Search

GEOGRAPHY EDUCATION

Supporting geography educators everywhere with current digital resources.

Open Search
Author

sethdixon

I am a geography professor at Rhode Island College.

In historic shift, Saudis to allow some girls’ sports

“Private girls’ schools are now allowed to hold sports activities in accordance with the rules of Shariah, or Islamic law. Students must adhere to ‘decent dress’ codes and Saudi women teachers will be given priority in supervising the activities, according to the Education Ministry’s requirements.  The decision makes sports once again a stage for the push to improve women’s rights, nearly a year after two Saudi female athletes made an unprecedented appearance at the Olympics.”  This news comes at a time when Saudi Arabia has allowed women to ride bikes (sort of).

Tags: Saudi Arabia, culture, gender, religion, Middle East.

See on www.cbsnews.com

0

Aral Sea Basin

“Dust blows from what was once the Aral Sea floor. Tragic mismanagement of a natural resource.”

Seth Dixon, Ph.D.‘s insight:

The collapse of the Aral Sea ecosystem is (arguably) the worst man-made environmental disaster of the 20th century and 21st century has seen the continuation of the desertification set in motion.  Soviet mismanagement, water-intensive cotton production and population growth have all contributed the overtaxing of water resources in the Aral Sea basin, which has resulted in a the shrinking of the Aral Sea–it has lost more of the sea to an expanding desert than the territories of the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg combined.  The health problems arising from this issues are large for the entire Aral Sea basin, which encompasses 5 Central Asian countries and it has profoundly changed (for the worse) the local climates.  Compare the differences with some historical images of the Aral Sea on Google Earth or on ArcGIS Online. 

Tags: environment, Central Asia, environment modify.

See on twitter.com

AralSea

0

American Homes Through the Decades

New homes dominate the market across the Sunbelt, but you can also find older homes with historical features and distinct architectural styles in most major metros — from stained glass windows in homes built before the 1900s to snail showers found in homes from the 2000s.

Seth Dixon, Ph.D.‘s insight:

This interactive feature shows some intriguing historical insight into the United States metropolitan housing markets and this article associated with the interactive analyzes the growth trends in particular cities.

Questions to Ponder: how is this real estate interactive a portal into the historical economic geography of U.S. cities?  What explains the regional patterns?  New England?  Texas?  

Tags: housing, urban, unit 7 cities.

See on trends.truliablog.com

0

Is It Crazy to Think We Can Eradicate Poverty?

The end to extreme poverty might very well be within reach. But is the bar too low?

The World Bank aims to raise just about everyone on Earth above the $1.25-a-day income threshold. In Zambia, an average person living in such dire poverty might be able to afford, on a given day, two or three plates of cornmeal porridge, a tomato, a mango, a spoonful each of oil and sugar, a bit of chicken or fish, maybe a handful of nuts. But he would have just pocket change to spend on transportation, housing, education and everything else.

See on www.nytimes.com

0

What is a Hotspot?


1) What is a hotspot? A volcanic “hotspot” is an area in the upper mantle from which heat rises in a plume from deep in the Earth. High heat and lower pressure at the base of the mantle facilitates melting of the rock. This melt, called magma, rises through cracks to the surface and forms volcanoes. As the tectonic plate moves over the stationary hot spot, the volcanoes are rafted away and new ones form in their place.

Seth Dixon, Ph.D.‘s insight:

Why are the Hawaiian Islands a linear formation if there are not plate boundaries in that region?  Why are the islands seemingly arranged from largest to smallest?  The answers lie in the physical geography of ‘hot spots.’  After this introductory video, you can learn more about the geologic life cycle of a hot spot volcanic island in this companion video shown below. 

Tags: Oceania, physical, geomorphology, landforms.

0

Kent State: Past and Present

On May 4, 1970, the Ohio National Guard gunned down Jeffrey Miller, Allison Krause, William Knox Schroeder, and Sandra Scheuer during an anti-war protest at Kent State University.

Seth Dixon, Ph.D.‘s insight:

This is a poignant image that strikes a chord with me.  History is embedded within place even if the historical events are not memorialized within the landscape.   

0

The Rights and Wrongs of Slum Tourism

Researchers are heading to Dharavi, Mumbai, to study the impact of slum tours on the residents.

Seth Dixon, Ph.D.‘s insight:

The article leaves me with more questions than answers.  What do the residents think about the tons of tourists wondering through their winding streets?  The very idea of tourism to see poverty in situ in an authentic slum is riddled with power and cultural imbalances.  Why would wealthy tourists from the developed world want to more fully explore the slums in the developing world?  What do you see as the ‘wrong’ and the ‘right’ within this situation?   Is slum tourism ethical?

See on blogs.wsj.com

0

The Names Behind The States

An infographic of the etymology and cultural origins of the names that made the United States of America.

 

Seth Dixon, Ph.D.‘s insight:

I would dispute the accuracy of some of the alleged linguistic origins of the state names, so take this with a grain of salt (still it’s a clever concept for an inforgraphic and shows some interesting patterns). 

Tags: language, USA, infographic, toponyms, historical, colonialism.

See on visual.ly

0

APHG Review Guides

Seth Dixon, Ph.D.‘s insight:

It’s that time of year to really buckle down; several teachers have created PDFs versions of review guides for the AP Human Geography test.  James Nelsen, a veteran APHG teacher has produced a “grand review.”  This resource intentionally does not come with a key to force the students to delve deeper and search for the answers themselves.  Allison Hunt had her students create their own study guide for the APHG test focusing on the ‘big ideas.’  Best of luck and these and other resources are archived on my “thematic” tab on http://geographyeducation.org.

0

Blog at WordPress.com.

Up ↑