“Can we do neo-geography this lesson?” asked a student today. Well no because it was supposed to be History. Nevertheless I’ve decided that I’d like my Year 7 students to be able to create an original map by the end of the term using Google Earth/Maps. The kind of map I envisage could include for example:
Hazards on way to school
Land-use in a rural area
Micro-climate study
Affective mapping of local area
Geo-located poems photos or artwork
Geo-located story
Guide for local visitors
A parkour / BMX / skate map
A “know-where” hang out map
A best dog walking route
For example:
map link
Thinking about the skill progression required to elevate younger students into fully qualified neo-geographers would go something like this: (some of the steps require just a few minutes to consolidate, others would need a lesson or two) Google Earth / Maps required!
- Find a place / use postcode look-up / search box
- Create a placemark / select appropriate icon
- Measure distance using ruler – e.g from home to school
- Create a path e.g from home to school
- Collaborate with others e.g. save placemarks / paths to a shared folder / collaboration tool in My Maps
- Organise the Places folder
- Use layers to add information to the map e.g roads / Wikipedia / Panoramio / 3d buildings / real-time data e.g weather / earthquakes
- Be able to turn terrain on and off and adjust exaggeration
- Take a photo with a phone / digital camera and upload to Flickr (issues in some schools – need for parent’s permission?)
- Add photos to a place mark (from Flickr etc) using img tag (from Flickr) <img src=” replace this text with the link to the photo “> and use You Tube embed code to add video
- Create multimedia tours / be able to adjust tour settings
- Add polygons to represent land use / data etc. Be able to adjust colour and opacity
- Be able to import data from GPS (optional)
- Create simple geo-located graphs using Google Spreadsheets or even easier, Rich Chart Live (see this post)
- Complete a decision-making exercise using multiple data sources e.g my San Francisco lesson
- Understand relative advantages / disadvantages of different mapping systems for example by using Where’s The Path?
- Create a Google account (with parent’s permission) and be familiar with My Maps
- Create an original map as a final assignment. More able students could create Sketch Up models / use GE Graph / create overlays to demonstrate advanced neo-geography skills.
The core geographical concepts are based on location, scale and place. Students should be able to collect field data and create a map for a real audience. The learning sequence offers the opportunity for some highly personalised, participatory geography. The best outcomes would see students sharing their work on a blog or some other public community. Any thoughts?
5 Responses to “A Neo-Geography Curriculum for KS3”
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These are all great ideas, and perfectly manageable with the ICT kit available in most schools. I am persevering with attempts to get an A-Level group enthused about a google group where we can share resources, hand in homework, collaborate on maps and provide general support – however, I have been deafened by the sound of indifference. “Why do we need a google account?”, “I tried to open the account – it didn’t let me.”, “Can’t you just give us photocopies?” are the typical responses. I also taught on a 4 week EFL course in the summer with some Japanese and Korean under-grads. I assumed they would be web2.0 ready and keen to collaborate on a map, adding pics and vidz etc of their homes, and use the tool to enhance their “life in the UK” experience – again, swimming against the tide. I’d love to think that at KS3, a regular lesson in an ICT room and personalised stuff like this would work well – you have convinced me. The initial gathering of e-mail addresses/creation of google accounts can be iffy and may put a lot of teachers off. I envisage students forgetting their passwords, usernames, abusing the group etc – I reckon however, that the gains
in engagement levels in geography and learning make it all worth it.
Thanks for your comment. I too was recently frustrated by a GCSE group who didn’t really get Google Apps, and yes I have seen KS3 students being much more willing to engage with new technologies. For example I currently have 30 comments to moderate on a class history blog. As Ollie Bray recently pointed out, we might be better trying to take the battle to homes and engaging the students through independent homework tasks. I’m going to recommend that students acquire their own Google accounts – if they already have Bebo etc it should be quite easy to sell the idea to parents.
Some intriguing ideas here Noel.
A BECTa report which was recently published confirmed the value to learners of the application of these technologies, so this is a timely suggestion.
Had a bash at something which pretty much took KS3 students up to skill level 10! Have a look! Some of their maps are awesome!
http://takeawalkwithme.wordpress.com/
These are brilliant. Nice one Simon – you’re way ahead of me!