Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Things to use, think about and just look at!



Related sites to the Spatialworlds project

Email contact
manning@chariot.net.au

Where am I??


Field Papers: an amazing resource for the geography classroom.

This resource is worth a posting by itself. What a magnificent resource for the geography classroom. An answer to a geographer dreams! Field Papers allows you to print a multipage paper atlas of anywhere in the world and take it outside, offline, in the field. You can scribble on it, draw things, make notes.

When you upload a snapshot of your print to Field Papers does some magic on the server to put it back in the right spot on the map. You can transcribe your notes into digital form and share the result with your friends or download the notes for later analysis.

"You don't need a GPS to make a map or learn complicated desktop GIS software to use Field Papers. It's as easy as print, mark, scan."

This project is a continuation of Walking Papers, which was built for the OpenStreetMap (OSM) editing community. Field Papers allows you to print multiple-page atlases using several map styles (including satellite imagery and black and white cartography to save ink) and has built in note annotation tools with GIS format downloads. Field Papers also supports user accounts so you can save“your stuff” for later, or use the service anonymously.


21st Century Information fluency
Over recent years I have been doing quite a bit of work on the impact of the ballooning information Age on 21st Century learning, curriculum and pedagogy. The following links and video on Information Fluency just adds gristle to the argument that we should not be only focused on content in schools but primarily about how to access, critique and use the plethora of information out there in cyberspace.
Firstly watch this video on 21st Information Fluency; fascinating!
Digital Information Fluency (DIF) is the ability to find, evaluate and use digital information effectively, efficiently and ethically. DIF involves Internet search skills that start with understanding how digital information is different from print information, knowing how to use specialized tools for finding digital information and strengthening the dispositions needed in the digital information environment. As teachers and librarians develop these skills and teach them to students, students will become better equipped to achieve their information needs. In short, Information fluency is the ability to apply the skills associated with information literacy, computer literacy and critical thinking to address and solve information problems across disciplines, across academic levels, and across information format structures. Such a focus has a huge implication to what and how we teach in geography in schools

Food security
A unit on Food Security was meant with mixed responses when it came out in the recent scope and sequence of the draft Australian Curriculum: Geography. It is really a ‘no-brainer’ that food security is one of the fundamental issues facing the world in the 21stCentury and should be part of the geography curriculum. These materials from the RIO+20 website may be able to convince some and support the inclusion of this topic in the curriculum.

As the site says

“It is time to rethink how we grow, share and consume our food. If done right, agriculture, forestry and fisheries can provide nutritious food for all and generate decent incomes, while supporting people-centred rural development and protecting the environment.”

While on the RIO+20: The Future We Want site , check out the tabs on Water, Disasters, Cities, Oceans and Energy. All great resources for the teaching of the Australian Curriculum: Geography.


Historical maps

The David Rumsey Historical Map Collection is an amazing collection of maps which can be used for historical geography. A very small sample ofhis collection is now contained inside ArcGIS Online.
While there also have a look at the World Maps-1790 and 1812 with sample explorer routes

ESRI’s ‘A world to explore’ resource

The map gallery opens the door to a number of key geographic concepts and human and physical aspects of our world. Maps include ones relevant to Latitude and Longitude, Land Change, Gross national Income, Elevation, Political Borders, Rural-Urban Population, Topography, Population and Agricultural Land Use. .

ArcGIS on-line

Whilst visiting ESRI.com, go to ArcGIS on-line and start making maps.

Watch the video at http://www.esri.com/software/arcgis/arcgisonline/evaluate/vid-demo.htmlto ascertain the value of ArcGIS on-line for the geography classroom. For example, enter a search term (like World Bank), view the gallery, or make a map from scratch. A series of videos on the site will guide you through the processes to get started.


Pure GLAT
Now for some pure GLAT (Gee Look At That): Paris from the top of the Eiffel Tower. Enjoy.




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Thursday, May 10, 2012

The Now and You: Making Geography real for students

Authentic learning in the classroom with a guest
Authentic learning in the field


















Related sites to the Spatialworlds project
Email contact
manning@chariot.net.au
Where am I??
Melbourne, Australia: S: 37º 47' E: 144º 58'


The Now and You

One of the buzz words in pedagogy these days is "Authentic learning".  In the past we called it Experiential  Learning! Either way, it is to make the learning as real as possible for students - for students to see the relevance of what they are doing and their learning as relevant to their life's now and in the future.  Of all the subjects, geography with its feet firmly planted in the living and non-living world within which humans live and its currency (things happening now) is well placed to be seen as a subject well positioned to provide authentic learning opportunities for students. 

Sometimes we relate this topic to the area of careers using geography but we should also be cognisant to the fact that geography is one of the few subjects which use the world within which a student lives now as a laboratory for study. In the Educause paper, Authentic learning is defined as:

"Authentic learning typically focuses on real-world, complex problems and their solutions, using role-playing exercises, problem-based activities, case studies, and participation in virtual communities of practice."

The Educause Learning Initiative cited above goes on to link the potential of technology to enhance Authentic Learning.  The paper, titled "Authentic Learning for the 21st Century" says that:

"Learning-by-doing is generally considered the most effective way to learn. The Internet and a variety of emerging communication, visualization, and simulation technologies now make it possible to offer students authentic learning experiences ranging from experimentation to real-world problem solving. "

This is an excellent paper which affirms much of the discussion on this blog in regards to spatial technology and creative enquiry methods inherent in the use of technologies such as GIS.

The following quote is a geographical adaption to a piece from an Authentic Learning site:

Authentic learning says that...we should learn what happens in the "real world", and become "cognitive apprentices" to the experts. When we learn about geography, we learn to think like geographers. When we learn about the weather, we learn to use tools that a meteorologist would use. 


In regards to pedagogy, it is said that "Authentic learning, is a teaching method that allows students to explore, discuss, and meaningfully connect concepts and relationships that are relevant to the real-world and are meaningful to the students (Donovan, Bransford, &Pellegrino, 1999). Authentic instruction, which differs from traditional teaching methods, use teaching strategies such as: structuring learning around genuine tasks, employing scaffolding, engaging students in inquiry and social discourse, and providing ample resources from the school and community (Donovan et al., 1999; Roth, 1992)."


From the same site I found this list of Authentic Learning characteristics of considerable interest:
  • Learning is real-world oriented and has value beyond the school setting.
  • Learning is often interdisciplinary.
  • Students use higher-order thinking skills and learn concepts as well as basic facts.
  • The classroom is learner centered and allows for a variety of learning styles.
  • Students have ownership of their learning.
  • Instruction uses hand-on approaches and is accessible for all learners.
  • Learning is active and student driven.
  • Teachers act as coaches or learning facilitators. They are one of many resources students may turn to for learning. Parents, outside experts, and community members may all serve as sources for learning.
  • Scaffolding allows students to receive help when they need it and allows them to work freely when they can accomplish tasks on their own.
  • Learning uses real-time data, which students investigate and from which they draw conclusions.
  • Students often work together and have opportunities for discussion as they work to solve the problem.
  • Students produce a product that is directed toward a real audience.
All of these characteristics resonate with the use of spatial technologies in the classroom and with the 21st Century aims of the Australian Curriculum: Geography to make geography real and relevant to students - in the here and now.


Here is a great video on the work of geography and geographers which may be useful for teachers to use to get the message across that geography is about the 'now and you', as a person living in the world. As a way to convince the students that what they do in a geography class or in the field is authentic and real, a little bit of classroom focus on the work of the geographer would not go astray.  Here are some more "the work of the geographer" type of resources.

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Sunday, April 29, 2012

Interacting with the Interconnection concept

Kony2012: A geographical case study?





A world diminishing in size due to technology














Related sites to the Spatialworlds project
Email contact
manning@chariot.net.au
Where am I??
Adelaide, Australia: S: 34º 55' E: 138º 36'

 

 

The Interconnection concept

 

Following on from the Facebook connections map showcased in the last posting, I thought it worthwhile to explore the Interconnection concepts of the Australian Curriculum Geography. I was further prodded to do so after watching the YouTube video on the Kony2012 initiative.

I kept asking myself, is this geography and could it be used in a geography class?  Is it political geography, cultural geography, human well-being, development geography, demography?  Can such a phenomenon and resource be used as a case study in geography.  To explore this idea I revisited the Interaction concept (one of seven Australian Curriculum: Geography concepts) and had a look at several units which have been written for the draft curriculum released in October 2011 (namely Global Connections and Human Well-being).  So what is the concept of Interconnection according to the draft Australian Curriculum: Geography.

The concept of Interconnection (draft AC: Geography page 9) 

The concept of interconnection, in geography, emphasises that no object of geographical study can be viewed in isolation. It is about the ways that geographical phenomena are connected to each other through environmental processes, the movement of people, flows of trade and investment, the purchase of goods and services, cultural influences, the exchange of ideas and information, political power, international agreements and other types of interaction across space.

• exploring the networks that channel the interconnections between places, and which can advantage some places and disadvantage others
• learning to see their own locality in a wider national and global context, and gaining an understanding of the external factors that influence the locality’s present and future

The concept of interconnection is particular alive and well in the following units of the draft curriculum

The Year 9 unit called Navigating global connections

This unit focuses on the connectedness of Australia with its region and the world. This is explored initially through the eyes of the student and the connections and contacts they have with the wider world in their everyday lives. The unit then looks at the nature of Australia’s connections (with particular emphasis on social and economic connections) and the positive and negative impacts of these connections. The ability of a student to act locally, but with a regional and global view of the consequences is investigated.

Year 10 unit called Global well-being
This unit focuses on the nature of well-being around the world and how can it be measured. Spatial characteristics of well-being and the factors that influence it, and the inequalities that exist at a variety of scales, are used to investigate programs that address issues of well-being.

Content descriptions from unit
There are interrelationships between human well-being and conflict
  • There are significant spatial variations in human well-being within nations, at both regional and local scales 
  • A non-government program which attempts to improve human well-being in another country, and why such programs may be spatially targeted at specific regions within the country
  • People are connected to places across the world through their cultural interests and activities


There are many other places across the draft curriculum where the concept of interconnection is fundamental to the geographic understanding of the topic studied.  I have selected these units because they are particularly pertinent to using the Kony2012 initative as a case study of a geographical phenomenon. So how is the Kony2012 a geographical study. The following quotes from the video have a geographical and interconnection flavour which makes it possible as a geographical study under the guise of cultural geography and political geography in particular. 
  •  “Planet connection through technology.”
  •  “Technology enables us to connect anywhere, anytime ... This connection is changing the way the world works.” In short the video is highlighting the fact that technology is making space diminish through the power of technology leading to increased global interconnection.
  •  “There are more people on Facebook today than there were on the planet 200 years ago.”
  • “Humanities greatest desire is to belong and connect.”
  •  “Where you live should not determine whether you live?
  • “It is not just important for one people but for everyone to capture and stop Kony.
  • “Kony’s name needs to be everywhere.”
  • “Will use 20 culture makers to make Kony famous?
  • “Today the people of the world can see each other and can protect each other.”
  • “The power of media to mobilise the world to act.”
  • “To change the conversation of a culture.”
  • “We are living in a new world, a Facebook world where 750 million people share ideas, not thinking in borders, it’s a global community.”
  • “Arresting Joseph Kony will prove that the world we live in has new rules, that the technology that has brought our planet together is allowing us to respond the problems of our friends – a place where children, no matter where they live have a childhood, free from fear.”

Does this not sound like geography with its spatial and interconnection conceptualisation as discussed in the draft curriculum document? 

For more information on the Kony2012 initiative go to:

As a footnote to this reference to Kony2012 it is worth examining the controversy surrounding this initiative in terms of the recent reports on the use of funds, scamming accusations and the mental health of the film-maker Jason Russell, the driver of Kony2012. A fascinating case study, relevant to geography, populist media in nature, current with layers of truth and purpose.  Surely it can be made a geographical study to engage students and for them to learn about the concept of interconnection...and space.

 The Age of Interconnection: The Anthropocene

 

Whilst on the concept of Interconnection it is worth referring to the so called new age of the Anthropocene. The Anthropocene is best defined as the new human-dominated period of the Earth's history, the age of interconnection around the globe. 
Technically, the Anthropocene is the most recent period of the Quaternary, succeding to the Holocene. The Quaternary is a period of the Earth's history characterised by numerous and cyclical glaciations, starting 2,588,000 years ago (2.588 Ma). The Quaternary is divided into three epochs: the Pleistocene, the Holocene, and now the Anthropocene.The following links show this interconnection qualities of the Anthropocene rather well.


http://vimeo.com/39048998

http://vimeo.com/40940686

www.globaia.org/en/anthropocene/#Maps


http://www.anthropocene.info/en/anthropocene


The term and the concept of the Anthropocene, the idea that human activity affects the Earth to the point where it can cross a new age, is not new and dates back to the late nineteenth century. It seems that the success of the term and its recent currency and adoption is due to the luck of having been made at the appropriate time, when humankind has become more than ever aware of the extent of its impact on global environment. 


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Friday, April 27, 2012

What raw data just can't show: geographical visualisations


Japanese Tsunami wave height map


Visualisation of Facebook traffic
  







 
Related sites to the Spatialworlds project
Email contact
manning@chariot.net.au
Where am I??
Adelaide, Australia: S: 34º 55' E: 138º 36'

 

 Translating data to the visual

Here is yet another great blog on maps and spatial visualisations.  This time from James Cheshire Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis, University College London and his blog is called Spatial Analysis.co.uk.  I must thank our geography colleague Bridget Fleming from South Africa for passing on this amazingly rich spatial blog.  Just enjoy and wonder at what the representation shows us that raw data never can.   

One of the really good things about many of these visualisations is their currency – of the latest phenomenon (Twitter, Facebook), events, disasters and daily commuting and happenings - all extremely relevant to the life’s of young people. Although very UK and to a lesser extent United States–centric, the maps are a great resource to get over the message about the power of visualisations to provide instant analysis.

Mapping British, Spanish and Dutch Shipping 1750-1800
The visualisation of a dataset which contains digitised information from the log books of ships (mostly from Britain, France, Spain and The Netherlands) sailing between 1750 and 1850.

Also have a look at the Map Gallery on the site and see fascinating maps of things such as the Twitter languages of London, travel distances on London Underground, Muslim populations by countries,


If you want to look at these maps and their background in more detail, the site provides that opportunity as shown below.

* Mapping rivers and places 
Brilliant maps of “generic” terms for rivers in the United States and UK. These map shows how different cultural and linguistic factors have influenced the naming of geographic. For example French settlers named the streams they encountered “bayous”.
On the topic of naming, settlement names also have a clear geography as they, like rivers in the US, reflect the different settlers (or invaders!) of the British Isles over millennia. The map below (taken from my thesis) shows the different naming influences on settlements in Britain.

*  UK Carbon emissions

* Roads marking landscapes

* Mapping events

* Britain from above
Amazing visualisations produced for the BBC’s Britain from Above series. The taxis in London create a fantastic impression of the diurnal rhythms within the city. The air traffic over Britain animation (below) is just as impressive. I was especially taken by the amount of “stacking” that takes place over British airports.

* Londons population density 1801-2001

* Visualisation of Britain’s surnames

* Sound maps

* Resource postings

* Best maps of 2011 according to the Spatial Analysis blog
. Facebook connections map
. Surnames maps
. Iphone tracker map in Cambridge
. Fedex map 
. Scientific collaboration map 
. Twitter language map
. Road casualties maps
. Japanese Tsunami wave height map
 
Two other links of interest on the Spatial Analysis site.
* How to do Geography 
* Geographical mistakes.

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Wednesday, April 25, 2012

WOW: I can see for miles and miles

Hills outside of Melbourne

ANZAC Day 2010 at Villers-Bretonneux, France















Related sites to the Spatialworlds project
Spatialworlds website
21st Century Geography Google Group
Australian Geography Teachers' Association website
'Towards a National Geography Curriculum' project website
Geography Teachers' Association of South Australia website
Humsteach blog
Email contact
manning@chariot.net.au
Where am I??
Adelaide, Australia: S: 34º 55' E: 138º 36'

WOW!  I can see for miles and miles


It is worth another posting on AirPano, a virtual site which provides 360 degrees images and fly-arounds from around the world. AirPano is a non-commercial project focused on high resolution 3D aerial panoramas. AirPano team is a group of Russian photographers and panorama enthusiasts. During the next 2-3 years they plan to shoot the aerial panoramas and create the virtual 3D tours of the most interesting places of our planet.
Start on the home page and visit New York, Iceland, the Maldives, South America, the Himalayas and the Caribbean and then go to the World Map tab on the top menu. Plotted on the map are the locations photographed by AirPano around the world.

Just a click gives you panoramic views of places you wish to virtually explore
...click on any of these place names below and explore ...


Victoria Falls, Zambia • Venezuela, Surroundings of Angel Falls, Venezuela • Angel falls, Venezuela • Kalyan Minaret, Bukhara, Uzbekistan • Miami, USA • Las Vegas, USA • Lake Powell, USA • Manhattan, New York, USA • Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, USA • Millennium UN Plaza Hotel, New York, USA • Oahu, Hawaii, USA • Las Vegas, Nevada, USA • Millennium UN Plaza Hotel, New York, USA • Golden Gate Bridge, USA • Statue of Liberty, New York, USA • Manhattan, New York, USA • Hollywood, California, USA • San Juan and Colorado rivers, USA • Goosenecks, Utah, USA • Mono Lake, California, USA • Millennium UN Plaza Hotel, New York, USA • Chicago, Illinois, USA • Los Angeles, California, USA • Kiev, Ukraine • Ay-Petri, Ukraine • Dubai, UAE • Dubai, Islands, UAE • Palm Jumeirah, Dubai, UAE • Bangkok, Thailand • Sankt-Moritz, Switzerland • Cape Good Hope, South Africa • Cape-Town, South Africa • Moscow, MSU, Russia • Moscow, Kremlin, Bolotnaya Square , Russia • Moscow, Russia • Moscow Kremlin, Russia • 55.748765;37.540841, Russia • Moscow City, Russia • Kremlin, Moscow, Russia • Moscow City, Russia • Trinity Lavra of Sait Sergius, Russia • Saint-Petersburg, Russia • New Jerusalem Monastery, Russia • Saint Petersburg, Russia • Novodevichy Convent. Moscow, Russia • Ramenki,Moscow, Russia • MKAD, Moscow, Russia • Moscow, Russia • Moscow, Russia • Krokus Expo Center, Moscow, Russia • Moscow Region, Russia • Moeraki Boulders, New Zealand • Fiordland, New Zealand • Nepal, Nepal • Maldives, Maldives • Kuala-Lumpur, Malaysia • Grimsvotn, Iceland • Amsterdam, Holland • Neuschwanstein Castle, Germany • Egyptian Pyramids, Egypt • Hong Kong, China • The Iguassu Falls, Brazil • Twelve Apostles Marine National Park, Australia • Sydney, Australia • Buenos Aires, Argentina •

What a wonderful way to tour the world! You can also save for future "flashbacks".



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