, flows, interconnectedness – and that they also have a good understanding of the politics, and not just the economics, of globalisation. This session will provide experienced and newer geography teachers with an opportunity to up-date their globalisation knowledge. Specific themes covered will include TNCs updates, cultural globalisation (glocalisation), global politics, ICT and global interactions (mobiles, Facebook, BlackBerry, etc.), diaspora, global production networks and Credit Crunch geography.
About the presenter
Dr Simon Oakes is an A-level Principal Examiner and Chief Examiner for IB Diploma Programme geography.He currently teaches at Bancroft’s School in Essex and is an experienced undergraduate lecture. He has been the lead writer of the Royal Geographical Society’s ‘Geography in the News’ website since 2003, authoring more than 120 articles. Simon is an Associate Editor of Geography Review magazine and is the author of Phillip Allan’s new Globalisation text book and a co-author of several key A-level and GCSE course guides. His doctoral research examined the growth of information technology global networks viewed from a rural perspective. Post-doctoral research includes work on flood hazard management for the Environmental Agency / Defra and climate change curriculum development with DCSF.


Venue:  Xaverian Sixth Form College, Lower Park Road, Victoria Park, Manchester, M14 5RB
Time: 5pm – 7pm (registration from 4.30pm for a prompt start). Refreshments will be available.
Format: 90mins lecture style followed by 30mins of discussion and questions.
There are 20 places available on this course.
Please note: this course is for teachers only.
Costs
Members (School Members / Fellows / ECT Members / Young Geographers) £30 inc VAT
Non Members £40 inc VAT

Contact Claire Wheeler for more details

Glacierworks

Reading earlier about Glacierworks

David Breashears is doing a lecture at the RGS tonight - still tickets available...

GlacierWorks is a non-profit organization that uses art, science, and adventure to raise public awareness about the consequences of climate change in the Greater Himalaya. By comparing our modern high-resolution imagery with archival photographs taken over the past century, we seek to highlight glacial loss and the potential for a greatly diminished water supply throughout Asia.

Founded in 2007 by mountaineer, photographer and filmmaker David Breashears, the GlacierWorks team has made eight expeditions to the Greater Himalaya. Retracing the steps of pioneering alpine photographers and explorers George Mallory and Vittorio Sella, among others, the team has captured new images that precisely match the earliest photographic records. Over the past five years, they have recorded losses and changes to glaciers that are inaccessible to all but the most skilled climbers.

Our high-resolution gigapixel photography enables viewers to experience the glaciers as never before: up-close and with extreme precision. Using these online tools, it is possible to soar thousands of feet above a glacier and view it in its entirety, or zoom down to the ground and explore pebbles in the ice . We believe that this approach will foster a deep understanding of the changes at work in this remote and frozen region, bringing awareness to the catastrophic effects that will ensue if immediate change is not enacted.

There are 4 HIMALAYAN GLACIERS that can be explored.
Also an exhibition of images at the RGS


Update: thanks to Steve Brace, and several other people for tipoff to the BBC AUDIO SLIDESHOW on Glaciers...

Peter Gabriel New Blood

Out next Monday...
Streaming a new track each hour on the hour on Peter Gabriel website.

Good food infographic...

Found while looking for something else...


What kind of pasta is on your plate? by Charming Italy

Innovative Geography Teaching Grant

As a geography teacher, I received quite a few Innovative Geography Teaching Grants: two as an individual, and two as part of a group project. The first one was the GeoBlogs project in 2003, which gave me my online persona and kick-started a whole range of other stuff...

Innovative Geography Teaching Grant recipients for 2011

  2011: Rachel Atkins (Bristol Grammar School). 'Interactive Whiteboard (IWB) Templates – Interactive Geographers'

The templates focus on interactive techniques to encourage pupil participation with the IWB. the creation of templates which illustrate easy and effective techniques in Smartboard, can be easily modified according to the aims of lessons, and therefore supply resources that are ready to go, needing minimal adoption

  2011: Samantha Coulson (William Farr CE School). 'Geography of Film – Scheme of Work'

The project developed Year 9 pupils’ ability to relate their experience of films to their knowledge of the real world, and in doing so opening their eyes to what film has to offer and giving context to reality. Pupils can investigate how film instils, a sense of place, culture and change over time

  2011: James Mutton (Featherstone High School). 'The whole world (wide web) in my hands'

The project used mobile technology to enhance the delivery of geography education.This enables faster access to data and personilising provision to individuals, demonstrating how relevant and cutting edge Geography education
can be

  2011: Jo Debens (Priory School Specialist Sports College). 'International link between Priory School, UK and the Cape Fear Centre for Enquiry, USA'

Pupils compare their personal geographies of their home areas and explore how living near the coast affects their lives.Using new technologies students are able to collaborate with others, therefore developing their communication skills.

Congratulations to all the recipients....

Saving the world, in Norfolk

A few miles from where I live, in a place called Sculthorpe is a disused airfield.

There are plans to use this airfield to test a device, which has been called an 'artificial volcano' which could 'save the world from global warming'... I'll let you know how it goes...
The Mail has a good diagram, and more detail on the plan, which is known as 'geo-engineering'.


Would also be useful for Edexcel GCE for technological fix

Digimap in Schools

A new Ordnance Survey video on the DIGIMAP service for schools.



Also check out the BLOG - includes some information on the recent addition of the London Olympics Stadium to the OS maps.

Shelter's Real Census

Shelter have launched their 'real Census' campaign...

In March, the Government Census asked you where your home is and who lives there – but they didn’t ask you what your home was like.

Your home directly affects your happiness so it’s essential that you and your family are comfortable, safe and secure there.

So we’re doing a Real Census. We want to know how you’re living and how you feel about your home.

Whether you’re struggling to get on the property ladder, you’re living in poor conditions, you’re the victim of a rogue landlord or you’re worried about losing your home, we want to hear from you.

Just tell us a few details and I or one of my colleagues will get in touch to discuss how we might be able to share your experience – through the media, on Shelter’s website or maybe in one of our publications. We won’t pass your details to anyone else without your permission – everything you tell us is confidential unless you agree otherwise.

We campaign for decent housing for all. Tell us your story and together we can make people sit up and notice. Together we can change things.

I wonder if Walter's jeans were sandblasted...

Teachers familiar with the Geog Dot series will be familiar with Walter's Global Jeans.
It's been around for a while now, and is a good way of visualising the global trade in clothing, and the pursuit of the lowest cost location by trans-national companies.

This BBC article brought to my attention by Global Dimension looks at another intriguing environmental dimension to jeans production: the act of sandblasting them to give them a 'distressed' look....
Could be a useful addition to the set of resources for globalisation work.

Walter’s Global Jeans

View more presentations from GeoBlogs

Did this a few years ago as a starter... had over 4000 views


Update

I'm grateful to Rob Morris for sending me an image of this pumice quarry at Sprengissandur in Iceland


Pumice is the rock used for distressing jeans...


A sandur is an outwash plain (of course)

What was there ?

Thanks to Anne Greaves for leading me to What was There...

This is a website which ties historical imagery in with Street View to produce an effect that is similar to that of HistoryPin, but perhaps a little more close to reproducing street scenes as they would have been. It will be good to see how the site develops as city streets begin to 'fill in' with images. At the moment, UK cities are fairly sparse but it's early days.

Living off the land (fill)

An excellent article in the Guardian on the waste tip near Jakarta that sustains around 2000 families through their use of what other people through away.

The Guardian article also has an associated IMAGE GALLERY

Food bank in King's Lynn

Almost two years ago now, I completed a range of resources on food for the GA website, funded by the TDA and the TLA.
One of the activities was based around the food banks that were beginning to appear in some cities to support vulnerable families and provide support, often co-ordinated by the TRUSSELL TRUST
I read in my local paper this week that a food bank is opening in King's Lynn, where I used to teach.

Is there a food bank near you ?

Check the GOOGLE MAP here

13 million people live below the poverty line in the UK.

Every day people in the UK go hungry for reasons ranging from redundancy to receiving an unexpected bill on a low income. Trussell Trust foodbanks provide a minimum of three days emergency food and support to people experiencing crisis in the UK. Last year our UK foodbank network fed over 60,000 people experiencing food poverty.

We partner with churches and communities to open new foodbanks nationwide. With over 100 foodbanks currently launched, our goal is for every town to have one.


Update:
Increased demand for Food banks in Observer