I’ve just discovered the UN Stat Planet interactive map. It’s Flash-based so isn’t an option for iOS devices, but in all other respects is a superb classroom resource for visualising development data. The Indices and Data page on the UNDP site is a good place for students to start their research.

My Year 10 students are being encouraged to learn how to create maps in MAGIC as part of their coursework investigation. Instructions have been posted on my Posterous, and partly reposted below. I hope this information could be useful to others.

A GIS can be thought of as a digital base map over which layers of data can be displayed. GIS offers powerful ways for geographers to analyze spatial data and make decisons. Many jobs rely on GIS technology; one reason why geography graduates are very employable. I’d like you to use the MAGIC GIS to find out a little more about Dawlish Warren as part of preparation for your coursework project.

Before you start, be prepared for your computer to run slowly as you will be interacting with an enormous database buried deep in some high security government bunker.

Follow this link to the MAGIC map of Dawlish Warren

After a while you should be looking at a map of Dawlish Warren. The map will be complicated at first, so here are the basic tools you need to use:

To move the map (panning) click this symbol, and then drag the map..

To change the scale, click the symbol, then click again on the map to zoom in and out on the location you’ve selected.

Now, lets make sense of the map data. At the moment all the available information is being displayed. Click this button to see all the data layers…

This box will appear.

Try turning all the layers off apart from Sites of Special Scientific Interest…
Nothing will happen until you click this button!


If the map slows down or you want to go back to the map with all the layers active, click this button.

Reload the map or click here if you see this message for too long.

While it is common for there to be delays when using GIS, this message also means that data is being collected, so be patient.

Finally, the map tools will let you print off maps, save screen shots, measure distances and a lot more. Just mouse-over the different symbols to find out what each one does.

Now it’s time to get mapping…

North, East, South and West
These coordinates are the best.
And if you’re not smart enough to know,
Grab a sextant and away you go.

Longitude and Latitude are the way,
Cross the dateline to change your day.
Foward and back, 24 hours,
It’s like some new invented super power.

Harrison invented 5 clocks to tell,
The time on a ship, they sat near a bell.
First he made 3 clocks and they all failed,
Then he made a 4th and it prevailed.

That’s our lesson, easy to understand,
if you don’t get it, please ask for a hand.

by Courtney and Ellie

Students without access to phones were able to vote free of charge over the web using my personal iPad.

Poll Everywhere has lots of compelling features including Twitter voting, live charts inside PowerPoint, and downloadable results. The free plan allows for a maximum of 40 votes per poll, enough for a typical class. I’ve mentioned SMS Poll, in a previous post, which remains a good alternative.

1) Watch the Kony 2012 video until Jason Russell explains the situation to his son.

2) Students have a few minutes to reflect on all that they have learned about the situation in Central Africa and the message of the film.

3) When they have shared their thoughts, I offer them an alternative short film from The Guardian. 

4) I check that students understand the complexity of the issue. I guide them to consider the geography of Central Africa, the difficulty of fighting small guerrilla groups, and the relentless stress on isolated rural communities. Is the Kony 2012 message too simple? Are there better strategies for defeating the LRA?

The aim of the lesson isn’t to critique the Invisible Children organisation – they offer a usefully robust defence of the campaign on their website, but to help students understand a little more about the reality of the conflict. The LRA Crisis Tracker is a good talking point, and more able students may be able to construct opinions about the value of the programs run by Invisible Children. Wikipedia has an excellent article about the Lords Resistance Army.