GEOGRAPHY EDUCATION

When African states gained independence, the continent’s new leaders agreed to respect the old colonial borders to avoid endless wars.

This interactive map shows the major conflicts on the African continent where the combatants have geopolitical aspirations to separate from the state and create a new, autonomous state.  Click on the red arrows and you can read about the warring factions and the current situation in that region.   

Tags: political, governance, Africa, unit 4 political, war, conflict, colonialism.

See on www.guardian.co.uk

Print your own customized, place-based envelopes using Google Maps imagery.

Tags: art, google. 

See on www.mapenvelope.com

To understand today’s global conflicts, forget economics and technology and take a hard look at a map, writes Robert D. Kaplan.

This is a timely article that shows the importance of geography in understanding current events throughout the world.  Also included in this link are videos and pictures connected to an interactive map that highlights a few global conflicts.  Students would benefit from reading this article in preparation for completing a news article assignment.  Geographic context always matters; it might not tell the whole story but it will certainly shape it.

Tags: Geography, GeographyEducation, Unit 1 GeoPrinciples.

See on online.wsj.com

Any cartographic fine-tuning of borders that you would suggest?  What truths does this map obscure?

Tags: regions, sport, mapping.

See on i.imgur.com

This is the truly global project that asks the children of the world to introduce us to the people of the world.  We’ve seen videos and resources that ask the question, “if there were only 100 people in the world, what would it look like?”  This takes that idea of making demographic statistics more meaningful one step further by asking student in schools for around the world to nominate some “representative people” and share their stories.  The site houses videos, galleries from each continent and analyze themes that all societies must deal with.  This site that looks at the people and places on out planet to promote greater appreciation of cultural diversity and understanding is a great find.

Tags: Worldwide, statistics, K12, education, comparison.

See on www.100people.org

In the Mid-Morning Plenary Session of the ESRI User Conference, it was apparent that students can learn in meaningful ways by applying GIS to real-world situations. 

Tags: GIS, edtech, GeographyEducation.

See on blogs.esri.com

The undersea work & world of Michael Lombardi…

MIchael Lombardi is a both a scientific and commericial diver; as an author and environmentalist and an Explorer in Residence with the National Geographic Society.  This Saturday he will be the guest speaker for the Rhode Island Geography Education Alliance meeting and I am incredibly excited to hear from him.

Tags: water, National Geographic, RhodeIsland, physical, biogeography, environment.

See on www.oceanopportunity.com