Digital Geography

I’ve got a GCSE lesson period 1 tomorrow, it’s Ofsted time and I’m fairly sure I’ll get a visit. We’ve started a short topic on the urban rural fringe - it didn’t go down so well today but I’ve had a quick think and have come up with an idea…

I’m going to harness the power of ICT to get the kids analysing the land use around Taunton’s urban rural fringe. We’ll use OS maps in conjunction with Live Search maps / Google Earth to identify different land uses in the urban rual fringe, and complete a little table with suggestions for possible conflicts.

Next we’ll go the the Taunton Deane Council site and look at a major application for a 900 home development that was submitted by the developers yesterday. After discussing the merits of the application, locating it on a map and reading some of the reports from council officers, I’ll get the students to use the online comment form. That means their views will be considered by the Council, and they’ll get an acknowledgement. Pressing the submit button will be an act of citizenship and an example of “real geography - real outcomes”!