I’ve created a wikispace for a new project on Personal Geographies. The idea is that Year 8 students will plan, discuss and write up their local fieldwork projects on the wiki. All the projects are based on the student’s perceptions of the local area and they have come up with some very interesting ideas. I’m able to use the wiki to add suitable guidance materials and comments on the work in progress; hopefully other teachers and parents will be able to discuss the work as it develops.
Go to the wiki
The project is an attempt at teaching with a co-constructivist approach. I’m hoping that the use of the wiki and web 2.0 tools such as Flickr and Google My Maps will mean that students collaborate with each other and work on the project out of school hours. They are being encouraged to use their mobile phones to take pictures and video, and hopefully they’ll learn some valuable new ICT skills that they can apply to a real world context. I’m using wikispaces because of the level of support they offer teachers.
There is a little risk involved, partly in terms of how colleagues might percieve the “geography” of the work. I could not have predicted that a group of students would have chosen to investigate locations for a fashion photoshoot or that others would be identifying the site for a new theatre space. One group of boys are creating a Parkour map of the town. There are a few stipulations, the students have to produce a map and collect and process some primary data as part of the outcome.
Let me know if you’d like to join the wiki.
Surfing is an entirely legitimate sport through which to launch geographical investigations (a lot better than football in my opinion) Mavericks is the nickname for a big wave spot in Half Moon Bay, famous for generating huge waves out of the enormous winter swells that batter the coast of Northern California. The waves routinely reach 25 feet in height and are tackled by highly experienced big wave surfers, prepared to risk the considerable hazards involved.
Ocean floor mapping has revealed the reasons for the unique qualities of the surf at Mavericks. A New Scientist article explains the how the gradual ramping of the seafloor topography produces powerful waves that hold up for a considerable time.
The map can be viewed in Google Earth.
Thanks, inevitably, to Google Earth blog for this news.
I’ve updated my Google Earth blog with information about Google Earth resources, published by the Wilderness Society, that describe the impact of logging in Tasmania.
Tasmanian logging issues make a good teaching alternative to the usual example of Brazil .
Surely the long awaited moment when video can be embedded in Google Earth placemarks is almost upon us? Click this link and then the placemark balloon to see video of a lightning strike on the Empire State Building.
Digital Urban demonstrated this new feature of Google My Maps; more information can be found at Google Maps. I’m looking forward to seeing students creating their personal geographies via multimedia Google Maps.
Ed Parsons likes the “2.5D” rendering of buildings in Google Maps, sadly not happening for the UK any time soon!
Rob Chambers of St Ivo’s School and Geobytes has published an awesome directory of resources to support Geography teaching in the UK. It’s a big (5mb) download, yet the quality of the Directory makes it an essential acquisition.
Rob’s site uses frames so this is the link to the directory page, while this link arrives at the main Geobytes site.
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