Tickets are now on sale for Our World Film Festival which has been organised by Give Geography It’s Place .
An Alternative Guide to Our World
Start time: 11:00
Tickets: £3
16 short films with geographical themes including the geography@work film
awards.
The Planet
Directors: Linus Torell, Michael Stenberg and Johan Söderberg
Start time: 12:30
Tickets: £3
82mins + open discussion
Planet Earth is changing and this film is a self proclaimed ‘wake up call’
to us all. Set to outstanding imagery twenty nine experts from around the
world explain how the geography of our world is changing and how this is
being witnessed globally.
The film will be followed by a short discussion.
A Crude Awakening: The Oil Crash
Directors: Basil Gelpke and Ray McCormack
Start time: 14:30
Tickets: £3
85mins + open discussion
This 90 minute documentary explores our world’s obsession with oil and
argues that in the near future we will exhaust Earth’s viable supplies with
devastating effects. A Crude Awakening effectively shows the risks involved
within becoming dependent on natural resources and what our futures may look
like without black gold.
The film will be followed by a short debate.
The relative quietness on Digital Geography is part of a planned temporary break from blogging and Juicy Geography, in order to focus on a variety of new projects, and to reflect on the last few months. I’d like to concentrate on producing some new teaching materials and add to the podmovie series. I also want to spend some time researching for the long-planned Juicy Geography book. Since switching to a Mac, I’ve become far more interested in exploring video and digital photography. I’ve been going for One to One sessions at my local Apple Store (which I hugely recommend) to learn Final Cut Express It’s also time to start going to the climbing wall to get strong for the summer. So I’m slimming down my RSS reading, unfolding my Thinking Space and will just be posting news of my projects as they are completed.
I have been doing a few INSET courses recently. Geography teachers can usually see the benefit in learning the basics of KML, however there’s never enough time during a course to ensure everyone leaves as a fully proficient Neogeographer. The tutorials on the Google Earth outreach site are superb. Videos and clear instructions, together with the Google Spreadsheet Mapping Tool, (you need a Google account) mean that anyone can create attractive content for Google Maps/Earth.
Finally, should the BBC sort out the voting, please support the team “We’re Going To Change Britain” on BBC Upstaged. We’re the wildcard slot, hoping to use geography to make Britain happier in a 6 hour broadcast from Bristol.
I’ve created a new wiki for my GCSE students to create their own online revision guide. Hopefully they’lll learn more this way.
I’ve been working on this on and off for several months. The concept-based, blank canvas that forms the revised National Curriculum is hugely exciting. This year Digital Geography will be confining itself to just a few themes. The new KS3, compelling IT (especially video), GIS and the vague concept of “authentic learning’ are my priorities.
Below is my fantasy KS3 scheme of work that is very much a work in progress. Unfortunately I’m not really in a position to do very much about actually implementing it in my school, however it’s important to me that it exists in my mind. Below the diagrams I’ve included some key links to exemplar materials.
Key links:
Action Plan for Geography: Resources produced by the RGS
Juicy Geography Teaching and learning ideas
RGS Discovering Antarctica
RGS/DFES Your Climate Your Life
RGS Geography in the news
I’ve finished work on my podcast page at Juicy Geography. The first two episodes are ready to download and there are QuickTime versions as well. Feedback is welcomed. A third episode is in preparation.
Although my resources have always been made freely available, (and the podcasts are no exception), they represent a huge personal expense in new computer and video equipment and software, as well as bandwidth costs.) I’m hoping that teachers using the films in class will donate towards the costs involved.
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”!
Here’s the PPT presentation I used in my talk at Huish Episcopi School on 16th November.
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