EduCaiti - new blog and Litter Pick project

A new blog from Caiti Walter, has launched with an invitation to get involved in a Big Geog Litter Pick.

There are some additional tools for the Litter Pick project, which all teachers are invited to get involved with during August.
Open up the Survey123 Form that Katie Hall has completed, and you can enter your own findings.

#Geographyteacher alert! #TheBigGeogLitterPick2018 is live and happening throughout August! Find out more about how to take part here: https://t.co/V0MdyrZjpi

Quick guide -
Log your litter picks here: https://t.co/7QlXaHfH6e?
Keep an eye on progress here: https://t.co/FkI2htpqLS

— Caiti Walter (@EduCaiti) August 5, 2018

Caiti's blog will share some ideas for sustainable teaching. As she says:

I was once told in my PGCE year, “Don’t sit with the moaners in the staff room, find the ‘yes’ people”. This blog aims to be that ‘yes’ person, not by patronising and pretending that all in teaching is rosy, but by simply highlighting the useful, inspirational, creative and funny outputs of a life in teaching.

Mr Sutheran's blog

Always happy to flag up other useful teacher blogs.

A new teacher blogger is Josh Sutheran: one of the recent cohort of RGS Scholars.
His latest post is linked to a presentation he did at an event for trainee teacher colleagues at the RGS last week.
A reminder that blogging is a good way to reflect on, and share, practice.

8000 posts - thanks for visiting and reading

Thanks to everyone who has visited over the last 10 years

Design made with DesignEvo - see recent post

Get Outside Champion Blogs #3 - Jen and Sim Benson

Jen and Sim Benson are the third of the fellow OS GetOutside Champions that I'm featuring here on LivingGeography. Jen wasn't at the Champions launch, but I shared a table with Sim, and we did the treasure hunt activity together. Jen and Sim spend rather a lot more time outside than I do, and are also a little fitter...
They blog about all things outdoors, including fitness, adventure and outdoor activities, and share their photography too.

They have just had a new book published, which is called An Adventurer's Guide to Britain.

Here's a description of the book, which looks like it would be worth seeking out to get some ideas for the summer to come.

This exciting, inspiring and informative guide is perfect for anyone who loves a challenge and an adventure. There are soaring ridgelines to run, exciting river descents to swim, secret coves to explore by boat, and achievable interesting scrambles, all in stunning locations.
Each of the 150 featured adventures, which are arranged by geographical region, has been carefully chosen for being exhilarating, achievable by any reasonably active person, and as safe as possible. You'll be taken on a tour of the country and discovering where to do things you never thought possible in the UK – exploring the caves and creeks of Cornwall by kayak, sleeping under the stars surrounded by the towering mountains of the Cuillin Ridge, or swimming in the faery pools at Glen Brittle on Skye.

The Adventurer's Guide to Britain puts together some of the very best experiences from the different worlds of adventure sport, to create the ultimate outdoor bible for those who love getting outside, challenging themselves and exploring beautiful Britain

Get Outdoors Champion Blogs #2 The Girl Outdoors

During the year, I shall be sharing links and brief descriptions of blogs related to the outdoors, written by fellow Ordnance Survey #GetOutside Champions. Here's the 2nd one in the series.

Another blog by a fellow GetOutside Champion.
Sian Anna Lewis was one of the team I was part of, that formed on the first day of the event, and dined together in the evening. We did the selfie challenge together as part of the team too. Sian is a freelance travel and outdoors journalist.

There are plenty of posts on Sian's blog providing advice and reviews on equipment such as clothing, and travelling and exploring, some of which are connected with solo-female travelling. She is also active on Instagram, where you can see more of her adventures.

Sian has also just had a book published which looks excellent reading, and with plenty of tips for travelling, particularly for women. I'm hoping to get my hands on a review copy shortly and will share my thoughts on it then.

GetOutdoors Champion Blogs: #1 Splodz Blogz

During the year, I shall be sharing links and brief descriptions of blogs related to the outdoors, written by fellow Ordnance Survey #GetOutside Champions. I'm going to be starting with those Champions who I met on the day, including those who were on my table when we started the day, and with whom I did the scavenger hunt, and then had the dinner with.
Here's a selfie taken during that challenge...


Splodz Blogz is the home of Zoe Homes, who is probably my closest GetOutside Champions distance-wise, being based in Lincolnshire.
She has been blogging for some years on the subject of the outdoors (naturally) and has a lot of experience in sharing outdoor ideas. Her walk along the West Highland Way last year was filmed as part of the Julia Bradbury programme on the

Zoe's posts are related to the ideas of the value of getting outside (of course), interspersed with her travels, and with reviews of items including clothing and other gear which help to make it a more comfortable and rewarding experience.

4 million views!

After the recent acceleration of interest (over 300 000 views in the last month alone), I'm now speeding through the milestones, and yesterday evening as the snow swirled around the house, it was the latest one to be reached. Thanks for all the interest, particularly from Norway at the moment it seems...

Steve Rackley - Geogramblings

Good to hear from Steve Rackley via Facebook of the latest from his sabbatical travels. You'll remember me blogging about Steve's Ode to Hans (Rosling) at the GA Teachmeet last year, and good to hear that he's thriving and busy, and also that he's planning on coming to Sheffield, and the Teachmeet again...


Geogramblings is his blog, and he's also been producing a grid which shows how the posts connect to themes within the AQA GCSE Specification. This makes it a very useful blog for geographers - particularly to make a point that all teachers should be bloggers.

New TeamGeography blog

Good to see the emergence of another geography-related blogging project.
This is a collaborative blogging project, and there are several people who have already signed up to be involved.
You can follow the #TeamGeography hashtag on Twitter.
Visit the blog now, and feel free to offer a post of your own. After writing 10 000+ blog posts I can confirm that it's not too difficult to do, and can even be good for you, and of course once online can be rediscovered later on... so a blog can also be a great place to put something interesting that you want to return to later...

#geographyteacher if you would be interested in contributing to a Geography based blog, I/we would love to hear from you.
Drop me a DM with your email/a message to find out more!
Also involved - @Jennnnnn_x and @LCreanGeog !

— Tom H (@GeographyTom9) February 17, 2018

Update

A new blog post has now appeared on the importance of getting geography into your geography lesson.

Also check out this other new blog: The Future Miss S: a reflective blog by Katie Jinn

1000 posts on my teaching blog

As well as the 7600 posts on this blog, I've just passed 1000 on my Geography Teacher 2.0 blog. The 2.0 refers to the fact that after a 5 year break from teaching, I went back again for another stint.
All searchable...

Quotidian Geographies

Starting TOMORROW.. a new blog for 2018 which will focus on the geography of the quotidian: the everyday geographies of our lives, and the importance of getting outside into the geography that lies beyond the four walls we spend a great deal of our time inside. I'll aim to add something each day, much of which will connect with events that happened on that particular day in the past, or where there is a particularly geographical event that takes place on that day. There'll be ideas for exploration and I'll draw on the 7600+ posts here on LivingGeography. It will also explore the idea that we should make the most of every day... and see as much of the world as we can.

As a favourite quote of mine goes:

"Little minds are interested in the extraordinary; great minds in the commonplace"

Elbert Hubbard

Christmas blogging break

I'll be taking my traditional annual blogging break for the next few weeks.

Unless something major happens which I feel the need to tell you about, I'll see you in 2018.
This has been an important year on the blog in terms of visitors. I had a bit of a lull during the summer period, but since then, I've averaged around 7 000 visitors a day, which means I've had more readers in 2017 then I had in the previous 4 years, and this last month has seen nearly 250 000 page views. There are plenty of things planned for 2018: some travelling, and some exciting new projects which I shall tell you about in January...
Thanks for reading and see you all for another year of blogging in a few week's time...
In the meantime, I'll be doing the odd tweet at @GeoBlogs, and also maintaining the tip a day for #125geotips on the @GA_SPC account.

Rest up and recharge everyone... Take part in #TheDarkisReading and catch up on your sleep...

Image: Ronald Lampitt

Thanks for reading

Almost a million so far this year...
Use the SEARCH box top right to access the 7500+ posts on this blog...
Subscribe for a daily digest of any new material

Over 7500 posts

Since I started this blog (when I heard the news that I would be working for the Geographical Association, back in May 2008), I've posted regularly apart from annual Christmas breaks...

Earlier this weekend, I posted my 7500th addition to the blog, which has millions of words, thousands of images, video links, resources, book reviews, lesson ideas and cross posts from the many other blogs that I also run (some of which also have thousands of posts).

Twitter is sometimes described as a 'micro-blogging site' from the perspective that it allows users to 'publish' their thoughts.
I remember the excitement back in 2004ish when I first started blogging, and leading some training for teachers in how to set up their own blog.
I think for me blogging is my 'addiction'. Where others might get excitement from a flutter at the bookies, I still get excited when an interesting geographical story comes in front of me via whatever means, and I can't wait to shape it into a post, with a suitable image and get it up online, so that it forms part of the body of work that blogs can develop into...
They are also very useful when planning to teach new topics: a quick search will throw up plenty of ideas and weblinks which were previously posted.
 
Image: Alan Parkinson

2.5 million page views

Been counting up to this for about 8 months now since we passed 2 million views, but 2.5 million views is the next big milestone in terms of public engagement with the LivingGeography blog.
Thanks to everyone who's been visiting the blog (even this is the first time) and particularly those who've subscribed - click top right to join those and get a daily e-mail of any new posts...

New blog for OCR B Geography teaching

So I seem to have started another new blog. 
It's been a very wet couple of days down here in Devon, so have put my time to good use by pressing PUBLISH on a blog that I've been putting together for a few weeks now.
I wrote sections of the 2 OCR books for the 9-1 OCR specs. Having spent a couple of years on that project, I then never got to use the books, as my teaching was focussed on KS3 last year. However, with my new timetable for 2017-18 I am going to be teaching GCSE again, and will have a Year 10 group for OCR 'B' GCSE Geography.

The blog will share the resources that I create, or adapt from the work of my colleagues.
It will also have links to other useful resources that I come across. There's a useful set of links down the right hand side of the main blog page, including the very useful Facebook group, which has been supporting teachers for over a year now, and has over 400 members.

7300 and counting...

Yes, that's 7300 posts on this blog... and it's just one of 10 or so that I run to share geographical ideas on curriculum and pedagogy, and resources, and books....
There'll be plenty more to come I hope, but if you want to see what's already there, use the SEARCH box top left, or scroll down on the right hand side, and click on a LABEL to see what I've written about each topic. Whatever you're teaching, I guarantee that there'll be something you can use, and that you'll find a new website...
Every day, I see people Tweeting a new discovery that was on here months ago - click SUBSCRIBE top right and enter an e-mail and you'll get a daily summary of any new additions to the blog...
There'll be a slightly reduced rate of posting as we enter the summer holidays now, but there's always geography happening because, we're all Living Geography...

Mrs. Humanities

Earlier today, I was pleased to see myself added to a list of Geography teachers worth following. It was created by Mrs. Humanities, who would definitely feature on a list of teachers that are worth following.

Check out Victoria's blog for plenty of resources, shared free of charge, and also ideas relating to assessment and curriculum planning. A rigorous and generous virtual colleague, who was also rightly shortlisted at this year's UK Blog Awards, although that did mean that she didn't make it to the GA conference unfortunately.

2.4 million page views

Thanks to all those who've visited and shared the work here.

Remember you can also FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER @GeoBlogs to find out more items of geographical interest.

Benidorm

This is not referring to the ITV series, which has just returned for another series at the Solana Hotel.

It's the resort and area of Spain, which is featured as part of the resources on this COSTA BLANCA blog.
There are some very useful resources, which are the work of teacher Gareth Thomas. There are iGCSE and 'A' level resources amongst them, but one of the most useful sections is under the tab 'Local Geography'.
These provide a very useful case study of local geographical landscapes within the region.
Browse through for other useful resources and lesson ideas.